UNC claims Christmas vacations, golf outings are microaggressions

[UK2K]

So check this out... Now, keep in mind, the University of North Carolina has password protected its microaggressions guidelines after Campus Reform reported on them last Friday.

The guidelines, posted to UNC's Employee Forum website Thursday, warn against terms like "husband/boyfriend," "you guys," and "I love your shoes!"

Claiming that "I don't know any LGBTQ people" is also deemed problematic, apparently even if it is a true statement.

The document asserts, for instance, that “referring to ‘husband/boyfriend’ of women, ‘wife/girlfriend’ of men who are coworkers instead of partner/spouse … sets the expectation that people do not identify as LGBTQ until they say otherwise or disclose their sexual orientation.”

Similarly, saying “I don’t know any LGBTQ people” implies that “you have to openly declare your gender identity and sexual orientation for me to care about LGBTQ issues.”

So not knowing = not caring, I guess? I don't know anybody from WVa, but I care about their situation right now. Or am I not allowed?

Moreover, the guide adds that “addressing trans people with incorrect gender pronouns, calling them by former names, inquiring about their ‘real’ identity, asking them to explain their gender identity, and denying or failing to acknowledge their pronouns, name, or identity” suggests to the recipient that “as a trans person, you are inferior to and less authentic than cisgender (non-trans) people.”

If I ask where you bought your car, is that suggesting that your car is a piece of shit and mine is awesome?

Even a simple compliment like “I love your shoes,” at least when addressed to a woman in leadership during a Q&A after a speech, really means “I notice how you look and dress more than I value your intellectual contributions. How you look is really important.”

What if you really do like her shoes? Then what?

“Please stand and be recognized,” the school explains, “assumes that everyone is able in this way and ignores the diversity of ability in the space,” while using expressions such as “I’m totally OCD about my files” and “I get ADHD sometimes” “minimizes the experiences of people who live with mental health issues.”

Can you not tell someone you're tired? Because people with narcolepsy may take offense.

According to UNC, “having an office dress code that applies to men and women differently assumes that your staff fits into one of two gender categories; can also be a violation of anti-discrimination policies.”

For the same reason, the guide adds, “only having ‘man’/’woman’ or ‘male’/‘female’ as options for gender on forms” constitutes a microaggression because it means that one “must fit in the gender binary and select among these predefined categories.”

So... men should be able to wear skirts and halter tops. So we're all equal.

Suggesting that the staff play golf at a retreat is also a microaggression, UNC contends, since it “assumes employees have the financial resources/exposure to a fairly expensive and inaccessible sport.”

What activity requires absolutely $0? Any event will cost me gas money to get to, and I may not have it. But, to stay at home and communicate via phone/internet means I am able to pay my phone bill, but in fact, I may not be able to.

Race and national origin are apparently fraught topics, as well, leading UNC to recommend that individuals neither ask too many questions about those topics nor remain ignorant about them.

“When I look at you, I don’t see color” is a microaggression, for instance, because it constitutes “minimizing/denying a person of color’s racial/ethnic experiences,” as is asking to touch a black person’s hair, because it implies that they are foreign and exotic.

Suggesting you are not racist actually means you are racist. And if you don't acknowledge someone is black, that means you don't care about their heritage.

“How did you get here?” constitutes a national origin microaggression because it acknowledges that some “immigrants get to this country illegally,” while asking “Where are you from?” implies that “you are not American and do not belong to this community.”

To the point above, DO NOT ASK ABOUT THEIR HERITAGE. Got it? Ask about their heritage to show you care, but do not ask about their heritage.

Meanwhile, telling a foreign-born person that “you speak English really well!” suggests that “if you are born anywhere ‘foreign,’ you cannot speak English well,” and thus is also a microaggression.

Holy ****. Did you all get that? When we used to make fun of these 'microagression' guidelines a few years back, we used to talk about how stupid and over the top we could make them. Almost like a parody... I can literally get offended by any sentence ever written if I really wanted to. We'd make fun of people like that.

Yet here we are... It's come full circle.

Ok, good luck not offending anyone today!

[highwhey]

[Akrazotile]

We should just stop sending kids to these loony bins.

[highwhey]

We should just stop sending kids to these loony bins.

we should send them to Yosemite instead,

[UK2K]

we should send them to Yosemite instead,

Not everybody has the financial means to make it to Yosemite.

Also, some people are actually allergic to grass.

There must be a safer place somewhere.

[Dresta]

How about we take the University population, put them in the army, and send them to the Middle East? Bet they won't be bitching about this nonsense after that.