A lot of dangerous professions (the military, firefighting, ect) have reputations for hazing. And while it has some societal reasons, establishing hierarchy and whatnot, it's primary purpose is to push the newbie's buttons until they no longer work. Logic being, if someone flies into a mindless rage upon hearing a graphically detailed sexual fantasy involving their mother, how are they going to be able to do their jobs when bullets start flying? Simplistic, but effective when done well and for the right reasons. It's an inoculation against stress, knowing harder things are to come.
Microaggressions and their treatment work on the exact opposite principle. The smaller and more trivial an offense is registered, then the stress that can be exerted on that person increases. And the affects of that have disturbing implications.
The last parallel I found was in 16th century France. Height of the dueling craze. Proving one's honor and nobility became harder and harder with the rise of the merchant class. When anyone who sold enough wool could have a sword and a coat of arms, what made you better than them? Thus dueling evolved from a way to solve a judicial conflict into a way to settle matters of "honor," which ranged from talking smack about one's lady to whether their clothes were in fashion. By the tail end of the craze, a third of France's noblemen were dead.
We see it in other cultures today. Being asked out by a guy and turning him down in parts of India is an offense worthy of having acid thrown in the face of the young lady who dares.
Here, on the other hand, we're turning to a shaming mob to get our justice, rather than our judicial system. Some pizza joint in east bumblefuck that's never catered since they opened wouldn't cater a gay wedding? Form an internet mob and force them to close and the owners to go into hiding.
This is why treating microagressions seriously is a bad thing. They spawn epidemics of hatred when encouraged.
Microaggressions and their treatment work on the exact opposite principle. The smaller and more trivial an offense is registered, then the stress that can be exerted on that person increases. And the affects of that have disturbing implications.
The last parallel I found was in 16th century France. Height of the dueling craze. Proving one's honor and nobility became harder and harder with the rise of the merchant class. When anyone who sold enough wool could have a sword and a coat of arms, what made you better than them? Thus dueling evolved from a way to solve a judicial conflict into a way to settle matters of "honor," which ranged from talking smack about one's lady to whether their clothes were in fashion. By the tail end of the craze, a third of France's noblemen were dead.
We see it in other cultures today. Being asked out by a guy and turning him down in parts of India is an offense worthy of having acid thrown in the face of the young lady who dares.
Here, on the other hand, we're turning to a shaming mob to get our justice, rather than our judicial system. Some pizza joint in east bumblefuck that's never catered since they opened wouldn't cater a gay wedding? Form an internet mob and force them to close and the owners to go into hiding.
This is why treating microagressions seriously is a bad thing. They spawn epidemics of hatred when encouraged.
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