[user deactivated]

Microaggresions in the climbing community

With the sport rapidly moving from an alternative pastime for misfits, oddballs and people bad at football and rugby, to a global community of like minded members pursuing a range of disciplines from developing one arm hang strength and being able to walk on ones hands to performing third generation dynamic movements. Surely now is the time for the community to tackle the long standing and disturbing trend of the ‘microaggression in climbing’.
The term originated in the 1970’s as a response to unconscious or subtle prejudice but in more recent years has become a sort of catch all term for the delivery of almost any minor but clearly significant insult delivered in a passive aggressive manner often elitist.

Microaggressions in climbing take many forms, from the ubiquitous ‘sandbagging’ or underperforming to downgrading, de-facto elitism, and denigrating a route or problem in ones UKC logbook. This last one is a well recognised syndrome for which there is no known cure.

Personal experiences of more verbal microaggressions include:

‘Not bad for a weak / larger person’

‘I think my mates brothers kids hamster flashed that’

‘What’s he / she ever done on grit’

‘I’ll bring my own rack / rope’

‘You’ve done to much aeropow and not enough ancap’

‘Mind if I just stick the clips in this’

Non verbal microaggressions are endemic but the most prevalent and emotionally disturbing is the ‘crag blanking’. A look or non look )usually delivered when in the presence of other ‘de facto elite’ climbers on the social media ladder) that says ‘do I know you?’

This article is intended to raise awareness of ‘climbing microaggressions’ to the community at large. Possibly the national bodies could get involved linking up with media organisations to further help stamp out this terrible practice.




‘

[webbo]

You spend 50 years trying to become an expert in something, then someone wants to ban it.

[thekettle]

Give this a listen if you can find the time Dan, I think you'll find it interesting - it critiques the microgression 'death by a thousand paper cuts' concept in detail.

https://scottbarrykaufman.com/podcast/the-rise-of-victimhood-culture-with-bradley-campbell/

[user deactivated]

Thanks Mr. TheKettle that does actually sound quite fascinating (no microaggressions intended)

Webbo 😂

[user deactivated]

With regards the blanking

I was once ‘internationally blanked’ by one Sheffield based z list climbing celeb about 15 years ago. The ‘international blank’ has become a most coveted achievement on any climbing trip abroad since. In the hope of being able to utter the expression ‘did you see that? I can’t believe it. He / she just totally internationally blanked me!’

[moose]

Obviously I wasn't there but are you that sure it was "blanking" or just a fleeting encounter with someone tired and trudging back to their van, and mulling over their meal choices for the night, or perhaps pondering over a cryptic crossword clue whilst mooching to another tedious belay stint (possibly a moose specific option). 

During my more paranoid moments I occasionally think I am being muttered about behind my back... then I realise that I am entirely unimportant and no-one gives a fuck... and if they do, well more fool them.  To paraphrase Hanlon's Razor, "never attribute to malice what can be adequate explained by being tired and self-absorbed"

[TobyD]

I can't help but agree with you  moose, I'm sure some people  sink this low but most blanking or most undiplomatic comments are just the result of people being absorbed in what they're doing or recognizing someone but not remembering their name or similar.

[lagerstarfish]

to further help stamp out this terrible practice.

nothing micro about my aggression trunk

raaaaghr

[user deactivated]

C’mon lads, I’ve been dining out on the international blanking story for years now, don’t spoil it for me.

[bigironhorse]

Personal experiences of more verbal microaggressions include:

‘Not bad for a weak / larger person’

‘I think my mates brothers kids hamster flashed that’

‘What’s he / she ever done on grit’

‘I’ll bring my own rack / rope’

‘You’ve done to much aeropow and not enough ancap’

‘Mind if I just stick the clips in this’

Apart from the first one which seems extremely rude I don't really see the problem with the rest. Doesnt seem like any of them are worth getting offended about, and the 5th one might even be constructive!

[user deactivated]

I can’t believe what I’m hearing! Sympathisers with the microaggression community. Just listen to yourselves 😂. What would the Buddha say? Non of it is real in a Jim Carey meltdown .styleeeE.

[tomtom]

What’s the alternative?

CrossFit?

😃

[petejh]

Is this similar to the micro traxion? Where can I get one?

[reeve]

Is this similar to the micro traxion? Where can I get one?

No no it's more like saying that you're only allowed to use two pads per route then top roping an E6 and proclaiming it E3 

[user deactivated]

Who toproped what e3?

