Page 79 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

The Catch-22 of Responding to Microaggressions 53

reminded that history books never taught them about the contributions of
their groups and when they are presented, it is often a dysfunctional or path-
ological portrayal. They may be reminded of the lack of positive images of
people of color on television or in the media, or that they were once enslaved,
placed in internment camps, and had their land taken from them. Again, one
can hardly compare being “ offended ” by political bumper stickers to such
experiences.
Second, Schacht (2008) claims that our analysis is one - sided, dubbing
Whites as perpetrators. He likens microaggressions to an “ interpersonal and
psychodynamic dance ” and states that whenever two people engage in such
an unconscious interaction “ neither party is merely a perpetrator and . . . .
in meaningful ways both are victims. ” Thomas (2008) also harps on this
theme as he asserts that contrary to our negative views of racism, which
he labels “ victim philosophy, ” we should instead focus on positive human
nature, client assets, and potential solutions. These are ludicrous statements
because they divert and dilute responsibility for racism. An interpersonal
“ dance ” analysis fails to consider that a dance between two people is often
characterized by an unequal status relationship; someone leads. His think-
ing would lead us to conclude that people of color contribute equally to
their oppression. Taken to its logical consequence, for example, the inter-
personal dance advocated by Schacht would actually suggest that a 7 - year -
old daughter who is sexually molested by her father actually contributes to
her own victimization. In other words, this interpretation not only has the
perpetrator “ blaming the victim, ” but it also has the perpetrator “ playing
the victim ” !
The perception of minimal harm from microaggressions is a psychologi-
cal dilemma frequently encountered by people of color, women, and LGBTs
when they try to discuss the harmful impact of a microaggressive encounter.
On the surface, at times, such singular incidents of microaggressions can
appear quite innocuous and innocent, but they nevertheless contribute to
major harm for the recipients.

THE CATCH - 22 OF RESPONDING
TO MICROAGGRESSIONS

When a potential microaggression occurs, the recipient is placed in a very

unenviable position, or a catch - 22. In the case of the flight attendant ’ s request

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