Lucas, Carrie Ann. "Microaggressions, Macroaggressions and Disability."Disability Pride. N.p., 19 Sept. 2015. Web.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a queer disabled woman, I experience both macro and micro aggressions on a regular basis.  Microaggressions are behaviors or statements that do not necessarily reflect malicious intent but which nevertheless can inflict insult or injury. Each time we hear these things, they are like a little jab to our souls.  They serve to remind us that we are less than the micro-aggressor.  Over time, they take a stifling toll on each of us.  Every time someone chooses to interact with me by just making a comment like “Want to race? or “You drive that thing well.” I am reminded that I am seen for my disability first, and the person interacting with me, while trying to be polite, is unable to see past my disability in any way when interacting with me.

Macro aggressions are, on the other hand, are actions that  are meant to exclude, either by action or omission. Not complying with disability rights laws is a macro aggression.  The Americans with Disabilities Act has been law for more than 25 years, the Fair Housing Act for more than 27, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for  more than 40 years, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation has been law for more than 42 years.  At this point, decades after all these laws were passed, any failure to comply is either a willful attempt to evade the law, or due to willful ignorance.

Avoiding microaggressions is not a matter of political correctness, but rather constructive engagement of differences.  It is in part a function of being polite, and being cognizant of how one’s words affect others.  It is, not an attempt at totalitarianism, but instead a way to connect with others — particularly others who are different from oneself —  in ways that affirm the importance of relationships. Avoiding macroaggressions is all of the above, plus complying with the law.

I was recently asked to give some examples of the macro and micro aggressions I face on a daily, weekly, and  monthly basis.  Here are twenty of each experienced recently or regularly.

Microaggressions

• Telling a disabled person “you are so inspiring/amazing/capable” (sometimes in combination) — usually while doing mundane things like buying dog food, or pushing my daughter’s wheelchair

• Telling a wheelchair user “you drive that thing well” referring to my wheelchair (also “How fast does that thing go,” “Want to race,” “Can I hitch a ride,” Do you have a license  to drive that thing,” “You need a backup beeper on that thing.”)

• Using the accessible restroom stall when you are physically capable of using the non-accessible stalls without pain or risk of injury.

• Talking very slooowwwllly to me or my children

• Asking my attendants what I want to order in a restaurant

• Using baby talk with my 25 and 16 year olds

• Refusing to repeat oneself when I am unable to understand them

• Saying “What are you deaf?” when I don’t understand what they are saying

• Sighing and complaining when behind my daughter driving her wheelchair slowly

• Asking “what’s wrong with her?” when referring to my daughter

• Revving your engine and honking your horn when I cross the street

• Telling me “I could never do all you do” (referring to the fact that I work, am raising children, and am slightly active in my community — a task millions of American women do)

• Asking a disabled person “Do you know [random disabled individual in some distant city]?”

• Saying “She’s so high/low functioning”

• Saying “I don’t even think of you as disabled”

• Wearing scented body products in areas labeled as scent free

• Complaining about having to accommodate another child’s nut allergy

• Calling a situation “retarded”

• Telling a wheelchair user their chair takes up too much space or is in the way

• Complaining about how long it takes to deploy the wheelchair lift on a city bus

 

Macroaggressions

• Spending tens of thousands of dollars to modify a building for a new business, but not adding a ramp for the single step into the building.

• Holding bar association meetings in the inaccessible homes of members.

• Parking illegally in an accessible parking space — even if just for a minute

• Blocking access to accessible restrooms with mops, trash cans, and other debris.

• Narrow store aisles, or placing displays in store aisles blocking access

• Building websites that are inaccessible to people who use screen readers

• Refusing to provide wheelchair access claiming “We are grandfathered in.”

