Students at a women's college in Boston are being discouraged from saying "God bless you" when someone sneezes as it might be construed as a form of "microaggression" against people who practise another religion. That's according to the advice in an Anti-Oppression list made available through the Simmons College's library, which also discourages using terms like "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Easter."
The Simmons College Anti-Oppression list appears on the school library's website, which says that the list is supposed to "provide some general information about anti-oppression, diversity, and inclusion as well as information and resources for the social justice issues key to the Simmons College community."
The library's page also has other resources featuring videos and articles discussing inclusion and diversity that covers religion, gender and activism.
The guide also warns that microaggression appears to be a privilege most common to Christians, as it is the most dominant religion in various Western nations. As such, the guidance claims that Christians might expect to feel superior over other people of faith, particularly Muslims, and thus behave with a sense of social comfort and belongingness without realizing they are being offensive to others.
"In North America (and throughout much of the Western world), people who follow Christianity have institutional power," the guide stated. "Therefore Islamomisia is a systematized discrimination or antagonism directed against Muslim people due to their religion or perceived religious, national, or ethnic identity associated with Islam."
However, the guide also discourages the use of the word "phobia," as in Islamophobia, as it could be offensive to those actually suffering from a mental health disorder. Instead, students should use word "misia," a Greek term that means hate or hatred, in reference to discussions relating to Islam, as in Islamomisia.
A Simmons College spokesperson told Fox News in a statement that the guide compiled by the library is not the official position of the college itself.
"The information in this guide is an introductory resource intended to provide general information about anti-oppression, diversity, and inclusion," the statement read. "It is by no means a complete guide to social justice issues, religions, conversations or points of view."
