This classic Clarion article was written by Megan Savarese in the April 2007 issue of The Clarion.

Ever feel that you accidentally offended someone but don’t mean to? The answer to this is micro inequities. Micro inequities are negative, subconscious messages sent to people that can hurt their feelings. In an average ten-minute conversation we can send off over forty micro inequities. A survey done by Seventeen magazine said, fifty-one percent of the readers feel that people offend them intentionally, while eighty-for percent of the readers said they usually offend others by accident.

Micro inequities are laughing at someone in gym class for their poor performance, talking on a cell phone when hanging out with friends, or not paying attention when someone is talking to you. Someone negative phrases to avoid are “what are you talking about?” and “No you wrong.” Instead, try finding a less negative approach to the situation. When friends send off micro inequities, like excluding you from their plans and having their own private chats, try asking them if their was a person why you didn’t get invited.

Sometimes, its not only students that send off micro inequities: teachers, coaches, and bosses have been known to do this too. Teachers send them by repeatedly mispronounce your name, forgetting your name, and possibly judging you before you finish answering a question in class. Coaches and bosses may send off compliments, and skip over you moving on to the next athlete or employee.

If this happened to you, take action now correct the teacher when he or she mispronounces your name: and at the end of practice or a work day ask you coach (or you boss) why you didn’t get a compliment and how you can improve your performance in any way.