Scene from a video comparing micro-aggression with mosquito bites. Most people will agree that discriminating micro-aggression is not okay. But how do you fight it, and what options do you, as an individual, have? And why must institutes like WUR and Wageningen City lower the threshold for people to act against it? These were the main topics during a joint session in Impulse last Monday, organised by WUR and Wageningen municipality.
The session kicked off with a mini-lecture on micro-aggression delivered by Pravini Baboeram of ECHO (Expertise Center for Diversity Policy). Micro-aggression occurs when statements or jokes are made that are based on stereotypes and identify someone as being “different”. Although the intentions are not always harmful, the effects are. Baboeram illuminated this through a video in which expressions of micro-aggression are compared to mosquito bites: one bite is bearable, but being bitten repeatedly is restrictive and can drive a person into a frenzy.
The mosquito metaphor was often repeated that afternoon. A common thread during the group discussion led by PhD student Joshua Wambugu (Resource readers know him as a columnist) was: what can bystanders do to stop the “biting”, and how do you address the “mosquitoes”? Additionally, how can bystanders make the harmful effects of their behaviour clear to the victims if even the victims of their actions downplay the gravity of the offence, which occurs frequently due to cultural differences? Baboeram offered various options (see box). ‘Whichever you choose, addressing a stigmatising comment will always have an effect’, she stressed.
Strength in numbers
Although individuals can certainly make a difference, she also acknowledged that the concept of the active bystander focuses on individual responsibility. ‘The change an individual can make is limited.’ The discussion then shifted to the joint responsibility of WUR and the Wageningen municipality as institutions with considerable influence on the social climate. ‘The support provided by the environment can make a big difference for an individual wanting to speak against micro-aggressions’, Baboeram underscored.
It is much easier to speak up against micro-aggressions in a culture in which giving feedback is considered completely normal
Joyce van der Velden (social safety coordinator) agreed. ‘It is much easier to speak up against micro-aggressions in a culture in which giving feedback is considered completely normal’. Alderman Guido van Vulpen also envisioned a role for ‘his’ organisation, particularly as Wageningen is a city with a highly volatile population with many residents coming and going. He explained that some ten per cent of the population of Wageningen is new each year. And the newcomers will feel much more at home if the “mosquitoes” refrain from continuously reminding them that they are new.
Courses
Plenty of reasons to make more efforts to create an environment where it feels safe to speak up against stigmatisation or discrimination, the audience concluded. How precisely is not yet clear. ‘WUR should have every employee and student attend an event such as this’, one member of the audience stated. Someone else called on the individual. ‘We are so engulfed by our work here that we forget to consider how we can be a good human being. Let’s take more time for that, especially with all the concerns over what is going on in the world.’ Monday’s session was part of the Week against Racism.
More activities are planned for Thursday and Friday: a Mobile Media Lab and a panel discussion on solutions.
Active bystander
The six options suggested by Pravini Baboeram for active bystanders to respond when someone near you is faced with a well-intentioned but painful stereotype and responds with ‘You can’t say anything these days, don’t be so sensitive.’
Address: ‘I feel uncomfortable about what is happening here.’
Challenge: ‘I don’t feel that what is happening here is okay.’
Question: ‘What do you mean exactly?’
Educate: ‘This is what your comment causes, and that is not all right.’
Check: ‘Am I hearing this correctly? Do you really mean to say that…?’
State the standard: ‘What you are doing is not okay.’
