As you may have seen, Daily Kos recently updated our Rules of the Road to include a section on avoiding microaggressions:
Recognize and avoid microaggressions. Microaggressions are subtle slights, comments, gestures, and behaviors that convey implicit biases against marginalized groups and people. Microaggressive comments and behavior are often unintentional but that does not mitigate the harm to the recipient. Examples include making a comment that perpetuates stereotypes, denying or rejecting someone’s reported experience because yours is different, singling out an individual to speak on behalf of an entire marginalized group, targeting marginalized people with disproportionate criticism, and denying or minimizing the existence and extent of discriminatory beliefs, practices, and structures. Understand the detrimental impacts of microaggressive comments and behaviors and accept responsibility for taking self-corrective actions.
This sparked a lot of questions and conversation about microaggressions in our community. While some people might be familiar with the concept, it’s new for others. Microaggressions are something Daily Kos is trying to tackle and recognize at all levels, both within our staff and within our community. This is why the Daily Kos Equity Council recently put together a panel with some amazing experts who teach and lead discourse on the subject. The panel was (virtually) attended by our staff, but we recorded the session to share the panel with our community as well.
If you have questions about microaggressions or are interested in diving in deeper, I invite you to take some time to watch this 90-minute panel, featuring mental health activist Dior Vargas, scholar and activist Dr. Kevin Nadal, disability advocate Patrick Cokley, and disability advocate, lawyer, and writer Matthew Cortland. Our panel addresses questions of what microaggressions are and how to recognize them, strategies for navigating or confronting them, approaching microaggressions in written conversations, what to do if you’re a bystander, the mental and physical effects of microaggressions, and lots more. Our staff learned so much from this panel, and we hope you will too!
Daily Kos staff formed an Equity Council in recent years to ensure that we are living up to the ideals that we put forth in our content and activism—fighting for equity, inclusion, and liberation for underrepresented groups and people. This year, the Equity Council has focused on providing learning opportunities for staff and our readership, and we’re excited to spread knowledge and spark conversations that can lead to all of us being better allies and building a stronger, more inclusive community. Follow the Daily Kos Equity Council here.
