"Y'all are just too sensitive": A computational ethics approach to understanding how prejudice against marginalized communities becomes epistemic belief

TL;DR

This paper presents a computational model simulating societal interactions between marginalized and non-marginalized agents to study how microaggressions influence beliefs and perceptions within communities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel agent-based simulation framework to analyze the dynamics of microaggressions and their impact on epistemic beliefs in marginalized groups.

Findings

Microaggressions can reinforce or challenge beliefs depending on witnesses' reactions.

Witness responses significantly influence perpetrators' convictions.

The model offers insights into societal processes affecting marginalized communities.

Abstract

Members of marginalized communities are often accused of being "too sensitive" when subjected to supposedly harmless acts of microaggression. This paper explores a simulated society consisting of marginalized and non-marginalized agents who interact and may, based on their individually held convictions, commit acts of microaggressions. Agents witnessing a microaggression might condone, ignore or condemn such microaggressions, thus potentially influencing a perpetrator's conviction. A prototype model has been implemented in NetLogo, and possible applications are briefly discussed.