By: Morgan Jackson
February 19, 2021
The political state of America has always been very divided, but recently, it was nearly split, especially since the Senate race is still continuing. But relying on our politicians to debate and produce laws based on topics like the treatment of human beings is meaningless, if we can not recognize our own behavior towards others. We need to recognize how seemingly minute the vocal patterns we use in everyday conversation carry layers of racism and sexism that we have attempted to address in today’s world.
Children are taught the concept of respect at an early age, and they often see the world as a very color-blind, right or wrong situation. As we grow up, this simplistic view gets jumbled as we are exposed to the views of others. This also provides leeway for adults to pass down their implicit biases, often in the form of casual discussions or statements. These ideas can be as blatant as a classmate yelling slurs directed towards someone of a marginalized group but are more formally classified into three different types: microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations. And though they are classified with the prefix “micro,” an inherently belittling attachment, they are more often than not the aggressions that impact the most individuals. Perhaps this phrasing is a microinvalidation in and of itself. Regardless, the most obvious of the classifications is a microassault, which usually happens on a rather macro level as it is acted upon with obvious and purposeful discriminatory intent. (A textbook example of this would be graffitiing a swastika or other hateful symbol on a wall). However, I find that many people only seem to notice these particular actions, as opposed to the more subtle varieties of Microinsult or Microinvalidation.
Gaining less attention from bystanders is a Microinsult, which often comes in the form of generalization, or a “masked complement.” (i. e., the types of comments like “you’re pretty for a black girl.”) This causes someone to feel like the “chosen one” out of their race and undermines their accomplishments. Most often, these manifest as “affirmative action” comments, which imply that a minority can only accomplish something if they are used to fill a diversity quota.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are Microinvalidations, the classic “I don’t see color” comments. These are more harmful than Microinsults due to the purposeful dismissal of someone’s experiences based on their identity. This can come in the form of misgendering someone or heavy reliance on sexist examples (Such as the ubiquitous “I need four strong men”), to prove a point. Often, Microinvalidations can also claim that “anyone can succeed through hard work”, or referring to America as a “melting pot” of people. On the surface, these seem harmless—even sometimes misleadingly optimistic, but are detrimental because of how it erases the varying degrees of privilege that people are born into, oftentimes unchangeable.
With a large and diverse population of students at Henderson, microaggressions are inevitable and constant. However, the more they are pointed out and recognized as unacceptable, the more marginalized students will feel safe and comfortable in their classrooms. As the high school tries to take steps toward building a more inclusive community with decisions like changing the mascot, we must all pay attention to other areas where these biases are frequently unnoticed.
Resources:
Comments