America’s universities have apparently not tired of treating their students like wayward kindergartners who must have their feelings protected at all costs. Instead of following the old playbook of teaching these young adults how to cope with the fact that others will disagree with them, mock them, and perhaps even insult them – a fact that some might call “reality” – they are bending over backwards to construct a fantasy world for them where they never have to endure the humiliation of the dreaded MICROAGGRESSION.
If you’re not familiar with this scourge, the University of Arizona defines microaggressions as “the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.”
If you’ve kept your ear to the leftist ground for the last few years, you may have come across some of the more absurd examples of these microaggressions. They can range from asking a tall woman how the weather is up there to wearing an offensive Halloween costume. Actually, there is no limit to their range, except that they can never be used to target a white, straight, conservative male. If you belong to any other “marginalized group” – which, as far as the left is concerned, you do – then virtually any insult against you can fall into this category. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be an insult. One of your rights as an oppressed minority is that you are above criticism or argument. If you say it’s so, it’s so.
The University of Arizona now has a cute little system in place to deal with these microaggressions.
From Fox News:
It recently distributed a 20-page booklet suggesting to faculty that when a student is victimized by a microaggression the appropriate response should be saying “ouch.” And the correct response for the offender should be saying “oops,” according to the guide.
“If a student feels hurt or offended by another student’s comment, the hurt student can say ‘ouch.’ In acknowledgement, the student who made the hurtful comment says “oops.” If necessary, there can be further dialogue about this exchange.”
We’re all for universities who want to improve civil discourse on campus, but this is more insulting than any microaggression a frat boy could ever come up with. “Oops”? “Ouch”? Are they quite serious??
The civil rights movement used to stand for minority empowerment. Now, it seems to want to infantilize women, blacks, and gays and coddle them from cradle to grave. The bigotry of low expectations has taken over on the academic left.
Not by accident, we suspect.
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