[petejh]

Is this similar to the micro traxion? Where can I get one?

No no it's more like saying that you're only allowed to use two pads per route then top roping an E6 and proclaiming it E3 

Oh. [microaggresion] And I thought grades were meaningless way-marks on an illusory path. [/microaggresion]. More fool me.

[user deactivated]

Fuck me. What part of satire do you choad’s not get (macro-aggression)

[cheque]

I was once ‘internationally blanked’ by one Sheffield based z list climbing celeb about 15 years ago. The ‘international blank’ has become a most coveted achievement on any climbing trip abroad since.

You’ve been stewing over someone not saying hello to you for longer than I’ve been climbing.

[tc]

I thought microaggression was when you only get pissed off at small people. Similar to Micronesia, where you only forget about small things. As opposed to Indonesia, when you forget what you ordered from the curry house.

[petejh]

Fuck me. What part of satire do you choad’s not get (macro-aggression)

Hehe we get it you helmet, it's just more fun winding you up 

[Yossarian]

With regards the blanking

I was once ‘internationally blanked’ by one Sheffield based z list climbing celeb about 15 years ago. The ‘international blank’ has become a most coveted achievement on any climbing trip abroad since. In the hope of being able to utter the expression ‘did you see that? I can’t believe it. He / she just totally internationally blanked me!’

Maybe he was having an internal debate about symbolism, states of consciousness, the unconscious and dissociative states, and confused his interaction with you as some sort of visual metaphor for his own struggle with identity and sense of self-worth?

[shark]

Fuck me. What part of satire do you choad’s not get (macro-aggression)

Call that satire? Do you even lift?

[SA Chris]

Fuck me. What part of satire do you choad’s not get (macro-aggression)

I read most of his books, and still think he's a swivel eyed loon.

[user deactivated]

Fuck me. What part of satire do you choad’s not get (macro-aggression)

Hehe we get it you helmet, it's just more fun winding you up 

Get it? I don’t think you do....

[user deactivated]

I was once ‘internationally blanked’ by one Sheffield based z list climbing celeb about 15 years ago. The ‘international blank’ has become a most coveted achievement on any climbing trip abroad since.

You’ve been stewing over someone not saying hello to you for longer than I’ve been climbing.

Rather than a festering sore it’s more like practicing the art of bonsai.

[user deactivated]

Just reflecting on recent negative Karma, again I must profusely apologise for not providing an entirely coherent and clear base for a discussion on said topic which is both fully formed and congruent with my internal working model. In this way providing said ‘gold’.

[user deactivated]

Please delete and replace with another instalment if the compulsive and excellent ‘power club’

[Davo]

I enjoy your threads/topics. Keep them coming. Not really sure why you are amassing negative karma for making an interesting contribution to the site. Micro aggression was a new concept for me!

[user deactivated]

Who knows Dave, I have my theories though. The most likely being ukb has been taken over by the climbing equivalent of the ‘Trump Regime’ and it’s denizens have been replaced by a small number of self serious bots. Maybe Stu and Barrows are behind it, they’ve got phds or sumthiN.

[Oldmanmatt]

They’re Thin, but probably not Σ Thin.

[TobyD]

Please delete and replace with another instalment if the compulsive and excellent ‘power club’

I fucking hate emotions but obviously still use them, I feel that there's no better way to respond to your comment than

[user deactivated]

They’re Thin, but probably not Σ Thin.

∄ thin?

[user deactivated]

Please delete and replace with another instalment if the compulsive and excellent ‘power club’

I fucking hate emotions but obviously still use them, I feel that there's no better way to respond to your comment than

The first rule of power club is nobody talks about ‘power club’

I read an interesting bit of trivia the other day, that the term ‘snowflake’ is thought to originate from the film / book ‘Fight Club’ where the Tyler Durden character says to Marla Singer ‘you are not special, you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake’. Apparently Broflake is the male only equivalent with the added twist that a broflake pretends not to be bothered but is.

[JamieG]

I must admitted I really struggled to work out if this thread was satire or serious (or somewhere in between) at the start. And to be honest I'm still none the wiser.

If it is all satire I missed the joke . . .

However, if it is serious. It's either people just being dicks. Or they're bad at banter. If they're being dicks, ignore them. If they are trying to banter, don't take it to heart. I thought climbing was all about personal goals, you shouldn't really care what other people think. If the people you regularly climb with are being shady to you, find someone nicer to climb with. On the whole I have found the climbing community super welcoming, friendly and supportive. I suspect that is part of the reason for it's growth in popularity. It's a really nice alternative to the gym, which can be full of knobs. Yes there is banter (sometimes its harsh/dry) but this is the UK after all.

