Do you consider this microaggression?

Question

This morning, I was watching the news, and they did an interview with a Psychologist from a local university, who spoke about microaggression.

I was struck by how interpretive, cultural, and generation-specific her comments seemed to be. This is what university students (especially female, as they tend to be the majority of those enrolled in psychology and the humanities) are being taught today. (She looked young, I would have guessed she was a student, but her title was Psychologist, so she's evidently graduated and is now teaching at the university. That means she is either Gen Z or Millennial.) This must be in their curriculum.

So, here's the question for you - do you consider someone being asked these questions microaggressions, or are they examples of over-sensitivity and victim mentality?

Examples:

"Your English is good."

"Where are you from?"

She claims this "Leads To:

Increase in negative emotions
Feelings of being different, not included
Feeling not valued
Increases in blood pressure
Increases in cortisol
Higher rates of inflammation
Poorer sleep
Faster cellular aging"

At the end, I was happy to hear the news anchor say to her, "But sometimes these questions might not be microaggressions, right? Sometimes they might just be genuine questions, out of curiosity. Maybe it's a good idea to ask a follow-up question, to find out." And to that, she agreed.

Lliam · Accepted Answer

My immediate reaction is, her very existence is a microaggression. (tongue in cheek).

Is she teaching people to be more thoughtful and considerate or teaching others to be more easily offended?

I guess I react to the word microaggression. Micro means very, very small, almost undetectable. Why would people be concerned about "micro" aggression when there is plenty of overt aggression?

In fact, being offended by the examples she gave could be seen as a sign of aggression. Why would someone teach others to be easily offended instead of teaching people how NOT to be offended by every little thing?

Her examples are also about stirring racism. "You noticed that I have an accent, therefore you must be racist."

Are we supposed to pretend not to notice things about people? Should we ignore differences.

I notice accents from different parts of the country and the world. I think its interesting. Is their accent Texan, Southern (i. e. Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina), New England, New York, Midwestern, ? Is it from Minnesota or Canada? Is it from an eastern European country? Is it from Mexico or a central or South America country? Is it Middle Eastern?
I'm curious. And I enjoy acknowledging and celebrating people's ethnicity.

I recently went to a catering truck at an event to buy a falafel. Long story short, I politely asked the owner's nationality and he said Afghani. We got into the best conversation. He was jazzed to talk about it. I asked him about the way Afghanis pronounce Afghastan (which to me sounds like Afranistan) and he taught me.

How is it aggressive to acknowledge and show interest in a stranger? It can merely be a way of striking up a friendly conversation.

If I was visiting another place, I wouldn't be offended if someone asked me where I was from. If I was in another country and someone said "Your [Spanish, German, French, Russian, Chinese or Arabic] is good", I would be flattered. I admire people who are multilingual or at least trying.

It obviously depends on the context of the interaction and the asker's attitude. In some cases, the question might be judgmental but their body language would reveal hostility.

Based on the examples you gave, I can't really tell what the Psychologist's point was. I can't tell if she's another university trained "woke" activist with an attitude. More political correctness? I've had enough of that. But I don't want to "assume" without knowing more.

SomeGuyCalledTom · Accepted Answer

I think it's worth bearing in mind the difference between "academic" psychologists and "practising" psychologists. The former have basically free reign to just make shit up as they go along and rationalise it as "well psychology is all subjective". Practising clinicians have an actual duty of care to their patients, and if they want patients to continue paying for treatment, they need to be able to actually get results in the patients mental health outcomes. So there's more pressure for them to use psychological frameworks that actually have real world utility rather than just babbling on about "microaggressions" and whatever else their tenure allows them to shove into university syllabuses.

NathanDavis · Answer

it is more about the tone and the attitude...

I do get it all the time, when for some reason people find out that I am also Hispanic and they go

"are you really Mexican?" "but you don't look Mexican..."

