Accusations of microaggression and charges of privilege are simply social bullying to coercively exploit others

Microaggression and Moral Cultures by Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning kicks it off. A sparkling new conceptual idea is kicked out into the petrie dish of the internet and suddenly lots of smart people are talking about it including, Where microaggressions really come from: A sociological account by Jonathan Haidt, How Grown-Ups Deal With 'Microaggressions' by Megan McArdle, The Rise of Victimhood Culture by Conor Friedersdorf.

Here is the Bradley/Campbell abstract.

Campus activists and others might refer to slights of one’s ethnicity or other cultural characteristics as “microaggressions,” and they might use various forums to publicize them. Here we examine this phenomenon by drawing from Donald Black’s theories of conflict and from cross-cultural studies of conflict and morality. We argue that this behavior resembles other conflict tactics in which the aggrieved actively seek the support of third parties as well as those that focus on oppression. We identify the social conditions associated with each feature, and we discuss how the rise of these conditions has led to large-scale moral change such as the emergence of a victimhood culture that is distinct from the honor cultures and dignity cultures of the past.

McArdle summarizes it a bit differently:

Western society, they argue, has shifted from an honor culture -- in which slights are taken very seriously, and avenged by the one slighted -- to a dignity culture, in which personal revenge is discouraged, and justice is outsourced to third parties, primarily the law. The law being a cumbersome beast, people in dignity cultures are encouraged to ignore slights, or negotiate them privately by talking with the offender, rather than seeking some more punitive sanction.

Microagressions mark a transition to a third sort of culture: a victim culture, in which people are once again encouraged to take notice of slights. This sounds a lot like honor culture, doesn't it? Yes, with two important differences. The first is that while victimhood is shameful in an honor culture -- and indeed, the purpose of taking vengeance is frequently to avoid this shame -- victim status is actively sought in the new culture, because victimhood is a prerequisite for getting redress. The second is that victim culture encourages people to seek help from third parties, either authorities or the public, rather than seeking satisfaction themselves.

Most people outside of the academy or fringe ideologies recognize that most of this is nonsense, a consequence of hothouse John Rawlsian abstractions of social justice that can only survive, and indeed does only survive, in the protected environs of academia but which occasionally slop over into the real world, gumming up honest efforts to improve lives.

I have little concern that we are transitioning to a victim culture. Yes it is being cultivated in academia (everybody's a winner, no one's a loser, everybody is equally remarkable, no one is responsible, everybody is a victim, etc.) That is very real and stretches down into K-12. I attended a graduation ceremony a couple of years ago from a small private college preparatory school in a big city. Extremely diverse student body in terms of race. Not so much in terms of class with everyone being at least middle and most being upper middle class.

Each member of the small graduating class, headed off to Yale and Stanford and elite engineering schools and the like, had to do a five minute speech. They had to follow a very generic template of welcome, acknowledgement, appreciation, and then story.

What was striking to me was that almost without exception, they all told stories casting themselves as a victim. All these privileged, healthy, smart young graduates. They all had a story of some grave tragedy overcome, health setback, loss, etc. Now, truly, there were one or two true tragedies in there. But by and large these were just the mundane bumps in the road and setbacks that everyone encounters but writ large into Greek tragedies. What delusional nonsense.

That was a searing experience: multiple lashings of delusional nonsense that went on and on. But I have seen this and heard others describe this from other schools as well. Apparently overcoming tragedy is the favored meme in university applications these days. When I questioned some juniors about this and argued that perhaps a more positive message might be better received, I was met with so many rolled eyes - how could I be so naive? Everyone knows universities want applicants who can show they have overcome.

So yes, there is likely a real issue out there that is centered on victimhood and I think is being cultivated and transmitted via the education system. That said, reality intrudes at some point and pretty soon people make the transition into the real world of real work and most of those soft notions of social justice and perpetual victimhood gets knocked away.

But what I find interesting is that all the above very intelligent authors are grasping the shiny idea of cultural evolution without ever discussing what I think is really going on.

Competitive victimhood is being evinced because it is what is, temporarily, being rewarded. In addition, it is a very cheap and easy rhetorical tool for getting what you want. All these discussions/accusations of microaggressions, privilege, etc. are simply bully tools and should be confronted as such because they otherwise undermine the social fabric.

Each claim of microaggression or accusation of privilege is no less than an asserted claim that you should shut up and give me what I want, be it agreement, respect, acknowledgement, admission, time, resources, etc.. It is coercive and extractive which is what makes it so destructive and undermining of social progress to date.

Social cohesion, mutual regard, assistance and productivity all depend on some degree of cooperation, trust and shared worldviews. Deploying the microaggression or privilege cudgels are the very opposite of cooperation, trust and shared worldviews. Indeed, they are a claim that you owe me something for no other reason than because I am different from you and I can make up a better story of victimhood than you can.

Anyone who is strong, productive, tolerant, and self-respecting will lose this battle because they have accepted the bully's premises even if they have no merit. As long as these claims of microaggression, victimhood and privilege are in the social circle, it will encourage the disengagement of the strong, tolerant and productive because no one wants to be exposed to disrespectful and perpetual blackmail.

Yes, a culture of victimhood is mentally risky and is subversive of societal (and individual) well-being and yes there are some small sectors where it is tolerated and encouraged. But let's not get side-tracked and confused. It is simply bullying and blackmailing on a contemporary form, seeking to exploit others for their own benefit. The sooner it is shamed out of existence, the better.