Facing Microaggression? Be Micro-offended!

Image from http://www.pdpics.com/

Microaggressions are getting a lot of attention these days, especially in low-grade institutes of higher learning. Here's one description from Wikipedia:

"Psychologist Derald Wing Sue defines microaggressions as "brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership." Sue describes microaggressions as generally happening below the level of awareness of well-intentioned members of the dominant culture. Microaggressions, according to Sue, are different from overt, deliberate acts of bigotry, such as the use of racist epithets, because the people perpetrating microaggressions often intend no offense and are unaware they are causing harm."
Microaggression theory

The concept has spawned some new terms like microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation. Holy microshit, Batman! There's a whole microswarm of evil going on.

Now, I'm all for people treating each other well. It's part of being a member of a civilized culture. Genuine aggressions and insults disturb the peace and spoil the party. If I say something that offends someone, I'm certainly willing to listen to why they were offended and, if necessary, to correct my behavior.

But I draw the line at the concept of microaggression, because part of the normal interaction of normal human beings in a normal society involves taking microjabs at each other. For example, I'm a visibly redneck native of Arkansas. My whole life has been a stream of "microaggressions" against my culture and heritage. It's what we used to call "teasing".

I, like most well-adjusted people, laugh it off.

The spread of the concept of microaggression seems to me to be part of the increasing popularity of victim culture. It's a way of feeling like you're a victim too, even if you need a microscope to find the offenses that grant you victimhood. It's true that some people can be legitimately described as victims. (I actually have a Victim Identification Number issued by the government after I was the victim of identity theft. That's no joke. In one of the letters I received after the criminals were caught I was given a VIN, so I'm official.)
FBI Help for Victims of Crime (scroll down to "Victim Notification System")

The problem is that when people who aren't really victims begin claiming victimhood, they cause two problems. First, they take resources away from real victims. Second, they make real aggressions look like a joke. I came across an example in a blog a few months ago of a woman who claimed to be a victim of sexual harassment. The "harassment" consisted of one guy asking her for sex one time.

That infuriated me. I've seen women who were victims of genuine sexual harassment, and for someone to claim that being propositioned belongs in the same category as what those women suffered is insane. Lowering the bar on victimhood this way seems to be a big part of what the modern feminist movement seeks to accomplish.
Victim Mentality

But it's not just those wacky leftists playing this game.

We, meaning genuine American conservatives, used to mock the progressives for playing the victim card, but today even my conservative compadres are staking their claim to victimhood. The supposed war on Christianity is a good example. I'm getting tired of hearing Christians described themselves as a persecuted religion in an attempt to silence criticism and justify government action on their behalf.

The whining has to stop.

You can't have a strong nation if its citizens are so sensitive that they crumble under the weight of microaggressive microassaults, and that is what the microwarriors who are fighting microaggressions are encouraging. That they have to explain to people that they've been microaggressed tells you that they're digging for any excuse to convince other people that they're victims, and in the process they're diluting the sufferings of real victims.

That's why I say that when you face a microaggression you should be micro-offended. Don't try to turn it into an assault on your being. Just shrug it off and get on with your life. It's not that hard to do.

Take it from a southerner who faces this kind of thing every day and still manages to not feel like a victim about it.