# Microagressions, political correctness, innate bias, and hypersensitivity. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261 "2015-06-11T15:47:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/41 "2015-06-12T16:07:35Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > I called out a microaggression recently. A middle-aged man told me (a woman) that he’d always “thrown like a girl.” I told him, point-blank, “Rick, that’s a microaggression.” We were watching a group of young people throw a football around, and right in front of us, saw a demonstration of both women and men throwing well - and poorly! > > He agreed that his usage was thoughtless and stereotyped. Maybe he won’t say it again in the future, especially not in front of impressionable children. > > So I like the term. It’s useful. If I’d said, “Hey, Rick, that’s a sexist and stereotypical comment,” would it have had the same effect? Who knows. If I had been in your shoes, I probably would have not used the term “microagression”. I just would have let him know that I am tired of hearing people badmouthing girls “Microaggression” has the same problem as “privilege”, IMHO. The word makes sense to people who are familiar with the discourse. But to everyone else, it sounds like yet another overwrought PC term invented by the offenderati. For the same reason, I rarely say something offends me. I say I disagree with it or that it troubles me. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/42 "2015-06-12T16:11:25Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > I called out a microaggression recently. A middle-aged man told me (a woman) that he’d always “thrown like a girl.” I told him, point-blank, “Rick, that’s a microaggression.” We were watching a group of young people throw a football around, and right in front of us, saw a demonstration of both women and men throwing well - and poorly! > > He agreed that his usage was thoughtless and stereotyped. Maybe he won’t say it again in the future, especially not in front of impressionable children. > > So I like the term. It’s useful. If I’d said, “Hey, Rick, that’s a sexist and stereotypical comment,” would it have had the same effect? Who knows. I’d argue that, like privilege, it’s a term that only works with people who are on board with the concept. **Shodan** is right about what the term sounds like it means–a small amount of aggression, as if he was intending to be slightly offensive. I really wish the people coming up with these words would have thought about the implications to those not familiar with it. Just like “privilege” implies something that I shouldn’t have if I haven’t earned it, when it in fact refers to something everyone should have. Edit: And I see **monstro** is faster than I am. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/43 "2015-06-12T16:15:01Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Argggh, I can totally see how this would be aggravating. What I hate is when people reveal certain assumptions about me based on nothing but stereotypes, and I don’t know what to say in response that won’t make for an awkward scene. > > The other day I was visiting with some friends of my fiancé (both white) and we were talking about classism. Then suddenly the subject shifted to race relations. His friend opined that prejudice goes both ways, and that blacks can be just bigoted as whites. I didn’t argue with any of this, and in fact, I agreed that whites don’t have a monopoly on racism. > > She then looked at me and offered that I probably “act too white” for a lot of blacks. Hmmmm…da fuq? So now I gotta wonder what in the heck would make her say that. Because I’m not yo-yo-yoing like Flava Flav? She really doesn’t know me well enough to say something like this. The truth is that I’ve never really had my identity or sense of belonging called into question by black people simply because I don’t fit a stereotype, and I’ve never felt pressured to racially conform either. I know some black people have this experience, but I have not. > > I calmly and good naturedly explained that no, I’ve never had the “too white” experience. Didn’t ask her why she would assume otherwise or implore her to check her assumptions or anything like that. Basically laughed it off, and yet still the exchange made me mentally sigh. I’m not exactly wanting to talk about race with her again, either. Reminds me of something else I experienced in grad school. I had just given my very first presentation, and a professor came up to me afterwards and said “I can tell your parents really value education.” It was a compliment I can’t imagine her giving a white person. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/44 "2015-06-12T16:17:28Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I definitely have had Indian people telling me I am too American for my own good. I didn’t marry within my own race, so I am somewhat of a pariah amongst my people. But no white person has ever thought to tell me that I act too white. > > As for the social media warriors, yeah, I kind of just ignore those. If it bothers them, well, fine, but nothing I have faced has been too much for me, even when there was overt racism\*, and so \* shrug \* I’ll get through it. > > \*Sometimes I prefer overt racism. It’s nasty but at least you know to avoid it and people believe you when you tell them. It is like you think you’re all on the same level, then something shows you you’re not and everyone else sees you way differently. Digging into usually just gets uglier. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/45 "2015-06-12T16:59:31Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > … My kids are Asian; I’m not. “Are they really yours?” isn’t a microaggression. Therefore it is better to have a prepared response that doesn’t treat it as an attack unless it is one. “Yes, they’re mine, and I have the paperwork to prove it” is usually more appropriate than “Fuck you, racist”. … My youngest is adopted from China. My wife and I (and our three older, biological, children) are not of Asian descent. On a beach on vacation in Florida when my daughter was two or three a woman asked me “Where is she from?” Now I knew that she was assuming the adoption and asking about her country of origin; my playing dumb and stating our home town was in fact a (passive-) micro-aggression of sorts on my part … which made this woman, who as turns out was asking because her daughter and son-in-law were on a wait list for adoption, feel awful, when she in fact meant no harm. **monstro** , that professor’s comment clearly revealed a stereotype she had playing inside her head that she very likely was not consciously aware of. Seeing evidence of those negative stereotypes and biases … constantly … well you are clear about how shitty it is. At the same time until there is enough other than the stereotype experienced by the people who hold them they will experience the stutter step moment of the dissonance between what actually is and what there internal tape states. The argument FOR the social warriors’ side is that they raise awareness enough that _some_ will catch themselves in process of that stutter step moment and edit themselves before they let the stupid out. We cannot help having the stupid inside of us; we can learn to stop ourselves before sharing our stupid though. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/46 "2015-06-12T17:12:22Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > My kids are Asian; I’m not. “Are they really yours?” isn’t a microaggression. Therefore it is better to have a prepared response that doesn’t treat it as an attack unless it is one. “Yes, they’re mine, and I have the paperwork to prove it” is usually more appropriate than “Fuck you, racist”. A friend of mine uses, “Nope, rented him for the day.” as his stock response when he’s out with his son. (My friend is a white dude, his wife is Japanese, and his son looks, to most Americans, “Asian”.) ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/47 "2015-06-12T17:15:28Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > A friend of mine uses, “Nope, rented him for the day.” as his stock response when he’s out with his son. (My friend is a white dude, his wife is Japanese, and his son looks, to most Americans, “Asian”.) I use nah just some kid I grabbed off the playground. It gets OLD hearing is that your son daily, especially stupid when he looks like me with an afro. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/48 "2015-06-12T17:17:33Z")
> [@Barrett\_Bonden](#): > > The term “microagressions” is a scholarly way of calling out jerk behavior. Why should this be controversial? Just don’t be a jerk. It is seriously not that complicated. > > I can think of other ways to call out microagressions, most involving less scholarly language. “Jerk” was not my first choice in wording. The difference is that everybody on planet earth has to deal with jerk behavior from time to time. However, only the coalition of the oppressed can suffer a microagression. I have a french name that is rather unique and have spent my whole life telling people how to pronounce and spell it. However, people mispronouncing my name is not a microagression like it would be if I were an Indian. Labeling behavior as a microaggression serves two purposes on campus. First it puts people on the defensive. It means anyone acting or talking a way you disapprove of is a sexist or racist. Since having either label is a career killer in academia then everyone around you must conform to what you think is politically correct. It gives the people who brandish it power and is so subjective everyone must be afraid at all times. Secondly, it is an excuse. Affirmative action takes unqualified minorities and puts them on campus with people whose academic background and abilities are far more advanced and expects everyone to succeed at the same level. This causes the minorities who do not have the academic background as every one else on campus to fall behind. Since acknowledging this is forbidden, another reason must be found that the minorities have fallen behind academically. Thus microagressions have been created as the reason that the minorities are not doing as well as affirmative action proponents wanted. Thus it protects the self esteem of the minorities and those created the problem by shifting the responsibilities for their failures to other people. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/49 "2015-06-12T17:17:53Z")