I can always tell and notice when they are just surprised that I speak Spanish so fluently and surprised that yes, I do not look like the "stereotypical Mexican" and I can also tell when it is more than that, and they also have not so good opinions from immigrants or someone that are "not like them" and then I know their attitude towards me will change forever just because I am not WASP like them so I am just something else and "not actually American" like them

now, do I find this aggressive? not really...

do I find it hurting and affecting me in all kinds of negative ways? not really either...

but I am very much used to it at this point lol, because I had it for most of my life... while in Mexico I was always the kid that didn't look "quite Mexican" and while I was in the US I was always the kid that was not American because he "didn't speak English" lol

so, yes these things definitely can happen in a way, there are a lot of people out there who will say these little things just to let you know very subtly, that they either disapprove of you for who you are, or they want to establish that you are not like them, you are something else and also, some people can do some of these things inadvertently as well

but in my experience... I can tell you that the vast majority of people are just genuinely surprised and curious about learning something about you that they did not expect or they just want to know more about you, as much as 90% I would say lol

people ask these questions or mention these things they notice about you with good intentions, not ill ones

in fact, I do it myself as well and plenty of times... whenever I hear someone Hispanic I do try to find out where are they from, and sometimes I will ask... but I am also careful to first kind of tell if they are open to that, because some people definitely don't want to talk about it or make it a thing... lol

these things are case by case scenario

USLegionary · Answer

No. Seems an issue specific to America. Generally if someone says your English is good it means they don't believe you speak it as a first language, and if someone asks you where you are from it means they think you are from outside the US or from another US state. My spainish isn't good but if I was in Mexico or Spain and was told my spainish was good and asked where I was from I wouldn't be the least bit offended.

Micro aggressions are an invention and is basically victim politics where people at college aren't oppressed but what to act offended like they are. The thing about left wing SJWs because they are always scrambling to be a top of the victimhood oppression pyramid they end up doing nothing but attacking each other through their microaggressions. You know lesbians attacking gay men, transwomen attacking feminists, blm feminists attacking white feminists etc.

ArrowheadSW · Answer

Last year at this time, I was hanging out with a lady who is a PhD psychologist. I could not get over her nutty questions and "different" interpretation of the things that I told her about my life. One example, I told her that neither myself or my brothers have been married. Her response was, "Your upbringing must have been traumatic! How was it?" I don't get how none of us being married means we had a bad childhood. Usually it seems the opposite.

The other thing is that I said I've lived alone most of my adult life, from say 25 on. Her question to that was, "Are you asexual?" My gosh... How did she come up with that question?

Anyway, not much to do with your post, but a little.

Interesting lady and I still hang out with her occasionally but of course we're not dating... LOL

andreasderjuengere · Answer

''Micro-aggressions'' only were invented a few years back. Before, we just called it sarcasm, irony, or similar :)

One day we may see a time when wars are fought with cotton balls as weapons 🤔

Human nature is aggressive, and violent to some extent. That's how ''we'' survived and evolved.

Some 'newthink' people and 'word jugglers' will not change that.

I don't advocate aggression without control or education - but we NEED to be familiar with it to be able to handle it.

Msputiton · Answer

It all depends on context.

So if it is implied that because someone of a certain race shouldn't speak English properly. It is a form of microagression.

Example a Hispanic heritage born in America is told wow you speak English well.

That is a microagression and a preassumed judgement that will make the American born native feel like they will not be fully accepted. But if they are foreign that is a compliment because English wasn't their first language

Microagressions are not always straight forward.

Derekk · Answer

I don't know.

The argument that it leads to disruptive physical symptoms is probably just a result of her overpreparing for the interview and bullet pointing anything that would remotely serve her point.

And yet I don't think it can be denied that looking a certain way or speaking a certain way can invite unwanted and overly frequent ignorant questions that can be exhausting to answer. I mean think about yourself. If you were a scientist or worked in law enforcement and you CONSTANTLY had well-meaning but ignorant guys asking you how you're able to apprehend somebody violent or "what made you want to do science?", It would get irritating after a while wouldn't it?

Very few people subject to "micro-aggressions" are going to salivate at the mouth and tell at you. They'll likely just explain themselves and set the record straight, hoping they don't get the same question in the future, even though they inevitably will.

