Micro aggressions can be very uncomfortable for parties that are involved in them. However, to better understand what a micro aggression is I will share it's explanation. Micro aggressions are brief everyday indignities that are verbal, behavioral or environmental, that they may be intentional or unintentionally communicated to women, to people of color, to gay/lesbians that have an insulting message behind them that often time causes severe psychological distress and harm (Laureate, 2013). With that said, I have experienced first hand micro aggressive behavior and was made to feel very uncomfortable. A few years ago I was working in a public school. At the end of every school year there was an end of year celebration. On this particular evening my fiancé and I arrived in his Mercedes Benz. To make a long story short, a past coworker asked if we sold drugs to have such a nice car. At first I was shocked, then I was angry and offended by such a statement and assumption. My fiancé on the other hand quickly inquired if he was asked that question because he is black. This coworker immediately turned red and said well of course not. Later on that evening, I had to approach this coworker about what I was feeling, because it clearly left me feeling very unsettled and uncomfortable. I explained to her that her question was quite insulting and it insinuated many things. She apologized profusely.
Clearly we live in a world with grand oppressive attitudes and beliefs. And so in some sense, this society has to begin to look at its moral spiritual connectedness with each and every one of us in which we begin to realize that the suppression/oppression of one group oppresses me and my group as well (Laureate, 2013). To be able to move forward as a society we must begin to uncover and breakdown the biases, prejudices, discriminatory acts, and stereotypical attitudes and beliefs. Its all about love, peace , and acceptance.
References:
Course Media: Laureate (2013). "Microaggressions in Everyday Life" .
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