Microaggression In Elie Wiesel's Citizen

In Citizen, Rankine describes a microaggression where she responds with silence to satisfy her oppressor’s ignorance. As a child, Rankine had this close friend who called her by the black housekeeper's name. Rankine reflects on the multiple incidents because “[she] never called her [friend] on it” and that act of silence bothers Rankine (7). Her friend eventually stops calling her by the housekeeper's name, but she never forgets; the incidents weigh heavily on Rankine's memory. When her friend first mistakes her for the housekeeper, Rankine responded with silence unintentionally due to shock; she couldn't speak because the slip up caused her mouth to tighten. As close as these girls were, Rankine didn't ever imagine that her friend would manage to make this
Neither of the girls acknowledges the friend's recurring mistake. Although the friend didn't acknowledge her mistake, she doesn't hold all the blame for her ignorance. The friend didn't know that what she did was insulting or, at least, hurtful from Rankine's perspective because Rankine never spoke up. This example explores the problem when people don't speak up when encountering continuous insults. When the victim doesn’t address the issue, the aggressors will remain ignorant to their subtle racist comment because they don't understand the victim's feelings. However, fear factors into the reasoning behind choosing silence and keeping the problem to oneself. In this microaggression, Rankine continues to choose silence because of fear. However, this fear isn't produced by American society; the fear of upsetting a close friend produces the ongoing silence. She didn't want to create tension between herself and this close friend. With Rankine's silence, her friend never knew how the slippages made Rankine feel. Rankine chooses not to speak up and that results in her friend's growing