Micro-validation

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT)

A few years ago, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security came up with a new campaign: “If you see something, say something.” It encouraged citizens to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement. This opened up a floodgate of complaints against anyone who looked Middle-Eastern or spoke languages that sounded like Arabic. This is a form of macroaggression--overt aggression toward those of a different race or culture.

Microaggression, on the other hand, is the casual degradation of marginalized groups through subtle insults or indirect discrimination. Microinvalidation is a form of microaggression that dismisses the feelings or experiences of a person as invalid.

What if we reversed this behavior? Every day, we have opportunities to affirm people who are marginalized, to validate the experiences of others. If you see something positive in someone, say something to them. Be sincere. Disingenuous flattery doesn’t do anyone any good. Intentionally go out of your way to make people feel included and accepted. Allow everyone to have a voice, to express their individual perspective. Listen and learn. Let us use every chance we get to encourage each other and build each other up with macro-affirmations and micro-validations.