Before I begin, let me first of all take a moment to quickly say something that is totally a political. Recently there was an unexpected death in my family which as some folks know are the basis for the second type of Black Family Reunion. I mention this because one of my cousin's whom I had not seen in 20 years said that he actually reads my blog. _ I was floored to say the least.. So to that end I want to dedicate this entry not only to him but my cousin who passed away at the age of 40. -- Now on to business.
Flying back from the funeral, my flight was delayed. (Why should I be surprised in this day of the dysfunctional airline system) That said, I took an opportunity to continue studying for my comprehensives scheduled late this month. I was reading works by critical race scholars Richad Delgado and Jean Stefancic and I came across an interesting term; Microagression. According to their rendering, it represents a term from sociologist reflecting the sudden moments of dispiriting reactions to white (folk) oppression. In my speak, it's like the ice cold water hitting you in the face totally out of nowhere making you say DAYMUN. Many of us have experienced this but we just didn't have a name for it yet. What is important is that microagressions are not exclusively limited to people of color but more-so anyone who represents the traditionally marginalized. If you've read this far you might be asking, why is this important? I think for me, it is important because the microgression has the potential to become a macroagression if not contained at the start. My grandfather always said, Foolishness gets foolishness. Again in Russspeak, BS always becomes MS if not checked PDQ. To me, what is what whiteness represents: Unchecked BS which has been enabled to innocuously proliferate into the structures we live and are governed by with deliberate impunity. See it's easy for a white person who was born into wealth and social status to say and do virtually anything in America and instantly side step it. However, when potential first lady Michele Obama makes a statement, for the first time in my life I truly feel American, the statement is forensically analyzed. Why, could be because she is black and her husband is running for the title of “The Head White Man in Charge” also know as the President. I really wouldn’t have made too much of a big deal about this were it not for the fact that I have experienced a few of these episodes myself, so much to the point where I actually thought I was going through another acute case of WPFS (white people fatigue syndrome). Take for example one day when my son and I were leaving the parking lot. As I am trying patiently put him in his car seat, up comes roaring convertible BMW which barely misses us. I calmly keep my mind quiet and my words to myself because I know that coming from my lips will be a stream of absurdities. For some reason I recognize the social dynamics at play. This woman (white folk woman) and her teen age son simply did not see us. Again, I go back to the elisonian form of invisibility. Black people are just not visible to white folks. Because of that, the life of my son as well as mine are thrust into peril. In their minds, we just don’t matter. Needless to say I was fuming. To really go off and express myself the way I need to, not only just to get the frustrations and tensions off of my chest, but to constructively and directly assert our presence presents a serious challenge. At that moment, to go off and ackafool, (ackafool means to be exponentially belligerent abusive and threatening) places me at risk for being categorized as a stereotypical uneducated negro they see on TV. My family and I have worked too hard for me to wind up in jail for aggressively checking the glands of some Lilliputian Caucasian female I may never see in this lifetime again. So now that I have identified how microagression works when confronted by the asinine the question now turns to how to counter the microagression so that episode becomes a teaching episode. NOTE: word of caution—teaching is meant for ourselves, those who are opponents of white supremacy. Replaying the episode in my mind this is the approach I think I should have taken:
Approach the car and driver in a non threatening manner. (Hands may need to be above head)
Project in your voice a calm yet controlling tone. It is important that you control the situation on your terms.
Awareness. You should do your best to make the person aware of your presence. Something like this would be appropriate: “Excuse me, I am sorry to bother you but are you aware that you almost hit my son and me?”
Control the situation. The natural reaction could take a plethora of avenues so it is important that you maintain control of the situation. As they say something like I didn’t see you, your response should be in this manner. “I completely understand, I really do, these things happen. Were I in your position, I probably wouldn’t have seen me either. African Americans pose a serious problem for the inattentive driver especially at night.”
Transgress. In the traditional sense, one would think of transgression as being uppity. There is no need to be uppity as long as we can transgress with compassion through an educatory means. By this time the individual has been taken so far aback, your next words should drop them like a feather. Your follow up would be something like this. “I know it’s a bit of a bother, possibly a bit of an anomaly, but we are human, at least in the legal sense, very much like yourself. It would mean a lot to me and those who are like me if you would use your vehicle for it’s intended purpose as opposed to a vehicular weapon of mass destruction. Thank you for your time and have a good day.”
I sincely think that taking these five steps will certainly aid in the microagression cycle and really has the potential to defuse the acute cases of White People (now known as Folk) Fatigue Syndrome—WF2-S (White Folk Fatigue Syndrome)
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