Did I just hear someone use a microaggression????????
Microaggression. It's a term we all came to love, but what does it really mean?
Let's do a quick simple Google search to find out. What is a microaggressions? Wait...
What is a microinsult? A microaggression is the...? What is a microassault?
What is a microinvalidation?
Macroagression?! Microagression?!
Macroassault! Microregression?!
Macro discrimination!
Oh my God. Okay, all right, we're gonna have to take a step back. Micro aggression is a term coined in 1970,
but recently got popularized, thanks to this wonderful man. Let's see how he describes it.
Good day everyone, my name is Derald Wing-Su.
Why does this feel like a comedy sketch? It feels like I'm watching Adult Swim.
...to share with you some of the harmful impact that micro aggressions have on...
The music is so uplifting!
...marginalized groups in our society.
Is it a good thing? I can't tell.
Well, micro aggressions are the everyday slights, indignities, put downs
and insults that people of color, women
LGBT populations, or those who are marginalized
experience in their day to day interactions
with people. In this scene, Jenny has finished a late night at the office and awaits the elevator.
I can tell it's a very late night based on the darkness.
The door opens,
she takes one step forward, sees a black male rider, hesitates,
and immediately clutches her purse and places her hand over her necklace.
The hidden communication is that African-americans are prone to crime
Okay, I have taken a couple classes in, uh...
Micro aggression can be divided into three groups,
based on if it's a
intentional microaggression, or an unconscious microaggression.
If it's an unintentional microaggression,
then it's called a micro invalidation, whatever the heck that is.
and then if it's intentional, it's a micro assault.
And if it's somewhere in between, you will find...
...a micropenis.
Just kidding. A mic—
It's uh... micro insult in the middle.
If you're not... okay.
These jokes are so fucking bad, my God.
Now you might think that micro aggression is not that big a deal.
"People don't use it seriously, come on, Felix."
Uh, so...
Recent TV went to a campus to do some research
Occidental College in California is considering instituting a system for students to report so-called
Oh wow.
I believe the most qualified person should get the job.
Qualifications aren't really the only — the only things you consider when hiring someone.
How can you say that?
How can you even hesitate on that?
Qualifications aren't really the only — the only things you consider when hiring someone.
What else is there?
If you're running a business, you want the most qualified person for the job.
Right?
WRONG.
Did I just hear someone use a microaggression?
I understand not wanting to hire the same type of people
'cause then you're just gonna get the same type of opinion.
But the most qualified person —
Surely if you get a job you should get it knowing I was the most qualified for
this job
Qualifications aren't really the only — the only things you consider when hiring someone.
I'm so confused.
If you're saying that the most qualified person is someone who is...
...not a minority, or not a religion you believe, and then yes, it'd be a microaggression
But that's not what they were saying.
Saying god bless you after somebody sneezes?
Uh, that would be a microaggression because of...
different religions. Yeah, it could be a microaggression to someone who doesn't believe in God
ACHOO!
Bless you, sir!
HOW DARE YOU?!
Did I just hear someone use a microaggression?
I think that the harm there is relatively minimal.
So there's still some harm though?
Definitely harm. I feel — my hope — my soul is burning. My soul is on fire.
I truly feel what it's like to be marginalized.
Could be a microaggression to someone who doesn't believe in God.
It could be a microaggression to someone who doesn't believe in God.
That reminds me the other week when, uh...
Mr. Wil Wheaton, who has me blocked on Twitter for being toxic,
tweeted right after the church shooting in Texas that the murdered victims
would still be alive if prayers did anything. That seems like the good time as any to
criticize prayers; after a church shooting. Thing is I don't believe in religion
I am, what y— uh, agnostic atheist.
But I don't feel the need to criticize other people if people want to say thoughts and prayers to something bad happening.
I know they have a good intention in mind, even though
I don't believe in what that good intention is. I don't feel the need
to go against that. And the same thing with "God bless you." You know someone means something well
Why would I personally turn — I would be the one responsible for turning it into something negative.
And that's the thing with
microaggression is that it's a game that anyone can play, but no one wins.
