The history of "wh": a microaggression

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The history of "wh": a microaggression

Postby benji on Wed Jan 07, 2015 10:50 am

http://dailyprincetonian.com/opinion/20 ... ggression/

There is a town in that band that I call home, so I say my “wh”-words in the traditional way. I never thought twice about it before coming to New Jersey. Here, my peers make a spectacle of it. “Say Cool Whip,” they’ll tell me, in reference to the Family Guy gag in which one character pokes fun at another for his /hw/ pronunciations. I’ll say “Cool Whip.” They’ll repeat it back to me with exaggerated emphasis on the /h/. I’ve been pulled into this conversation several times now, and each time I grow a bit more self-conscious. Very few people like to have their speech mocked.

Now, I am sure the others never mean their offense. Therefore, I will play along and let them have their laugh. You wouldn’t know it from my columns, but I avoid confrontation when I can. Besides, this is not very important to me. I am a male and I am white, so I get less than my fair share of discrimination. I am ashamed to say that I have complained when I have had such fortune, but I must confess that I did. A friend of mine whom I quite like had put me through the “Cool Whip” routine, so I waited awhile and texted her this: “Making fun of regional speech is a microaggression.”

Again, I am ashamed of that text. But I learned a lot from her response. “Better put that on TM,” she said, referring to the Tiger Microaggressions page notorious for posting inoffensive “aggressions.” There came no apology or retraction. She really did not understand that she had caused any offense, even after I had plainly told her so. That is fine with me, and I don’t blame her one bit. If I were her, I am afraid I would not have understood either.

I mean it when I say I am afraid. I am afraid that I have spent eighteen years not understanding when I have said something offensive. I am afraid that I have unwittingly hurt the feelings of people so accustomed to microaggression that they did not bother to speak up. I am afraid that I would not have taken those people seriously if they had made a stand. And I am afraid I will do it all again. I am afraid because microaggressions aren’t harmless — there’s research to show that they cause anxiety and binge drinking among the minority students who are targeted.

To become more aware of my own shortcomings is a debt I owe to others, so please send me a message if I have ever hurt your feelings. I will do what I can to make it up to you. In the meantime, I ask that my readers try doing the same. You might be causing people offense without intending to. Understanding how others feel is hard for those of us who do not suffer discrimination often, but with a little conscious effort, we can start correcting our mistakes.

Newby Parton is a freshman from McMinnville, Tenn. He can be reached at newby@princeton.edu.
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Re: The history of "wh": a microaggression

Postby [Q] on Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:03 pm

Dear Newby:

Grow a pair, you insufferable, sniveling whinebag.

Sincerely,
America


Dear America:

I have a pair -- because the measure of a person's worth is their manliness, of course. Because I have a pair I emphasized that this microaggression is of no great importance to me. But a dozen microaggressions a day would be, so I draw attention to the issue for the sake of all the people who have been so beaten down that they no longer have the energy to stand.

Sincerely,
Newby

Lol he says he has a pair because it "is of no great importance" to him. But he's writing an article complaining about it "for the sake of all the people..."

riiiight.

As a minority I find this article offensive. You can change your speech patterns and the way you talk. You can't change your race. Hell, he could become a mute/mime and live a perfect life.
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Re: The history of "wh": a microaggression

Postby Andrew on Wed Jan 07, 2015 8:24 pm

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Conway Twitty!
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Re: The history of "wh": a microaggression

Postby bowdown on Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:04 pm

One commenter nailed it. Actually, several commenters nailed it but this is first hand experience for me

..Your statement is patently absurd and smacks of the typical modern-day academic who, in a perpetual quest to add meaning to an otherwise hollow and insignificant existence, must construct elaborate societal windmills at which to perpetually and quixotically tilt...


Another really good comment:

...But there's also a problem with a lot of these tactics, such as the screaming of 'microaggression' ultimately- they are thought policing. When you make people afraid of having opinions solely because they might be branded something as noxious as a 'micro-aggression', you've got a problem. You have moved away from healthy debate and into the realm of Sanctioned Expression versus Punished Expression. You can't have that framework in a free society.
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