Imagine a culture that could permit something this biased, divisive, reductive and vile to get funded, green-lighted, produced and used.
Never mind: you don’t need to imagine it. That culture’s here.
Now what?
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Ethics Alarms 
The video never mentions those mosquitos who go out of their way to avoid anyone who might be in a minority intersection because of fear of getting swatted.
Okay, that was terrible, so I’ll ditch the metaphor.
What about people who decide that any interaction is too risky, because everything could be taken as something racist/sexist/phobic/etc? Don’t they realize that by making every interaction a high-risk event, it drives people away and widens the gulf between people?
What I find irritating about this is the assumption that only racial or sexual minorities suffer microaggressions. Parents of lots of kids get that. Homeschoolers get that. Catholics get that. Most of us realize that people aren’t intending to be mean or hateful or divisive, and we’re willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, and that by saying something, they’re trying to bridge the gulf and actually engage in relationship building.
Ok, I have to admit it, that video made me laugh. It was so over the top stupid, that it felt like a Babylon Bee satirical video about liberal suburban women. Also, the video suggests that going postal on white people is understandable, since all the oppression and whatnot. How can you blame them? Apparently “ISD721” is in New Prague, MN, outside of St George Floydville, formerly known as Minneapolis, so Forget it Jake, it’s BLM-town. Also, Ibram X Kendi would be proud, a production worthy of the BU Dept of Antiracist Grifting seal of approval.
Does New Prague independent school district receive federal funds. If so do I have standing to sue?
The flamethrowers are a bit crass, but other than that it’s a decent metaphor for humans who make assumptions about others without leaving room to be corrected, or who are otherwise thoughtless and annoying. Humans do need to learn to be mindful of and empathetic towards other people’s experiences, in the vein of David Foster Wallace’s “This Is Water.”
And yes, they would have done well to show that people can become metaphorical mosquitoes in different contexts (e.g. both sides of a technical support call). I would like to assume a different video in this series teaches people how not to be mosquitoes, i.e. how to not be stupid and rude to people, regardless of the context. (The important thing is to invite people to tell you if your assumptions are incorrect. Humans who start from an incorrect assumption and launch monologues from there are among the most annoying and contemptible, and in my opinion they are among the most dangerous as a group.)
I would also like to assume that there is a video teaching people how to deal with annoying ignoramuses. I realize not everyone can wield deconstruction as well as I can, but they should at least cover the basics: Slow the conversation down (tone policing can be used for establishing and maintaining rationality, not just for ignoring things you don’t want to hear), identify an assumption the person is making, and call it into question either logically or emotionally. Some of the characters in the video demonstrated decent starts to the deconstruction process. Done skillfully, it is not only effective but also extremely satisfying. Getting a human to realize how silly they are being and feel ashamed of themselves is a good deeds for society that warms the heart. Just be careful that it doesn’t become so fun that one tries to make people feel ashamed of completely innocuous behavior.
In short, this video is one of those piece of rhetoric that captures the problem well but stops short of providing constructive solutions. I do appreciate that they had the sense to at least avoid providing destructive ones. “Be mindful of how annoying you might be and how much others are dealing with annoying people,” is at least a good start, if nothing else.
On a completely separate note, did WordPress change comment notifications so that instead of only being notified of other comments on specific posts we commented on, we get notified of all comments on any posts? That seems like an obviously bad move.
(The number of obviously bad moves WP’s progammers make is too large to enumerate.)
The main problem with the video is that it focuses on “the sinner” rather than “the sin.” Most of these “microaggressions” are just ethics alarms failing to ping, or being misadjusted—or in some cases, hypersensitivity. Why assume that someone who asks about an accent is implying you “don’t belong here”?
Another unethical aspect of the video is that it, as is the current trend in Woke World and the Age of the Great Stupid, tells us that disagreeing with politically correct cant is wrong and hurtful. Tradition is a fair reason to want to keep a team name like “Redskins” that was never intended as an ethnic insult nor taken as one until some decided that it was a chance to play victim and gain some power.
Then there’s the implication that only those “of color” are plagued by socially clumsy and rude people. I know all Earthling probably look the same to you, but how could you have missed that charming (and bigoted) feature?
I’m inclined to agree on most of your points. The answer to your question is that they are trying to draw attention to socially clumsiness and rudeness in the social contexts of ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and disability, rather than in general contexts, because they see those contexts as especially important. Those contexts have pronounced effects on many people, after all. The video creators likely figure if they can focus people’s attention to reflect on those contexts, they can have a larger positive impact than if they ask people to reflect on their social interactions in general.
I’m not sure I agree with them on that point, though. I think you and I may agree that it would be more effective to provide examples of rudeness whether or not there’s “privilege” involved, and to then help people understand the general principles of respect, empathy, and challenging one’s assumptions that would help any of those situations. It would help put people’s grievances in perspective so they feel less insurmountable.
That said, I don’t think it’s fair to call the video creators bigoted just because their video is more focused on a particular set of situations than may be effective.
How does that sound?
I have to disagree with EC this time when he says it captures the problem. I asked a couple on the trail yesterday where the were from and neither found fault because they were white. I asked because many from out of town frequent the rail trail. I found out they were from Baltimore where I grew up. It appears that if I ask where anyone hails from is a micro aggression.
Do micro aggressions occur only to those sensitive beings who have found that complaining they are victims or can those that claim victim hood be just as guilty in different ways toward those he or she claims are the victimizers?
Why can’t I say that POC’s who decide to intimidate drivers by waiting til the light changes to saunter through the crosswalk knowing drivers must wait is a micro aggression? How about being ignored in a fast food joint when the black employee waits on the person of similar race who entered the store after you? What of claims by POC’s about white privilege? Is that just as, if not more, annoying than some of the examples listed.
How exactly does the author determine that one racial group is relatively unaffected by the bites? If only one side keeps score of perceived slights because they have learned to use it as a cudgel should we advocate the other side become vocal about perceptions of slights to them to get a more accurate assessment of the problem.
I realized after writing the above, those victims of microaggressions simply need to learn how the group that the video makers say don’t get bitten as often handle socially clumsy, rude, and nasty people. That method has worked for me it’s called turn the other cheek and mutter “ASSHOLE” under my breath and then forget it.
Just yesterday I re-read the ten stages of genocide developed by Gregory Stanton.
This production is solidly and completely within stage four.
> One group denies the humanity of the other group. Members of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects, or diseases.
It would be interesting to know when the teachers had this training. Could it be in response to this incident? https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/investigation-into-alleged-racist-behavior-at-new-prague-basketball-game-complete/89-53face85-02d8-4b34-90dd-1f9fe66f431f
Unbelievable tripe in the complaining schools response:
“We also refused to subject our student athletes and additional staff members to questioning by their investigators – a process that would have forced students and staff to relive their traumatic experience,…”
While today’s New Prague report does not substantiate the allegations, Superintendent Dittberner emphasizes the results “neither negate the lived experiences of Robbinsdale-Cooper student-athletes and staff…”
They refuse to aid the investigation, and choose fantasy over facts.