Why don't you have an accent? Like a... like a... Swedish accent.
Did you just assume my accent?
Never.
Never have I been so shook. I'm shook. I'm shOOk.
Swedish accent? Excuse me. Just 'cause I have this fake blonde hair does not mean I'm Swedish!
Like a Swedish accent.
Not everyone in Sweden is blonde, okay?
Well, microaggressions are the everyday slights, indignities, put-downs for those who are marginalized.
experience in their day-to-day interactions with people.
I'm not ignoring that these are...
Could be hurtful for a lot of people. I fully understand that. I'm not trying to take that away from people
They have the right to feel whatever the way they want to feel. But I found it really interesting
in this video when they talk about free speech.
What are your thoughts on the concept of free speech, do you support free speech?
Yes, I do support free speech.
Everyone should be able to say
what they believe and what's on their mind.
Unless it's a microaggression. Then we need to report it for hate speech.
I support free speech.
But...
It doesn't work like that. We condemn freedom of speech that hurt other people's feelings.
Why don't you suck my micropenis?
In Derald Wing-Su's... one of his books, he points out that
micro aggression produce physical health problems and shorten life
expectancy.
And the general consensus from research is that there's no evidence to back up that micro aggressions is actually harmful.
What is actually defined? Who does it actually affect?
Some say it could even be more harmful to use the term.
Now...
Now that we know about micro aggression we're gonna play a little game. It's called
Can you spot the micro aggression?
A McGill student was forced to apologise
for racial microaggression after emailing joke Obama clip.
This was an unintentional micro aggression, which we now learn
is a micro invalidation.
Good job class you learned a lot here today.
It was posted with the caption, "Honestly, midterms, get outta here."
Write down in the comments what the micro aggression was right now.
It was based on the fact not that
"midterms are frustrating, and you need to get that anger out," it was "Black man angry," am I right?
Micro aggression.
We also have this clip from the diversity Council of Australia.
"...project that we're working on is actually looking at how we—"
"Come on, girls, let's get crackin'."
"Girls?"
The micro aggression here is, of course...
Little bit more subtle for the untrained eye, but me as an micro aggressing...
...expert, I can easily tell you that this micro aggression is based on the fact that, uh...
They all look like girls...
And...
Could it be the Kraken? "Get Kraken."
Come on girls, let's get cracking.
Like a cracker? White stereo— no...
Moving on!
This was posted on BuzzFeed about micro aggression...
...examples. "No, you're white"
Moving on!
"So what do you guys speak in Japan?"
"Asian?"
Micro aggression!
"Just because I'm Somali doesn't mean I know any pirates." This guy is clearly just taking the piss
I mean look at his face, come on.
Let me just play this micro violin...
For all these poor people with the science, and my God, it must be tough, I get it
You know actually it's — it's smaller than that, it's super micro. Yeah, actually it's so tiny it's — it's a nano aggression
All right, okay, all right. Okay, let's get serious. Now, and this might be completely based on my Swedish cuckery
And I can't help it, but I always try to be somewhat sensible and around all these ideas
I'm not dismissing the fact that this is a problem, but calling it
a micro aggression implies that there's violence
involved and that somehow you have the right to strike back against it
with violence as well.
Which is the joke that South Park pulled,
when hitting anyone in the game for making a microaggression,
when in reality it's just an insult.
And it's not a matter of definition. I think it's uh... you can call it micro whatever,
that's not really the issue.
I think the issue is how you're approaching a problem. If people want to remove micro aggression from campus
I don't really have a problem with that. Shouldn't that be done through educating
instead of trying to police? Because isn't
educating what you do at a campus? Any form of social study and social justice these days just seems to be
about policing, and "haha, we got you, shame," rather than educating and trying to explain
why something is bad.
Now excuse me while I go and cry some micro tears.
Thank you for leaving a like on this video, every like is a macro compliment. I would really much appreciate it.
Thank you very much for subscribing. That would be a MEGA
compliment, really appreciate it. And as always, remember to...
Gladly be nice.