I don’t like the term because its (apparent) meaning is not intuitive. Non-black people asking to touch black peoples’ hair? Yeah, that seems to fit. A form that doesn’t have an appropriate option for your race/gender/whatever? That’s not “aggression”, micro- or otherwise. It’s just bureaucratic laziness. As an ethnically-Indian person it never ceases to feel weird when I check the “Asian or Pacific Islander” box, but calling it “aggression” just waters down actual racism. Of course, being from the UK I never have trouble with the “where are you really from?” question. I just say England and watch their heads explode. Of course, then they ask whether I know their friends Sally and Ed from Manchester. > [@monstro](#): > > Reminds me of something else I experienced in grad school. I had just given my very first presentation, and a professor came up to me afterwards and said “I can tell your parents really value education.” It was a compliment I can’t imagine her giving a white person. “ **monstro** , you’re so well-spoken!” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/50 "2015-06-12T17:23:52Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > How is having to deal with it every single day for my entire life not a “micro” aggression? It depends what behaviour you’re referring to. “Aggression” is not defined by what you have to deal with that you don’t enjoy, or else my going bald is a microaggression against me. It’s defined by what someone attempts to do to you (and I’d argue this applies even if the person does so out of ignorance; being ignorant isn’t a good excuse for being a jerk.) Aggression is, by definition, the deliberate infliction of physical or emotional damage. If someone honestly does not know how to pronounce your name and politely asks how to do so, that does not constitute “aggression.” If they say “you have a weird name,” that does. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/51 "2015-06-12T17:41:25Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Whether they be labeled as “microagressions” or being innate prejudices that we have no explicit awareness of, behaviors that negatively impact particular groups abound. I accept that. > [@Isamu](#): > > That saying is not apt. With microagressions, even a little bit is not ‘nice’. > [@ITR\_champion](#): > > I’ve never seen any example of someone accusing someone else of a “microaggression”, where I didn’t think the accusation was idiotic. > [@Barrett\_Bonden](#): > > The term “microagressions” is a scholarly way of calling out jerk behavior. Why should this be controversial? Just don’t be a jerk. It is seriously not that complicated. > > I can think of other ways to call out microagressions, most involving less scholarly language. “Jerk” was not my first choice in wording. > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > All things being equal, people should just put up with it. > > But all things are not equal. Men have more power than women, politically, socially, and economically, and their microagressions (and macroagressions) are thus harder to shrug off. Same with white / black or straight / gay. It’s just wearing to have to deal with it all the time. > [@jz78817](#): > > even the “smaller” things **monstro** talks about are still more or less directed _at her._ where I interpret “microagressions” as being eye-roll-worthy are things like the above: > [@Shodan](#): > > Microagression implies that the person intends to be aggressive. Mostly they’re just dumb. > [@monstro](#): > > If I had been in your shoes, I probably would have not used the term “microagression”. I just would have let him know that I am tired of hearing people badmouthing girls > [@puddleglum](#): > > The difference is that everybody on planet earth has to deal with jerk behavior from time to time. However, only the coalition of the oppressed can suffer a microagression. I have a french name that is rather unique and have spent my whole life telling people how to pronounce and spell it. However, people mispronouncing my name is not a microagression like it would be if I were an Indian. There are two g’s in aggression, micro, macro or otherwise. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/52 "2015-06-12T17:44:32Z")
