Where Microaggressions Come From

Accuracy in Academia ^ | October 26, 2015 | Malcolm A. Kline

[Academiadotorg]

If, like some of us of a certain age, you wondered where the exotic term “microaggressions” comes from, the answer is that, like many maladies that bedevil us, it started in the 1970s, and in academia, no less.

“Despite microaggression’s vogueishness, the term itself was coined in 1970 by Chester M. Pierce, an African-American psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School,” Matt Labash writes in The Weekly Standard. “While Pierce, by some accounts, was a well-liked, genteel scholar, not given to rhetorical excess, he did manage to anticipate our present Cocked Fist Culture when writing, ‘Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill, because he comes to school with certain allegiances toward our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward a belief in a supernatural Being, toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you teachers to make all of these sick children well by creating the international children of the future.’”

Now, of course, it has become a cottage industry in academe, as Labash shows:

~“There was Fordham’s microaggression photo project, where students played the race card, being photographed with scrawled placards announcing ‘injustices,’ such as the lass who was asked—brace yourselves—‘What are you?’ Her thin-skinned answer to an innocuous question: ‘HUMAN. Being biracial doesn’t make me a “what.”’ (TheBuzzFeed article first featuring the project now has over 2,879,065 views.) “

~“While there’re tons of additional microaggression sites, the genre’s gold standard is the Microaggressions Project, started in 2010 by Columbia students to address ‘power, privilege and everyday life.’ As the site’s curators announce, ‘This project is a response to “it’s not a big deal”—“it” is a big deal.’ What’s a big deal? Well, pretty much everything is, no matter how small.” For example, “A female engineer whines that when she was at a loud party and spelled out words with the phonetic alphabet (alpha, bravo, Charlie .  .  .) a guy asked her if her dad was a pilot.”

~“At Northeastern University, courtesy of the LGBTQA Resource Center, students can now be trained and certified as human ‘safe zones,’ allowing them to receive ‘safe zone stickers.’ (Is it any wonder that helicopter-parented, milk-fed millennials might regard a kindergarten-style sticker as a laudable achievement?)”

[Crazieman]

This story doesn’t have a trigger warning.

[BitWielder1]

"Microagression" comes from Libs creating issues where there previously were none.

[Genoa]

I want to macroaggress. Who should I contact?

[BuffaloJack]

“Microagression” comes from Libs creating issues where there previously were none.”

Best quote of the day.

[IrishBrigade]

Who should I contact?

Would you consider yourself ‘microaggessed’ if I informed you the sentence shoud read ‘Whom should I contact?’

[Chode]

i don't know from micro, but how bout mini-aggression? ESAD!!!

[mjp]

Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill, because he comes to school with certain allegiances toward our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward a belief in a supernatural Being, toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you teachers to make all of these sick children well by creating the international children of the future.’”

And the children who enter school with radical deficits in basic trust, autonomy and initiative are already filled with distrust of normal human bonds and relationships consisting of mutuality, and voluntary cooperation leading to security and satisfaction.They also accept the malevolent universe principle.

And they are already starting to divide people into victims and victimizers and are ready to play the blame game and the victim card, where they are the victims.They are filled with self pity, and are wanting to gain power and control to punish and harm the victimizers.They are already becoming good little libtards.

[struggle]

This needs to be explored more - we need to expand the movement to “nanoaggressions.”

“Look, you left your chopsticks in the sink, are you trying to demean my Asian heritage?”

“I don’t appreciate that feather on the couch, it’s offensive to my Native American ancestors.”

“WHO BOUGHT THIS WATERMELON!?!?!”

[fruser1]

Microagressions come from the mealy mouthed bastards that create these words.

[Yashcheritsiy]

The way I figure it, if you’re dealing with a liberal and you’re only creating a “micro”aggression, then you’re not doing it right.

[Academiadotorg]

that’s because I didn’t want to violate any gun laws;>)

[Genoa]

Would you consider yourself “microaggressed” if I sent you a link and asked you to read up on the subject? ROTFL!
http://www.yourdictionary.com/whom

[17th Miss Regt]

Kraft makes inexpensive macro and cheese dinners.

[Jeff Chandler]

What about extra trivial offenses? You know, microminiaggressions.

[Talisker]

Institutionalized insanity.

And the trivialization of actual psychological injury.

[Genoa]

Sadly, a lot of hardworking parents have no idea that they’re paying through the nose for this idiocy to be taught to their young adult children.

[The Antiyuppie]

“Where Microaggressions Come From”

“The imaginations of crazy liberals?” was my first reaction.

[OpusatFR]

Life is going to be a huge shocker to these delicate little flowers.

[sportutegrl]

That would be a femtoaggression.