Students at Virginia Tech ahave compiled a list of 50 “microaggressions” that they find unacceptable for use in conversation.
The phrases were gathered by members of the campus NAACP student group, the Muslim Student Association, and the Jewish Student Union. Some of the “microaggressions” were plastered around campuses on posters, each of which displayed a different phrase deemed to be unacceptable by the student groups.
Interestingly, Derald Wing Sue, a professor of psychology at Columbia University and an early architect of microaggression theory, claims that students and administrators have misunderstood his theory. Professor Sue claims that he doesn’t necessarily believe people who commit microaggressions are bigoted or prejudiced. He expressed concern that microaggression theory was being used to shame and punish those who have made questionable remarks that weren’t maliciously-intended. He claims that his goal was to educate people, rather than punish them.
“It should have been a campaign to promote common decency, but beneath the surface, it plays into their own scornful agendas,” Virginia Tech senior Nicholas Korpics claimed. “The minority groups on campus, especially within the leftist-queer community, have little to no intentions of reconciling with their ‘oppressors.’ They just want to isolate themselves and then say nasty things about people who oppress them.”
“She’s so bipolar,” and asking if there will be pinatas at a party were examples of the “offensive” phrases included on the list.
Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about Free Speech and Intellectual Diversity for Breitbart. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com
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