[Bradders]

I read an interesting bit of trivia the other day, that the term ‘snowflake’ is thought to originate from the film / book ‘Fight Club’ where the Tyler Durden character says to Marla Singer ‘you are not special, you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake’. Apparently Broflake is the male only equivalent with the added twist that a broflake pretends not to be bothered but is.

That's interesting. I can see the link, although I've always taken that line in the film to mean that we're all the same (as opposed, obviously, to snowflakes which are supposedly all unique), rather than in relation to any idea that we're a generation of delicate things which fall apart at the slightest touch.

[monkoffunk]

Please delete and replace with another instalment if the compulsive and excellent ‘power club’

I agree that you probably don’t deserve a full -10 on the karma front, but I imagine comments like this are perceived as disdainful, so rather than simply adding content you maybe also come across as negative towards those who do want to train and discuss that.

I like your threads, even when I don’t agree with everything you say and I think they add value and variation to the forum. Would be nice if we could all be a bit more live and let live.

I suppose in some ways the microagression thing does depend a lot on the context, and the relationship dynamics of the aggressor and aggressee, particularly with regards to the balance of power. There is probably a fine line between ‘banter’ between equals and ‘the thin edge of the wedge’.

Yesterday I climbed with someone who on sighted a route at his limit right up to the top when all he needed to do was stand on a literal ledge you could have camped on, and somehow managed to find feet either side of it and fall off. How could you not make some comment? I couldn’t.

[user deactivated]

It was a surrealist anti-culture power post from an internet based ivory tower where nothing is real apart from the shredded guy doing handstands.

[monkoffunk]

Some times I’m in the mood for surrealist anti-culture power posts and sometimes only shredded men doing handstands will do.

[Will Hunt]

The thread started in the usual DC style and didn't look particularly different from any of the others. IMO, some good points made (though I must be the most passive aggressive climber there is for logbook comments. I don't see it as being a dick, just striving to improve the information that's out there which is often hopelessly wrong), and some fairly indifferent. So far, so usual. There was a bit of discussion but as soon as Pete pointed out the hypocrisy of you complaining about microagressions (when passive aggressiveness about other people's climbing is a high percentage of your UKB presence) you played the satire card, which I don't really buy. That's why I puntered. If you're going to have opinions then argue for them, don't just claim it was a joke thread as soon as someone calls you out.

[Davo]

Seemed fairly obviously satire/tongue in cheek mixed in with some commentary on how some people act at times. As I said I enjoyed it and don't really see the need for any puntering or negative karma.

[user deactivated]

Excellent use of satire there Will, have a wad point for not taking ones self to seriously. Would you like a guest appearance on my anti anti anti-culture Wordpress site / blog? A deep suspicion of all things popular like Jack Johnson and Joe (Tw@T)  Rogan and the particularly modern folk and the singer song writer cow pat, is essential.

[reeve]

A deep suspicion of all things popular like Jack Johnson...

Is it still 2006 where you are? Would go some way to explaining the 2-pads-per-pitch rule too

[user deactivated]

Shit! What year is it? 2 pads per pitch only when they’re fixed to perpendicular walls with wires etc

Jack Johnson encapsulates all things wonderful*

[Oldmanmatt]

Just to sum this up, so far:

“This life is nothing short of a blossoming vision of higher wonder.

We heal, we exist, we are reborn. Today, science tells us that the essence of nature is transcendence.

Imagine an evolving of what could be.

If you have never experienced this metamorphosis on a cosmic scale, it can be difficult to grow. How should you navigate this divine nexus? Have you found your quest?


Where there is selfishness, potential cannot thrive. Yes, it is possible to destroy the things that can eradicate us, but not without empathy on our side. Desire is the antithesis of potentiality.

You and I are travellers of the quantum soup. The grid is beaming with superpositions of possibilities. To wander the path is to become one with it.

Self-actualization is a constant.
Illusion is born in the gap where transformation has been excluded. The complexity of the present time seems to demand a condensing of our souls if we are going to survive. Only a Indigo Child of the quantum matrix may engender this evolution of self-actualization.”

Quoted from the Master:
http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/

[petejh]

Fuck me. What part of satire do you choad’s not get (macro-aggression)

Hehe we get it you helmet, it's just more fun winding you up 

Get it? I don’t think you do....

