One day, a student was paired up into a group assignment for class, but the other people in the group didn’t want to work with them because there was a language barrier. The rest of the group left the student to do the entire project by themselves. This can be a reality for many students who are learning English.
A microaggression is defined as an act of discrimination against people in a marginalized group. These acts can be unintentional, but that doesn’t negate the fact that they are targeted at that individual. Things that can be considered microaggressions are when people claim to “not see color” or when they deny a person’s race. Not “seeing” race can seem like the right thing to do because if one doesn’t see race, then how can they be racist? But doing this can deny a part of a person’s identity.
Other examples of microaggressions could be things such as projecting harmful stereotypes onto others. Microaggressions can and do happen anywhere, including WAHS. The example above happened to a student at West, and it IS a microaggression. The students in that group didn’t try to bridge the language barrier or problem-solve whatsoever, leaving the other student alone.
If you don’t personally experience microaggressions or witness them occurring, then the thought of them occurring may not even cross your mind. But just because someone hasn’t seen a microaggression occur or doesn’t know people who have seen or been affected by microaggressions doesn’t mean they can turn a blind eye to the situation as a whole. For example, some students experiencing microaggressions trust Spanish teacher Emily Mehl to listen to them and believe their stories, though she herself may not experience or witness what they’re describing.
Although some may believe that microaggressions only apply in racial contexts, that isn’t the case. Any comment, action, or incident that discriminates against any marginalized group of people is a microaggression. Here is a real case that happened in our school:
A student was in class when a special education group passed by. One of these students was squealing in excitement. A person asked one of their friends if there was a guinea pig in the school. This joke was funny to the aggressor and their friend, but deeply hurt the student next to them because they are a sibling of a special education student.
Inappropriate jokes or playing on stereotypes is a form of microaggression. They can be presented through backhanded compliments around topics such as language proficiency or culture. Just because these “compliments” are playing off deeply ingrained stereotypes doesn’t make them right to say. For example, some Asian students who excel academically have their success attributed to their race, diminishing the hard work they put into earning their academic success. Likewise, some black students have been told they are good at sports because of their “genetics,” which though seemingly a compliment on the surface, plays off of longstanding stereotypes.
People who make discriminatory comments like this may not have bad intentions, but that doesn’t excuse them from the fact that such comments are inappropriate and insensitive.
If you have found yourself accidentally saying something harmful, make an effort to learn from that experience. Or if you overhear a microaggression, step in and help the person understand why what they’re saying is harmful, even if well-intentioned.
Don’t look the other way, don’t be blind to the fact that it is happening, be mindful of stereotypes, and don’t play into them.
