Guilaine Kinouani posted this infographic "The risks of naming micro-aggressions (or micro-violence) in white workplaces (macro/structural-violence)."

It can serve as a guide to white people who want to do better and POC who are doubting what they're living through. imho it applies to many other situations, including here.

https://twitter.com/KGuilaine/status/1005532043722272768

#racism #MicroAggressions #MacroAggressions #MicroViolence #MacroViolence #workplace

*image description in the toots below

The graphic is black and white, illustration in black with black writing on white background. There’s a watermark directing to the author’s website: racereflections.co.uk. The graphic shows the following situations, written in a circular way, with double ended arrows hinting that each situation is related to another. Reading clockwise, the situations are: 1/

1. illustration of a person with an afro).
SUBTLE VIOLENCE: A person of colour (POC) experiences a micro-aggression. They spend a significant amount of time distressed and/or confused deciding whether they did in fact experience violence and/or whether to name it.

2/

2. on the micro-violence end (right)

Illustration: portrait view of a white person with neck-length hair and an afro-wearing black person. Below:

NAMING: The POC may finally decide it was indeed racial violence, attempt to speak out and, to share their experience with their white colleague.

3. illustration of the same characters, except we see their upper bodies and the assumed-white person’s lower arms are reaching out as if they were explaining.

DENIAL: The white Colleague usually denies any wrongdoing and uses various devices to discharge shame, guilt and/or minimise e.g. gaslighting, focusing on their intention and/or comfort seeking (from the wounded POC)

In the middle:

4. illustration: side view of the white person holding their hands on their face, as if crying.

LIBERAL DISTRESS: The (fragile) feelings of the white colleague are truly hurt, they cannot tolerate the thought of having been racist (them of all people). Anger may set in if the POC refuses to centre their feelings, provide reassurance or change their stance.

on the macro-violence end (left)

5. Illustration: people sitting around a table while the previous white person is standing in the middle expressing themselves.

RETALIATION: If the white employee is not able to reflect and taken responsibility, white structures may be enlisted to restore their psychological equilibrium (as the good white person they are) and/or out of vindictiveness

6. llustration: side view of the black person holding what may be a file, head slightly downcast.

EXCLUSION: The POC becomes the the trouble maker. If the level of organisational toxicity is high, structures may marginalise or discipline them. If the POC complains, the same cycle will be likely reproduced.

arrows links back to the initial subtle violence situation