“What Did You Say?”
“Could you call this a microaggression when the victim of the comment wasn’t present? You felt it, even when it wasn’t directed at you. Your body shut down for a moment, your brain went into overdrive, you were at a loss for words.
What are the effects of racist microaggressions on absent bodies, present bodies? On his body, her body, your body, our bodies?
Our body politic?…
Your husband comes home from the supermarket, where he ran into a colleague from the university where you both teach. You’re unpacking groceries together. “Every time I see him,” your husband tells you, “every time, he puts on this big greeting. Esteban, he says, loud, looking around for approval, because he’s down with it, and then he throws some Spanish my way, though I barely speak Spanish. So okay, that’s what he does. I’m used to it. But some time I’d like to say, That’s. Not. My. Fucking. Name.””
Related: “What Goes Through Your Mind: On Nice Parties and Casual Racism”
