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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ay 27 ,2 02 1 | 16 Cut out paying more Your only destination for more coupons, more flyers, more savings. #SavingWithSave Save $2.00 on any Energizer® Lights product. save.ca/coupons Scan to get coupons ©2021 Energizer STEVE PAIKIN FROM TVO'S THE AGENDA Democracy is fragile. That's the thinking behind the Toronto Star and TVO partnership, The Democracy Agenda - an in-depth look at threats facing democracy here and abroad. Tune into TVO tonight @ 8pm or 11pm ET Stream on tvo.org "No, but where are you REALLY from?" people will insist. It's a question many ra- cialized persons, even those born in Canada, are often asked, because for some people, "Toronto or Vancouver" can't be the right answer. People who ask this are often not aware of the de- rogatory message they are sending. But for a racialized per- son, the message reverber- ates and seeps deep into their bones -- someone who looks like you is a per- petual foreigner, an outsid- er forever. WHAT IS RACIAL MICROAGGRESSION? Racial microaggression is often referred to as a "death by a thousand cuts." It's when people ask a woman in a hijab, "Do you wear that in the shower?" or "Why do you speak good English?" It can be inadvertent or intentional, verbal or non- verbal, like when people clutch their bags closer to their body when a coloured person is nearby. "Microaggression are words, actions or beha- viour that are perceived as discriminatory by mem- bers of oppressed groups that may not reflect vindic- tive intent but are inadver- tently inflicting insult or injury," says Wilfrid Lauri- er professor Dr. Jasmin Zine. Dr. Zine, whose re- search focuses on Islamo- phobia and anti-racism ed- ucation, says it has become so ingrained in society and in the way people engage with marginalized groups that it has become normal- ized. "It's a way of reproduc- ing the racial status quo," she explains. According to Dr. Zine, society's existing struc- tures of power and bound- aries of inclusion are often perpetuated by derogatory tropes found online, in the media or popular culture. These then become as- similated into people's per- ception of racialized people and then reproduced through acts of microag- gression. MORE INSIDIOUS, MORE SINISTER "It is far more insidi- ous," she says. Although seemingly subtle or be- nign, they're just as damag- ing. And because some peo- ple who commit these don't realize or accept that what they're doing is problemat- ic, these actions operate in unchecked ways. People don't often get called out for OPINION WHY MICROAGGRESSION CAN BE MORE INSIDIOUS LORAINE BALITA-CENTENO SPEAKS WITH WATERLOO EXPERTS ABOUT MICROAGGRESSION AND ITS EFFECTS ON BIPOC MENTAL HEALTH See - page 17 (Left) Dr. Jasmin Zine, Wilfrid Laurier University; (right) Dr. Christina Parker, University of Waterloo. Wilfrid Laurier University/University of Waterloo photo LORAINE BALITA-CENTENO Column