Grond21 · Answer

It's ultimately a direct offspring of the ideology that seeks to label any action that is taken as offensive by a select group of minorities as inherently violent and oppressive. And to that end, to combat this supposed violence and aggression, the government needs to step in and control speech. The government is the savior of culture, and the government is the answer to the supposed microaggressions.
This is why it's called Neo Marxism. Because it's just a new set of oppressor versus oppressed narratives. It's a new label on an old idea that pits neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, in order to create conflict that the state has to solve. And by giving the power to solve this conflict to the state you have created a Marxist Utopia

ThoseCognacEyes · Answer

Personally I think it’s all about the tone and body language. When someone means to disrespect you, you can tell. I wouldn’t mind people asking where I’m from based on my accent. If anything I take it as a compliment that they think I’m interesting and they want to learn more about my background. But if they’re talking to me in a disrespectful tone, I would not take the punch silently. I would punch back.

ShadezMcgee · Answer

If these were considered micro aggressions, something that are standard questions/compliments, much less basic application questions for getting things, then people have become to focused on becoming victims.

I feel sensitivity can play in here to a degree, but that is even being generous here.

zeitgeist057 · Answer

I didn't answer the poll, because they are and they aren't. It all depends on subtlety and context. As one of my professors in school said (typed to show the inflection he used):

"There's a world of difference in the two phrases:

'What's that in the road ahead?' and 'What's that in the road, a head?"

Same thing applies to how you inflect "Where are you from?" and also a part of interaction is how something is recieved. You can pat someone on the butt and they can love it and feel turned on/enjoy the attention, or they can feel minimized and assaulted.

melanieeeB · Answer

The sentences itself, not at all but I think it could be, depending on how they're said.

Like, I will never forget, once the girl who bullied me just said "enjoy your meal" in itself it's a nice thing to say but she said it in a way that made me feel uncomfortable and immediately insecure...

bolverk · Answer

I do not recognise 'Micro Aggressions', I come from a background where they would be rejected out of hand, we do not have the time for such minor irritations, we just get on with life.
If you try to get them to consider them you would be laughed out of town, and I seen it happen time and time again in 'training courses' where the presenter has been derided and reduced to incoherence by the 'blue collar staff' they thought they were superior to.

Friendlybro79 · Answer

Tough to answer. I think it depends on context. If I'm at a meeting where people traveled from multiple destinations, I'd hope it's not a microagression to ask where you're from.

If I'm asking someone where they're from because they're not white, and I assume you're not from America, and you must be an from another country, then yeah I could see that as a microagression.

Also if someone says English isn't my first language and I think they're speaking really well, I do not see that as a microagression.

That said this is my opinion. In reality only the person on a receiving end of a statement or question will tell you how that made them feel.

Juxtapose · Answer

I think complaining about microaggressions is just another way to say you're a weak bitch 🤷‍♂️

What the hell has happened to society? Whatever happened to sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me? My parents taught me that! None of this pussy shit!

madgoat · Answer

Depends entirely on the mindset of the asker and the mindset of the individual bring asked. It would seem what they say about the modern university system are true.

victoriaxoxo · Answer

It's not microagression but it does make people feel uncomfortable. I know people who are 2/3 generations in in living in a country and get asked these questions and naturally they feel excluded.

BlurryHaze · Answer

If I were to ask those questions, it would be out of genuine interest and not to cause insult or offense.

StrongMale · Answer

“ Your English is good“.. is, frankly, a bit offputting. I certainly would not say that to someone I was just meeting. As for the second, “where are you from“? I see no problem with that. All part of getting to know someone, and perhaps someone from somewhere else! I am all about being sensitive, and considerate of others and make great efforts to not offend people. But it’s true that we can get a little off the deep end with all of it.

CaptainSmartass · Answer

It's all a load of woke bollocks. People nowadays are such over-sensitive, mollycoddled pussies. A right bunch of chinless milksops. Simples...

goaded · Answer

Not always, but often. If there's an underlying assumption that you're not from "here" because of the colour of your skin, even if your family has been "here" for generations.

Do you consider this microaggression?

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