“Microaggression” is a term that has been used in recent years by many people without concern. However, there is now an understanding that the things we used to call “microaggressions” are much more than that. Ibram X Kendi defines “microaggressions” in his book, How to Be an Antiracist, as “brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership.” In his book, Kendi explains why he opposes the term “microaggression” saying “I do not use ‘microaggression’ anymore. I detest the post-racial platform that supported its sudden popularity. I detest its component parts—“micro” and “aggression.” A persistent daily low hum of racist abuse is not minor. I use the term “abuse” because aggression is not as exacting a term. Abuse accurately describes the action and its effects on people: distress, anger, worry, depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue, and suicide.” Kendi details how using the word “microaggression” in and of itself is racial abuse. Using the word alone implies that racial abuse is a minor concern, when in fact, it is not. Some people consider microaggressions to be too divergent from their definition of “abuse” and therefore unequal to other forms of racism. In truth, “microaggressions” are just as vile as any other kind of racism and something that people of color have to go through on a daily basis.
Here are some examples of racial abuse in everyday scenarios:
Sources:
Sue, Derald Wing. “Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 5 Oct. 2010, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-life/201010/racial-microaggressions-in-everyday-life.
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https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/behavior/microagressions.htm