Microaggressions are the base of judgmental words, actions, and statements. They shape who we are as people and how we perceive others. Some may get it worse than others, but we’re all to blame. We are to blame for potentially and sometimes unconsciously saying offensive things to people, and we are to blame for taking the offensive comments and not standing up for ourselves. These microaggressions form the racism that is still present to this day. It may not be as harmful or as aggressive as the racism America witnessed in the 1900s, but its effects still remain the same.

Claudia Rankine, in her lyrical poem Citizen, displays several forms of microaggressions throughout her writing. The microaggressions she mentions are modern day, real-life stories that black people have to deal with on a daily basis. Each microaggression is different based on the situation and effects each person in its own way. A microaggression that Rankine discusses is one that fits into the category of  “everyday comments” black people deal with. Rankine writes, “The real estate woman, who didn’t fathom she could have made an appointment to show her house to you, spends much of the walk-through telling your friend, repeatedly, how comfortable she feels around her. Neither you nor your friend bothers to ask who she is making her feel uncomfortable” (51). This comment, made by some ordinary real estate woman, is one that took me by surprise. In such a normal setting, simply doing a walkthrough for a house, this real estate woman still found a way to make the conversation uncomfortable and disrespectful. It’s shocking how naive some people can be to make these comments in front of a clear “outgroup”.

This conversation between this black woman and the realtor made me make a connection to Bobbie Harro’s, The Cycle of Socialization. In this article, Harro discusses the presence of social groups, specifically agents (the dominant group) and target groups (the subordinates).  Harro writes, “Agents have relatively more social power, and can “name” others. They are privileged at birth and ascribed access to options and opportunities, often without realizing it” (46). Clearly, the realtor in Rankine’s poem was the agent while the black woman was the target. The realtor knew her social status and knew it was above the black woman’s. She used her higher social power to justify her microaggression, completely ignoring the fact that her skin color doesn’t justify anything. Just because she is white doesn’t mean she can degrade and disrespect others of another race. Her comments were completely out of context and unnecessary and it saddens me to think that the woman being treated that way didn’t speak up for herself.

Another type of microaggression Rankine discusses in her lyrical poem is also shockingly ignorant in its own, more hurtful way than the first one mentioned. Rankine says, “And when the woman with the multiple degrees says, I didn’t know a black woman could get cancer, instinctively you take two steps though all urgency leaves the possibility of any kind of relationship as you realize nowhere is where you will get from here” (45). This comment is absurdly unnecessary and filled with complete stupidity. If this woman had taken two seconds to think about what she was saying before it came out of her mouth, she could have realized how idiotic she sounds. Instead, she decided to state the first thing on her mind and implemented a lasting memory of her comment on her victim. It’s ignorant, immature, and cruel statements like these that are dividing us as a community and society from one another.

Now the question is, how can we change or discontinue these hurtful comments? Through Rankine’s poems and her examples of microaggressions, it seems as though no one stands up for themselves. None of the bystanders step in and tell the commenter that they’re wrong. No one does anything to stop these microaggressions. Harro discusses this silence later on in her article of The Cycle of Socialization saying, “Many of us choose to do nothing because it is (for a while) easier to stay with what is familiar. Besides it is frightening to try to interrupt something so large,” she continues to write, “It goes on, and unless we choose to interrupt it, it will continue to go on. Our silence is constant. Until our discomfort becomes larger than our comfort, we will probably stay in this cycle” (50).  We choose to be silent because it is what we feel safe doing. Speaking out and stepping up for others can be intimidating and often frightening for some people to do, but it is something that needs to be done in order to change. Whenever there is a challenging obstacle to overcome, you must step out of your boundaries to conquer that obstacle. It is the same way with overcoming these microaggressions. Unless we step up, unless we decide to interrupt our silence, these cruel and hurtful comments will continue without anyone thinking anything of them. They will just continue to hurt people and we will continue procrastinating the problem.

Once we are able to understand that there is no one to point fingers at or to blame for the continuation of microaggressions, we can finally start to put an end to them. Blaming others won’t get us anywhere, but being aware of the situation and learning that everyone, the victim, bystander, etc. is affected by these comments will help put an end to them. Having the courage to stand up and speak out about these comments are what we need to be advocating to people in order for a change.