• Calling a person “retarded”

• Questioning my little person adult daughter’s ability to order a drink, even when she provides her ID

• Building restaurants with only high tables, or seating areas up a step

• Not having the lowered customer service counter open in a store

• Refusing to allow a disabled person to make access modifications to her home

• Refusing to allow a service animal in a vacation rental

• Refusing to provide sign language interpreters for attorney-client meetings

• Refusing to allow wheelchair users to fly on an airplane

• Not maintaining wheelchair lifts on buses

• Protesting a group home being opened in your neighborhood

• Not having captions in a movie theater

• Broken automatic door buttons

• Segregating disabled students to “special schools.”

Microaggressions, Macroaggressions and Disability

Fleischer, Doris Zames and Zames, Frieda. The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontration (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001).

Linton, Simi. Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity (New York: New York University Press, 1998).

Ragged Edge Magazine Online (www.raggededgemagazine.com)

 

Disabled people are everywhere, and yet are mostly invisible to the non-disabled world. Everyone grew up learning stereotypes about disabled people. Some of these stereotypes are negative (“helpless,” “dependent,” “useless”). Others seem positive but are just as limiting (“cheerful,” “inspiring,” “brave”). In order to end disability oppression, nondisabled people need to learn how to be allies to disabled people.

• Respect

  • Recognize that disabled people are inherently worthwhile.

  • Listen to disabled people’s stories, experiences, and perspectives.

  • Understand that having a disability does not make our any more inspirational, pitiful or tragic than yours. Disabilities are ordinary and familiar parts of who we are.

  • Ask before you offer help to a disabled person. What you assumed is helpful may not be. Start with a friendly but non-intrusive question: “Can I provide assistance”? or “Can I get that for you?” Be aware that your offer may not be accepted. Disabled people are the experts about their own lives and what we need.

  • Don’t ask intrusive questions, however well-intentioned. Because of how disabled people are separated from society, many of us deal with daily curiosity about our bodies and lives. This can be irritating, exhausting, and demeaning.

  • Challenge your own assumptions. Many people have disabilities that might not be apparent to you. Everyone has the right to request and use the accommodations they need without being criticized or questioned.

  • Ignore service dogs while they are working. Do not pet, feed, or interact with them.

• Language

  • Don’t use the words “cripple,” “defect,” “spastic,” “lame,” “retard,” and “crazy.” These words have long been used to bully and oppress disabled people. You may hear disabled people calling each other “crip” or “gimp.” This is considered “insider” language, akin to LGBT people calling each other “queer,” but isn’t appropriate for non-disabled people to use.

  • Use the phrase “disabled people” or “people with disabilities.”

  • When you hear other people use ableist language, take the opportunity to challenge and educate.

  • Don’t ask, “What’s wrong with you?” Disabled people have many different relationships with their bodies/minds. Don’t assume you know what’s right or wrong.

•  Access

  • Work to create accessibility in your community, workplace, and place of worship. Ramps and elevators are vital, but access doesn’t stop there.

  • Access meanscreating an inclusive and welcoming space for all members of your community:

  • Ensure that people with mobility aids and/or personal attendants can use the bathrooms.

  • Minimize the presence of scented products and other triggers for people with chemical sensitivities with the goal of creating a scent-free space.

  • Offer printed materials in alternative formats, such as Braille, large print, and audio.

  • Provide sign language interpreters and real time captioning.

  • Choose locations for community events near public transportation.

  • Offer sliding scales at events that cost money.

  • This is not an exhaustive list, only a starting place.Understand that no single accommodation will work for all disabled people. Once solution doesn’t fit all, but increased access does benefit everyone. Take your lead from disabled people. They know what works best for us. Be creative. Don’t use lack of money as an excuse not to create access.

• Activism

  • Educate yourself. Read about the disability rights movement. Attend disability culture events.

  • Recruit members of the disability community to leadership positions within your organizations.

  • Confront disability stereotypes and oppression—ableism—wherever you encounter them.

  • Integrate disability issues into your understanding of racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. These systems of oppression are all interrelated.

Be an Ally to Disabled People