Just about everything you post on ukb must be satire because I find it impossible to take anything you say seriously! I might not think it's very good satire although the powerclub quip tickled me, nor very good philosophical musing if that's what it's meant to be, but who am I to judge. Maybe a bit of microtraxion there. I hope you keep posting because it keeps the place varied.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Just to sum this up, so far:

“This life is nothing short of a blossoming vision of higher wonder.

We heal, we exist, we are reborn. Today, science tells us that the essence of nature is transcendence.

Imagine an evolving of what could be.

If you have never experienced this metamorphosis on a cosmic scale, it can be difficult to grow. How should you navigate this divine nexus? Have you found your quest?


Where there is selfishness, potential cannot thrive. Yes, it is possible to destroy the things that can eradicate us, but not without empathy on our side. Desire is the antithesis of potentiality.

You and I are travellers of the quantum soup. The grid is beaming with superpositions of possibilities. To wander the path is to become one with it.

Self-actualization is a constant.
Illusion is born in the gap where transformation has been excluded. The complexity of the present time seems to demand a condensing of our souls if we are going to survive. Only a Indigo Child of the quantum matrix may engender this evolution of self-actualization.”

Quoted from the Master:
http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/

Interesting stuff Matt.

This particularly stands out:

"Where there is selfishness, potential cannot thrive. Yes, it is possible to destroy the things that can eradicate us, but not without empathy on our side. Desire is the antithesis of potentiality"

The tension implied in this has probably been the one thing I've strived to resolve in thoughts about my own climbing.

I don't view Dan's threads as anything other than his own reflections, inviting comment and dialogue in return.

Rightly or wrongly, I see this as a possibly important invitation to ask questions that are sometimes difficult.

Questions about our own motivations are as relevant to us, as they are for everyone else, when it comes to reflecting on our own particular form of consumption and gratification - why do we do what we do? Do we need to? etc.

I think they're just as uncomfortable - and therefore unwelcome - for us too, maybe more so, because we can be so complacent.

I think they can be extremely interesting. Some things can be entertaining, some irritating, but written with the intention to satisfy in some way? No.

[user deactivated]

that’s gotta be another level of satire Dave as Matt was definitely taking the pisstules

[DAVETHOMAS90]

I didn't read anything there that was much different to:

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/meaning.htm

or here:

https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/06/03/tolstoy-confession/

All great for reflection.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

It was a surrealist anti-culture power post from an internet based ivory tower where nothing is real apart from the shredded guy doing handstands.

Is that a dig, or am I just feeling a bit sensitive?

[user deactivated]

Haha definitely not a dig Dave! Matt was taking the piss, as his quote was from a ‘random bullshit generator’ from some clever person. Strangely some of it could be made into sense, but that’s the point I guess. Sticking with Pete’s microaggressions what does a quality philosophical musing look like?

[petejh]

Sticking with Pete’s microaggressions what does a quality philosophical musing look like?

Potter Stewart. 'I know it when I see it'.

[Oldmanmatt]

Sticking with Pete’s microaggressions what does a quality philosophical musing look like?

pr0nhub.

[Offwidth]

Who knows Dave, I have my theories though. The most likely being ukb has been taken over by the climbing equivalent of the ‘Trump Regime’ and it’s denizens have been replaced by a small number of self serious bots. Maybe Stu and Barrows are behind it, they’ve got phds or sumthiN.

A lot of climbers have PhDs... sometimes when you have to think hard for long periods the cerebral scrub that climbing can provide is very helpful, so much so that it can become addictive; so please don't be microaggresive about us. Academics are also often really good at unintentional blanking.... some I know may as well be comatose they are so unresponsive to anything outside their thought bubble.

[Oldmanmatt]

Who knows Dave, I have my theories though. The most likely being ukb has been taken over by the climbing equivalent of the ‘Trump Regime’ and it’s denizens have been replaced by a small number of self serious bots. Maybe Stu and Barrows are behind it, they’ve got phds or sumthiN.

A lot of climbers have PhDs... sometimes when you have to think hard for long periods the cerebral scrub that climbing can provide is very helpful, so much so that it can become addictive; so please don't be microaggresive about us. Academics are also often really good at unintentional blanking.... some I know may as well be comatose they are so unresponsive to anything outside their thought bubble.

PS.
I’m an Engineer, so I believe this applies to Physicists too... 

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Matt, I'm confused. That's Stu Littlefair on the left though, isn't it?