**ITR Champion** spelled it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/53 "2015-06-12T17:45:59Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Reminds me of something else I experienced in grad school. I had just given my very first presentation, and a professor came up to me afterwards and said “I can tell your parents really value education.” It was a compliment I can’t imagine her giving a white person. Could you give her a dazzling smile and said, “Thanks! Yours must, too!” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/54 "2015-06-12T17:50:12Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > There are two g’s in aggression, micro, macro or otherwise. That is all. Oops. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/55 "2015-06-12T17:50:51Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t like the term because its (apparent) meaning is not intuitive. Non-black people asking to touch black peoples’ hair? Yeah, that seems to fit. I dislike the term, too, but mainly because it blurs the line between being a jerk and being ignorant. Your example is of someone being a jerk. And being unable to pronounce someone’s name? Holy mountain out of a mole hill. We’re a country of immigrants, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve come across a name I can’t figure out how to pronounce. In fact, it seems that these days, parents often go out of their way to make sure their precious snowflakes have names people won’t be able to pronounce without asking. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/56 "2015-06-12T17:53:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > **ITR Champion** spelled it correctly. I edited out the wrong one (my coloring): > [@ITR\_champion](#): > > I’ve never seen any example of someone accusing someone else of a “microaggression”, where I didn’t think the accusation was idiotic. > > Virtually all of the times that I’ve heard the word microaggression used, the accuser has been a college or university student or professor, usually at a top-ranked school. Anyone who attends or teaches at a top college or university is immensely privileged, whether male or female, white or black or any other race, straight or gay or any other orientation. Therefore, any such person looks dumb claiming to be a victim because of something minor. If I ever actually met an Ivy League student who was throwing a fit about the wording on a form or something else trivial, I’d advise them to do some volunteer work at a homeless shelter, food bank, or jail. There they would meet people who are actually underprivileged, possibly for the first time in their lives. > > Fundamentally, everyone must learn to put up with some amount stuff that they don’t like in society. That’s a result of the fact that society exists and contains many different people. To assign an official word like “microagressions” to the phenomenon of tiny little things a person doesn’t like and then [start campaigns](http://reason.com/blog/2015/03/25/anonymous-online-geo-system-to) to eliminate them is obviously one part of the left’s strategy for having everyone on campus [live in fear](http://www.vox.com/2015/6/3/8706323/college-professor-afraid). If standard and avoidable social interactions are treated as if they were crimes, then anyone can be arbitrarily chosen and punished at any time. Which, it seems, is rather what certain people have in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/57 "2015-06-12T17:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=muldoonthief] There are two g’s in aggression, micro, macro or otherwise. That is all. [/QUOTE] I sit corrected. Reggards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/58 "2015-06-12T18:24:43Z")
Until reading this thread, every time I’ve seen someone complain of microaggressions, it’s been ridiculous situations like pregnancy warnings on boxes or a man having the nerve to just… be alive nearby. It’s been interesting and educational to hear from people with complaints that make sense. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/59 "2015-06-12T18:53:43Z")
> [@Not\_a\_Platypus](#): > > It’s been interesting and educational to hear from people with complaints that make sense. Here’s another warm and fuzzy observation that I think is a positive sign of the time. If the year was 2005 instead of 2015, it unlikely we would be having a relatively calm and open-minded conversation about microaggressions on the SDMB. Knee jerk defensiveness and denial about these things was\* much more common \*ten years ago. **monstro’s** anecdote about being complimented by a racially biased professor? That would have immediately elicited an attack on her perception and rationality by a slew of posters hellbent on portraying her as a self-victimizing race-baiter. And it wouldn’t just be “bot” posters either. At least now, because we’re so used to talking about things like this, internet conversations are less tense and acrimonious. It is not a given they will always descend into fights and character assassinations. While it used to be normal for the minority speaking on their bad experiences to be grilled like someone on the witness stand, I’ve noticed more of an attempt to actually listen and talk without judgement. Even when perspectives disagree (like whether screwing up someone’s name truly represents a microaggression), it’s not disrespectful disagreement. I distinctly remember things being different years ago. That’s a sign of progress to me. Of course, the thread is still young and there’s still plenty of time for the fights to break out. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261/60 "2015-06-12T18:55:56Z")
It’s also possible that you’re just less sensitive than you were in 2005. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microagressions-political-correctness-innate-bias-and-hypersensitivity/722261.md?page=4)