Microaggressions leave their targets humiliated while aggressors feel satisfied.

Evidence

Most prominently examined by Dr. Derrald Wing Sue, microaggressions, are “everyday insults, indignities, and demeaning messages sent to people of color by well intentioned white people who are unaware of the hidden messages sent to them” (Sue et al., 2007). … It is their very invisibility to white people that makes microaggressions a companion to white privilege. As Sue points out “most White Americans experience themselves as good, moral and decent human beings who believe in equality and democracy. Thus they find it difficult to believe that they possess biased racial attitudes and may engage in behaviors that are discriminatory” (Sue et al., 2007, p. 275). — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1254 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: People smile and feel reward when misfortunes strike envied high-status groups. — Susan T. Fiske, Stereotype Content: Warmth and…, 38; Everyday microaggressions cumulatively make targets more vulnerable to lethal violence — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 143; Unintentional racial microaggressions flow from well-meaning whites who deny their own bias. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1254

Broader Connections

• Unintentional racial microaggressions flow from well-meaning whites who deny their own bias. #complicates (0.82) — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1254