One thing about trauma is that different people are affected differently. When my wife was preparing to deploy for Iraq, the Army training included a simulation

One thing about trauma is that different people are affected differently. When my wife was preparing to deploy for Iraq, the Army training included a simulation of an overturned vehicle. Beforehand people were asked if they had been in an overturned car accident before. This can be traumatizing to some, and could be excused if wanted. She had been in such an accident, but wasn't traumatized by it and with through the simulator. So just because the author of this piece can deal with trauma doesn't mean that all people could deal with trauma the same way. But I don't see the direct connection from microagressions as being a form of trauma. Eg, from http://www.extension.umn.edu/family/cyfc/our-programs/ereview/docs/cmhereviewOct10.pdf http://www.extension.umn.edu/family/cyfc/our-programs/erevie... : > Wing Sue and his colleagues identify three types of microaggressions > 1. A microinsult is characterized by communications that convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a person’s racial heritage or identity (for example, eye rolling during a discussion about an individual’s racial identity). > 2. Microinvalidations are communications that exclude, negate or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person of color. An example is a white person stating to a person of color that they “don’t see color”, which denies that person’s racial and ethnic experiences. Another example is a non-Native person asking someone of AIAN culture whether or not he or she is a “real Indian”. This demands an explanation that few others are required to deliver. > 3. A microassault is an explicit racial derogation characterized primarily by a verbal or nonverbal attack meant to hurt the intended victim. This can happen through name-calling, avoidant behavior, or purposeful discriminatory actions. Microassaults against AIAN people also appear in the form of advertisements that depict white models in Native clothing, associations between AIAN people and aggressive sports teams, and messages that connect AIAN people with alcohol use. Microassaults are typically more conscious and deliberate than other forms of microaggression. Even though that quote is from a document that connects microagressions to historical trauma, it says that microagressions are a form of violence, not trauma. Giving someone a papercut is a form of violence. Do it enough times and it can lead to trauma, but a papercut isn't in and of itself particularly traumatic. To give an example from an entirely different context - a book from 1970 concerning Swedish culture, especially as it applies to Americans of Swedish descent: > Being taught from childhood to observe the rule of modesty, yes, self-effacement, a Swede is deprived of initiative and confidence from the start. And this lack has made its mark on most Swedes of earlier generations. It can be traced to Americans of Swedish descent up to this time. They will know the phrase, det är ingenting ["that is nothing"], which reflects the concept that praise must be minimized. However lovely she thinks her dress is, a Swedish woman of an earlier vintage would invariably reply to a compliment: "Åh, den här gamla trasan!" (Oh, this old rag), or something equally disparaging. Being told once that an idea of yours is nothing? Survivable. Being told that from a baby? That changes your life. And not really in a good way. I get the feeling that the feelings behind this essay are more akin to Bob Newhart's character in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Tej0297wk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Tej0297wk . Or quoting GFK_of_xmaspast, "what an asshole."