Microaggression - a real thing?

[MajGenl.Meade]

At the University of North Carolina, it’s not just the students walking on politically correct eggshells.

Guidelines issued on the university’s Employee Forum aim to help staff avoid microaggressions in their interactions by cautioning against offensive phrases such as “Christmas vacation,” “husband/boyfriend” and “golf outing.”

The guidebook, first reported by Campus Reform, categorizes examples of potential microaggressions by “social identity group,” including race, gender and sexual orientation.

Under the “Religion” tab, the guidebook says organizing vacations around Christian holidays further “centers the Christian faith and minimizes non-Christian spiritual rituals and observances.”

With regard to “gender” microaggressions, the guidelines discourage comments such as “I love your shoes!” to female colleagues or otherwise complimenting the appearance of women.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... tmas-vaca/

[Lord Jim]

Oh brother...

And people wonder why there's such a backlash in this country against "political correctness" ...

[Bicycle Bill]

Who in the hell are you going to upset, put down, or marginalize by calling something a "golf outing", especially if you ARE in fact going out to play golf?

On second thought, I don't think I really want to know.  This sort of   pisses me off too much already, and any more of this nonsense might just tip me over the edge.

-"BB"-

[Big RR]

Well, if you can out golf--who/what else can you out?

[Lord Jim]

any more of this nonsense might just tip me over the edge.

You might want to be careful and take a deep breath Bill...

Because if there's thing we can be virtually certain of, it is that there will in fact be more of this nonsense...

Depend on it...

[rubato]

Microagressions like using penicillin? Food irradiation?

well?

yrs,
rubato

[BoSoxGal]

It's kind of ridiculous to hold up university communities as emblematic of PC speech/rules in today's world. The real world is vastly different than academia so the vast majority of people aren't affected by this story except to decry something that doesn't impact them.

[Big RR]

Perhaps, but then there was a time when universities were bastions of free speech and marketplaces of new ideas. Places where anything could be, and was, said, where issues were openly discussed and debated, and where may ideas were initiated and ultimately took flight into the rest of the community. Stifling that by implementing PC speech codes, however well intended, has a much more far reaching impact than just in the university community. Hence, I think discussion of these policies is the business of the community at large.

[dales]

....except to decry something that doesn't impact them.

Yeah like war, famine and pestilence.......why should I care?

Required reading soon coming to a campus near you.

[rubato]

Perhaps, but then there was a time when universities were bastions of free speech and marketplaces of new ideas. Places where anything could be, and was, said, where issues were openly discussed and debated, and where may ideas were initiated and ultimately took flight into the rest of the community. Stifling that by implementing PC speech codes, however well intended, has a much more far reaching impact than just in the university community. Hence, I think discussion of these policies is the business of the community at large.

All of those things are still true except the babies and whiners are complaining louder and louder that stupid ideas are called stupid. There is no such thing as 'PC-ism'.

yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

Perhaps, but then there was a time when universities were bastions of free speech and marketplaces of new ideas. Places where anything could be, and was, said, where issues were openly discussed and debated, and where may ideas were initiated and ultimately took flight into the rest of the community. Stifling that by implementing PC speech codes, however well intended, has a much more far reaching impact than just in the university community. Hence, I think discussion of these policies is the business of the community at large.

Well said, excellent points. (Gee we seem to be agreeing a lot today, Big RR...one of us must be wrong... )

It's kind of ridiculous to hold up university communities as emblematic of PC speech/rules in today's world. The real world is vastly different than academia so the vast majority of people aren't affected by this story except to decry something that doesn't impact them.

I'm sorry but when this kind of brain-dead crap is being pushed at major institutions of higher learning, I think there's definitely the potential for a broader negative societal impact...

Plus it's very unsettling to me that morons with the type of "mind-set" to come up with this garbage are in positions of authority at these institutions...

I wouldn't hire these types to run a bath, much less a University...

