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Racial Microaggressions: Thread
I don’t very often post about race but I think this needs to be talked about more. Most people think that the experience of racial abuse/trauma is restricted to the violent, over the top stuff that we see in videos. In reality, microaggressions...
I don’t very often post about race but I think this needs to be talked about more. Most people think that the experience of racial abuse/trauma is restricted to the violent, over the top stuff that we see in videos. In reality, microaggressions...
...are the real issue in everyday racism that people experience a lot more frequently than the more blatant forms racial abuse such as violent behaviour. A couple of weeks ago I was at a restaurant when Aled was in a queue for Sunday lunch w/Owain whilst I had taken...
...Mared to the toilet. After which I went to join Aled in the queue, about the same time as he was ordering his food. I asked him if he had ordered for us, to which he said no and asked me to let the lady at the counter know what I wanted. So I went to her and...
...asked what the vegetarian option was. The lady barked back at me, ‘Oye, where did you come from?’
Disrespectful, I thought, but give her the benefit of the doubt as with Covid I could appreciate that she was making sure nobody was cutting queues. So I pointed at Aled...
Disrespectful, I thought, but give her the benefit of the doubt as with Covid I could appreciate that she was making sure nobody was cutting queues. So I pointed at Aled...
...who was literally ahead of us and said, ‘My husband is just there, I joined the queue with him!’. For most people, that would’ve been it. But this woman felt the need to call out to Aled and confirm that I was with him. After having the confirmation, she continued...
...with the nasty tone and went on to tell me, they don’t serve vegetarian option (the vegetarian option was literally in front of me, I was pointing at it asking what it was when she told me they don’t serve vegetarian.) It’s a restaurant we go to very often...
...so I knew that wasn’t the case. When I told her that it was just there, she reluctantly took my order, continued being condescending like I was asking for free food. This sent me in a bit of a shock and as I ate my lunch there, I said to Aled, ‘I think I need to say...
...something here!’ But I kept questioning myself on whether I was overreacting and making an unnecessary fuss. I decided to speak up and very quietly had a word with the manager explaining to her that it felt very disconcerting. The manager was lovely and apologised...
...to me.’ I didn’t kick up a fuss but honestly shared my experience in that moment. But kept questioning myself on whether I was horrible by reporting the incident. This is where the problem stems. As someone who has experienced micro aggression, I was more...
...focused on me overreacting about a very real experience instead of feeling rightfully angry at being mistreated. The social discourse around racial microaggressions normalises the occurrence of such events and inciting guilt in people on the receiving end of it...
...this is the discourse that NEEDS changing.
1. Someone reporting racial abuse is NOT playing the ‘Race Card’.
2. Reporting discrimination is NOT overreacting
3. Talking about discrimination is NOT kicking up a fuss.
It’s people’s lives, their lived reality...
1. Someone reporting racial abuse is NOT playing the ‘Race Card’.
2. Reporting discrimination is NOT overreacting
3. Talking about discrimination is NOT kicking up a fuss.
It’s people’s lives, their lived reality...
...the culture around reporting abuse of any nature immediately puts the recipient in such tight scrutiny rather than being shown compassion. Ask yourself this, if someone tells you that they slipped and hurt themselves, would you scrutinise the occurrence of that event or...
...show that person compassion and ask if they were okay!? Racial Microaggressions happen every day! But the culture of victim blaming deters people from reporting such events because nobody wants to be further traumatised by hateful social scrutiny on top of experiential trauma!
