We need to grapple with the theory of microaggressions. It’s all very well confining our opposition to the state’s political propaganda. But the fact is that in British (and American, and Australian, etc, etc) society the basic cultural precondition for freedom does not exist: that is, an acceptance that other people have the right to free speech and freedom of expression. Although this “taking offence” agenda receives strong support from the state, more often than not in everyday life we will be confronted by people who are not functionaries of the state and who claim the right to take offence—often shrieking hysterically in a way that I would regard deserving of a slap—in order to bring us into line linguistically and, ultimately, mentally.
From a libertarian point of view, all forms of free speech are justifiable—including the worst racial epithets and insults. I hasten to add that the equal and opposite responses to those on the receiving end of insults are also justifiable. Logically, in a free society, a modus vivendi will be reached as people find it pointless engaging in arguments. We are told that young women—young English women—are wont to engage Africans and Asians on public transport in unproductive conversations about immigration, laden with expletives. This sort of thing, while being an exercise of free speech, has no upside, and I personally wouldn’t recommend it.
However, the theory of microaggressions has nothing to do with clearly insulting speech or behaviour, but rather a microscopic analysis of people’s language to see if any threadbare excuse for the taking of offence can be scraped together. This sort of thing amounts to non-offensive language and behaviour attracting synthetic outrage that cannot be accepted as sincere. Take a look here, where some examples of racial microaggressions are compiled by a US lecturer at Fordham University. We have:
- 1. An Oriental woman complaining about being asked, “where are you really from?”
- 2. Another woman complaining about being asked “what are you?”, presumably a question about her ethnic origin. Her answer is “being biracial doesn’t make me a ‘what’”.
- 3. Another woman is asked, “so what do you guys speak in Japan? Asian?”
- 4. A black man is told, “you don’t act like a normal black man, you know?”
- 5. A black woman is told, “I never see you as a black woman”. Her response: #openyoureyes.
- 6. A Mexican girl complains about being typecast as the best person to play Dora the Explorer in a school performance.
- 7. Another woman is asked, “you don’t speak Spanish?”
- 8. A white woman is told “no, you’re white”.
- 9. Another black man claims to be offended by being regarded as the voice of all black people in class, where he is the only black man.
- 10. Another black girl is told “you’re really pretty for a dark-skinned girl”.
- 11. An Oriental girl is asked if she can read a Chinese character on someone’s phone.
What stands out here is that none of the comments is racist. I doubt any one of these people’s interlocutors were envisaging cattle trucks to cart the minority people off to gas chambers, although those who allege there are such things as microaggressions do argue that these sorts of innocuous comments are akin to or the next best thing to fascism.
Ethnic-minority people do not belong to the indigenous ethnic group in Anglo-Saxon societies. And we may as well add that Anglo-Saxons are indigenous to North America, as more than half a millennium after John Cabot navigated Newfoundland in 1497 it would be absurd to argue any other point of view. Anyone who is ethnic-minority can expect to be asked where his ancestors came from. The question is normal, not aggressive and quite positive in tone. It evinces curiosity. Someone being flattered—overly flattered in my view—by being treated as the expert on black opinion on a subject should realize people are bending over backwards to be nice. It is not a microaggression to regard the sole black man in the class as providing a unique black view on a subject. A woman being told “I never see you as black” is the recipient of well-meaning comments by someone emphasizing that she is fully accepted in the social circle as a human being. There is no negative side to this. Presumably if this woman were told “I always regard you as different, because you are black”, she would complain about that too. The white woman told she is white is probably a fool who is one-sixty-fourth Cherokee trying to claim ethnic-minority privilege despite her obvious white credentials.
When it comes to microaggressions, the aggression is all one-sided. The 11 people cited above are the aggressors. They have bought into a mean and spiteful view of the world that seeks to create confrontation. They are the ones at fault, and a free society cannot be created without challenging their aggression.
Interestingly, this agenda is now found in the UK, where it is argued here that ethnic-minority lecturers are fleeing the country owing to the microaggressions that spoil their lives. It seems to pass them right by that universities are full to the brim with people falling over themselves not to be racist… Another example of vindictive and vituperative (and libellous) allegations of microaggression is the response of anti-rape campaigners to a police poster advising young people on a night out to stick together and not accidentally leave one of their party behind in case she is raped. It is ludicrous to suggest that the poster was offensive to women, and the response of several anti-rape charities should have led to them being stripped immediately of their charitable status. Take a look at the poster below are ask yourself if the poster is anti-women or an attempt to blame women for rape:
While the word “microaggression” was not used in that press report, this is an example of the same phenomenon: a ludicrously contorted attempt to find an excuse to generate synthetic outrage. Such behaviour is unacceptable in and inimical to a free society, and should be simply unlawful for charities to engage in.
The reason why these campaigners allege there is such a thing as microaggression is because they are running out of real examples of insulting behaviour. It is quite unusual to be insulted or treated badly on account of your race in the UK, which means that vindictive campaigners are moving on to treating positive, encouraging comments from well-meaning people as “racist” too. Unless we stand up for the right to free speech, including asking “are you Chinese?” of a person who looks Chinese, we simply won’t be able to restore freedom in this country, which is, after all, the central aim of these campaigners. They should stop their insolence—which is what claims of microaggression amount to—and try to integrate culturally into this country.
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