MicroAggressions Deserve MacroCorrections

Today I thought I’d write a short letter to you all.

It’s about microagressions.

Microaggressions are insults against a certain group of people that come off as a joke or even a compliment. Often they’re not even thought about… the aggressor sometimes doesn’t even know what they’re doing. They’re automatic comments that are often made in passing.

Here are some examples:

“You don’t seem gay, though!”

“You’re the whitest black person I know!”

“Figures your family is rich, being Jews.”

“You’re actually pretty cool for a Christian.”

“You look like you’re from China.”

“Have you gained weight?”

I recently read an article from years ago that talks about microaggressions and how the accumulation of them in the daily life of the ones receiving them is exhausting.

There’s a gay couple I know. One of them grew up in an affirming home. The other one didn’t. The first one notices every microaggression spoken against their partner. The second one is just happy to get through the day without getting spit on. It’s exhausting. The first one doesn’t put up with them. The second one endures them.

This year has been a huge learning curve for me. Now knowing just how devastating microaggressions really are, I’ve decided to offer macrocorrections when I hear them.

If many microaggressions are preconscious or unconscious, then why not macrocorrect? But if they did mean it as an insult then they’ll get a macrocorrect for sure.

Time to stop playing around.