In the political Left’s perpetual verbal assault on the First Amendment at college campuses across the country, microaggressions have become the weapons of choice. The aim is to manipulate not only what the American people say, but how we talk about things — even how we think.
This narrative of racism and social discrimination is incessantly exploited inside the hallowed halls of academia nationwide — and now Rutgers University in New Jersey joins the list.
This month, Rutgers University professor Marie Radford and researcher Lynn Silipigni Connaway will attempt to remedy the situation by giving a webinar to college librarians on “mitigating microaggressions in virtual reference.”
What?
“Microaggressions are intentional or non-intentional verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities toward marginalized individuals,” reads the event description. “Microaggressions are subtle, nuanced, and difficult to detect and address, especially in virtual environments.”
“Psychologist Derald Wing Sue defines microaggressions as ‘brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership,'” according to a Wikipedia entry. “The concept is frequently promoted by those seeking to challenge what they perceive as examples of racism and social discrimination.”
The category is elastic and ever expanding, to be sure — and herein lies the danger.
The presentation will review research on microaggressions (from 2006, 2010, and 2016) including “qualitative content analysis” of sessions from QuestionPoint, a “virtual reference service” that provides online support to many libraries, according to a piece in Campus Reform.
It seems the Rutgers event, planned for February 21, can’t come soon enough for some.
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“In this time of heightened online conflict, attendees will be provided with research-based examples and guidelines to help them to both recognize microaggressions and to minimize them to enhance service excellence,” according to the event description.
Examples of microaggressions can take many different forms — from believing in meritocracy, to claiming not to see color, to asking people where they were born. In other words, microaggressions are an all-out assault on free speech and thought — like subjectivity on steroids — despite the good intentions of some.
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Moreover, microaggressions serve to suppress, single out, and stigmatize those who are not politically correct, which flouts the essence of the First Amendment and severs our democracy in the process.
Lifezette reached out to Radford for comment, including any recent examples of microaggressions, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Elizabeth Economou, a former CNBC staff writer and adjunct professor, is based in Seattle. Follow her on Twitter.
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