[Lord Jim]

There is no such thing as 'PC-ism'.

I'm not surprised to see you say that rube...

It's been my experience that most people who approve of PC-ism like to claim that it doesn't exist...

What is kind of surprising is that a person as congenitally rude and insulting as you would be a PCer in the first place...

I guess it has to do with your sense of elitism (a lot of elitists are PCers) and your delusions about being some sort of "enlightened" person...(Many PCer's hold the delusion that they are some how morally and/or intellectually superior...of course in reality they are neither...)

[Big RR]

All of those things are still true except the babies and whiners are complaining louder and louder that stupid ideas are called stupid

Calling ideas stupid is fine, as is calling the people who say an idea is stupid a whiner or a baby. But restricting language does nothing less than restrict ideas. By all means encourage politeness and concern about the feelings of others, but demanding these things is just stupid, and something that can have far reaching negative effects. It's certainly not something that belongs on university campuses.

[Scooter]

Tempest, meet teapot.

This was an opinion piece posted by someone on the blog of the university's staff association. It was never even so much as proposed as any sort of policy or guideline. We can't read it now as it has been taken down, but if it is anything like other stuff I have read, it is about making people aware of how their use of language can unintentionally cause discomfort. For example, asking a female colleague about her husband/boyfriend, when unbeknownst to you she is a lesbian, puts her in the position of either having to disclose more to you than she may be willing, or to lie.

The only people's speech that was censored was that of its authors, as the piece was taken down when mischief makers began reporting about it as if it was university policy.

So much for the free expression of ideas.

[Sue U]

Tempest, meet teapot.

When I saw that the source in the OP was the Washington Tiimes, I gave it all the credence it was due. A half-step above the Daily Mail, a half-step below Fox News, undoubtedly slanted and probably wrong.

[Big RR]

Tempest, meet teapot.

This was an opinion piece posted by someone on the blog of the university's staff association. It was never even so much as proposed as any sort of policy or guideline. We can't read it now as it has been taken down, but if it is anything like other stuff I have read, it is about making people aware of how their use of language can unintentionally cause discomfort. For example, asking a female colleague about her husband/boyfriend, when unbeknownst to you she is a lesbian, puts her in the position of either having to disclose more to you than she may be willing, or to lie.

The only people's speech that was censored was that of its authors, as the piece was taken down when mischief makers began reporting about it as if it was university policy.

So much for the free expression of ideas.

Scooter--my understanding from the OP is that it summarized the UNC guidelines; when I read the full story (which I probably should have done in the first place), it did say that the guidelines do not present University policy (Thanks for pointing that out ). In light of this, I withdraw my comments; I fully agree that persons should be able to say what they want, and if it did not try and present itself as university policy, that the post should not have been taken down.

[Crackpot]

Then again the marketplace of ideas did show what this one was worth.

[Scooter]

No, I don't think it showed that at all, because it was being painted as some sort of code of conduct when it was nothing of the sort.

[rubato]

Evidence of "political correctness" = Zero


Evidence that the right-wing crank press invented "political correctness" as a pure strawman = 1


yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

For example, asking a female colleague about her husband/boyfriend, when unbeknownst to you she is a lesbian, puts her in the position of either having to disclose more to you than she may be willing, or to lie.

Sort of like asking a recovering alcoholic if they want a beer, when you have no idea whether or not they are an alcoholic.
They (the person being asked) needs to get over it. 99.99999999% of the time they mean nothing sinister by the question.

And as far as the NC guidlines, it's a bunch of rubbish. How does saying Christmas Vacation diminish other religions?
Or how is telling a lady that you like her shoes a micro aggression!?!?!?

Life is going to be uncomfortable at times. If you let comments like "Nice Shoes" make you uncomfortable, how are you going to handle things that are really uncomfortable.

And for a university to even write this stuff down well......... I think those in charge need exposure to some things that are really uncomfortable.