The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released a report today which, for the first time, puts a dollar figure – $3 billion annually – on the economic destruction wrought throughout workplaces, education facilities, public spaces and homes, by the modern scourge that is the microaggression.
According to the report’s head author:
“Until now, we have only known that microaggressions hurt people’s feelings on a monumental scale, but to be honest, this is meaningless. Now we can identify, in real terms, the true cost of microaggressions on the community, and upon the nation as a whole.”
It is understood that as many as 80 million working hours are lost in Australia every year due to the victims of microaggressions going home and sucking their thumbs. Although spokespeople for the soft-toy industry and the Australian Dental association dispute the findings, The XYZ understands that the benefit to these industries is vastly off-set by the productivity drain on the rest of the economy.
It is also compounded by a double whammy on the health system. Explains the head author, “Many healthcare professionals still don’t believe that microaggressions are a “thing.” This microaggression itself leads to more lost productivity, and an even greater strain on the health system due to victims of microaggression.”
The solution suggested is to continue to suppress the speech of ordinary people:
“People may think that the words they use, the body language they exhibit, or the privilege they possess is harmless, but it is not. The old saying ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,’ is one of the most damaging ideas in the English language, and should be banned immediately. From there, we need to bring government, business and the community together to find new, more inclusive ways in which we can restrict free speech.”
It’s your XYZ.
Photo by KAZVorpal 