Aggression From Microaggressions?

We have all heard the phrase “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, depending on how words are used, and the opinions associated with them, they can indeed be very hurtful. Gloria Naylor writes about this in her article “Mommy, What Does ‘Nigger’ Mean?” She states “words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power” (Naylor 481). She explains that African Americans’ use of nigger does not in anyway invite Caucasians to use it. Naylor is accurate when she writes that the word ‘nigger’ would not be offensive had it not been for the thoughts, and sometimes, action others associate with it.

Microaggressions have been further generalized under a category of racism identified as aversive racism, where discriminating parties tend to find security by associating with those similar to them, thus marginalizing other parties. While working with his colleagues, Sue further categorized microaggressions into three different divisions: microassaults, microinsult, and microinvalidation. This further categorization has let those guilty of using microaggressions how they have the negative effect that they do.

RACIAL MICROAGGRESSION Racial microaggression wether behavioral, enviromental or verbal which express derogatory and negative insults towards minority groups, people of color and Aferican Americans. In viewing racism from different social physiological literature there is a aversive racism that psycholgists put into a classification of three catogories such as: micro insults, micro assults and cicro invalidation. It appears in different forms and are prone with interracial incidents which are identified in these catagorgies.

The "micro-level," social relations refer to "how we understand ourselves and interact with others, the structuring of our practical activity at work and family, as citizens and as thinkers, a person's individual interactions with other people. The"macro-level" social relations refer to the social structures and common ideologies of a society. Relevant social structures include collective organizations like businesses, the media, and the government, and the common ideologies include cultural and stereotypical beliefs on race, class, sexuality, and gender. Omi and Winant also believe," race [is] an unstable and "de-centered' complex of social meanings being transformed by political struggle.  Because of this, people can contest the definition of race both in the micro- and the macro-level The question is what causes people to be racist, it's simple; people learn from society and culture (their environment).

They can tend to convey rudeness and insensitivity. Even the most well intentioned person can let out some sort of microaggression, being unaware that their conduct was harmful. Unfortunately a lot of microagression is conscious in the intention to oppress people not similar to them. Microassaults are intentional aggressive actions that involve race such as denying ones children to date someone of a different race. Lastly there is microinvalidation, where one excludes a persons thoughts or feelings, such as colorblindness, to the disregard of the characteristics of race. The process of microgression is order of five phases. Phase one, the incident, is where the participant experiences the situation. Phase two, the perception is when the participant has the belief whether the situation was racial or not. Phase three, the reaction, is where they respond to the situation. Then there is phase four where the participant interprets the meaning. Lastly is phase five, consequence, where behavior or thought processes happen over time as an outcome of the situation.

These spaces, some have argued, should be free not only of overtly critical language, but also of “microaggressions,” a term coined in the 1970s. Susan Robbins defines microaggressions as “subtle, often unconscious verbal slights or actions that convey derogatory, racist, sexist, homophobic, or other hostile messages conveying inferiority, that become cumulative over time.” Though microaggressions may not be intentional, overt, or part of a pattern, they can have a negative effect on the person or group targeted nonetheless.

Microaggressions can be

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." As a part of the society, it is unavoidable to enjoy the power and the privilege while experience the discrimination or micro-aggression both consciously or unconsciously. The sexual orientation and race is closely related to the power and the privilege. The perceptions of micro-aggression are largely based on the systems and situations that we are participating in. In this paper, I will talk about my relationship to the power and privilege, my experience with micro-aggression and my past and current perceptions of micro-aggression against LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual).

For instance, the meaning of racial microaggression is brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults towards people of

Nobody likes to be treated in such a cruel way. Receiving insults from people in public is also a negative effect of racial

Second, by not interacting or making an effort to talk because of their social class, religion or race. Third, by accrediting whether people are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ according to their color (this kind of racism is the most triggering issue among the minorities and accelerates them to revolt which leads them to taking violent decisions life that could ruin them). Four, implying that the minorities are not the same kind of people as they are. Five, identifying hate with a series of judgmental notions against minorities.

Microaggressions are committed constantly, among numerous people without them realizing it. I must say I am completely guilty of also playing part in this act. These acts are done constantly and no one understands the affects it has on people. Miller and Garran (2008) states, “Racial microaggressions are similar to aversive racism. They are “subtle, stunning, often automatic,” verbal and nonverbal putdowns and social assaults that wound people of color unbeknownst to the perpetrator” (p.97). This is what produces pain and anger inside countless of people. Many individuals need professional help in order to surpass the neglect they have been summited to.

You may not know any bigots, you think “I don’t hate black people, so I’m not racist”, but you benefit from racism. There are certain privileges and opportunities you have that you do not even realize because you have not been deprived in certain ways. Racism, institutional and otherwise, does not always manifest itself in a way that makes it readily identifiable to onlookers, victims, or perpetrators; it is not always the outward aggression typically associated with being a hate crime. Racial microaggressions are a type of perceived racism. They are more subtle and ambiguous than the more hostile or overt expressions of racism, such as racial discrimination (CITE). Microaggressions are everyday verbal, visual, or environmental

Prejudice is a huge factor in how people treat others. “After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, rumors spread, fueled by race prejudice, of a plot among Japanese-Americans to sabotage the war effort” (history.com). When fear causes rumors to spread, prejudice is allowed to run free;however, not all people allow prejudice get in the way of their

Racism has been an ongoing social justice issue for decades, and we seem to always fail to make it stop. According to Dummett (as cited in Fernando, 1984), racism is the behaviour and attitude that emerges from our beliefs that certain people are different from us. These differences are mainly based on race, where people come from, physical characteristics, such as colour and hair type or behavioural characteristics, and that people categorized must be treated differently based on their needs, capabilities and rights. Usually there is one dominant and superior group and a few inferior groups (Dummett, as cited in Fernando, 1984). Coates and Morrison (2011) suggests that what we distinguish as real and true may not always be real and that things may not always be as it seems. Coates and Morrison (2011) also states that we live in a racial matrix, where we have this illusion of reality and that differences associated with racial status and hierarchies are perceived as the norm in society and this perception of reality is not easy to get rid of. There are four types of racism; subtle racism, colorism, internalized racism and reverse racism (Nittle, 2016). Racism can be explicit, but it can also be very subtle and covert, which is a huge problem, as most people do not even notice it and they do not realize that it happens on a day-to-day basis (Coates and Morrison, 2011). Racism is not only one problem or concern, as it is brings along a variety of other problems and is compiled