Nelson Mandela spent years in prison; MLK was assassinated. It is not every single black person's job to be on the front lines. That's not only completely unsustainable, but it's also ok for black children dream of being a doctor, programmer, VC, whathaveyou, without demanding that they also be martyrs for a cause that's entirely out of their hands.
The point I glean from OC is that he can't do the work. He can't stop people from being racist. That's not only not his job, it's also an impossible task. The people who need to do the work are the people who are making conscious or unconscious biased choices which disproportionately impact black lives. It's not up to black people. It's up to everybody else to do that work.
> It is not every single black person's job to be on the front lines.
Sure, but if everyone has this attitude then the collective group suffers. e.g. bandwagon bias, and thus the individual suffers as a result.
> It's not up to black people. It's up to everybody else to do that work.
Sure, and clearly whats happening right now is that people who are not marginalized (e.g. white people) are learning what is required to do the "work". That doesn't happen without the activists showing up and saying "hey white people, educate yourselves, read XYZ".
> it's also ok for black children dream of being a doctor, programmer, VC, whathaveyou, without demanding that they also be martyrs for a cause that's entirely out of their hands.
I don't think anyone is suggesting that everyone has to be a martyr for a cause, just that (1) their existence is important and (2) if marginalized groups of people just accept status quo then there is little incentive for those martyrs to exist.
> The point I glean from OC is that he can't do the work.
Because he literally can't do it (handicapped?) or because they don't want to because it's risky? The point I lean from the OC is that he enjoys the luxuries of his life but is unwilling to fight for others who are similar.
In the original article the VC basically says "I don't waste my energy on acknowledging racial biases on a day to day basis because I already know these exist". This is not the same as saying "I can't be a martyr".
> That's not only not his job, it's also an impossible task.
People don't get paid to fix civil rights, it's not a job. People have taken it upon themselves to answer that calling. I think it's fine to say "I don't believe it's my role in life to" but to pretend it's not required while still enjoying the benefits of those who do sacrifice themselves is an extremely selfish outlook on life.
> The people who need to do the work are the people who are making conscious or unconscious biased choices which disproportionately impact black lives.
And how do you propose those people fix that? Do they just wake up one day and say "ya know what I'm gonna stop giving into my unconscious bias"?
It's up to us to do that work. Don't worry about OP. Greatly oversimplifying the situation, there are four levels to this: people who receive the brunt of our society's bullshit; people who recognize that they're flawed and want to improve; people who think they're perfectly unbiased and get offended by the notion that they need to work; and people who are unapologetically racist. And I've met individuals that belong to both first & fourth camps -- that's a damned hard conversation that needs to happen laterally (not your job, not my job except with other white trans women).
It sounds like you're in the second camp. You can work on people in the third camp. Be on the lookout for bias, speak out, and correct it. Be prepared for blowback; it's a risky business. But eventually some of them will wake up and say "wow, racism really does impact some people worse than others, maybe I should update my philosophy."
You can provide support to people in the first camp by providing support when they ask for it, learning about the conditions they experience, and not expecting them to fix your shit, and by confronting those in the fourth camp without being told or asked, especially when they act out in front of folks in the first camp. If you're in a position of authority, you can mete consequences to abusive folks in the fourth camp, you can adopt strict policies regarding misbehavior, etc. If you're making high level financial decisions, you can choose not to do business with folks from the fourth camp. One day, they might wake up and say "fuck, it is mighty unprofitable to maintain my conscious biases, maybe I should work on that."
I didn't say OC couldn't do the work because of disability. I said it in part because black people trying to talk to racists about racism is like putting fires out with gasoline. But also because I can't be responsible for a random stranger's actions -- I can react to them, but not prevent them.
> I said it in part because black people trying to talk to racists about racism is like putting fires out with gasoline.
Uhhh why? That makes no sense to me. Understanding racism from a white person requires empathy which means to understand the feelings and emotions from the perspective of the other party. So quite literally you need black people to talk to racists about why it affects them. Whether those people choose to be empathetic is another question altogether.
> It sounds like you're in the second camp.
I'm not in any "camp". Nor was I looking into what I need to do in this situation, but rather commenting on how others are viewing this whole situation, particularly black people who take the "ya I know it exists, it's futile for me to actively do/say anything about it, someone else is taking care of this and yet I still get to benefit" camp. For the record, I don't actually think the people genuinely have that thought process, but rather that's how you described them, which I disagree with.
First off, black people confronting racists about their racism has significant risk of emotional and bodily harm. Even when it's unconscious bias from an otherwise well-meaning person, bringing it up is a risk.
For example, I don't tell my boss to stop staring at my tits. I do my best to grit that one out. He's otherwise an ally, and losing his support would mean losing my job. And winning unlawful termination suit is a mug's game: you might score a few grand, which is taxable income, your employer gets to write it off, and good luck finding a new job with the story "I sued my employer".
As I said before, not every black person wants to be an activist. And why should we expect that of them? If we have that expectation, it's extra work they need to do on top of the work required for their actual job / interests. What you're asking for is tantamount to asking for unpaid overtime. That's a great recipe for enlarging the wage gap, not shrinking it. People who aren't burdened by this crap get to otherwise spend their time and energy on career-boosting side projects, hobbies or other enjoyable activities and their mental health is improved as a result. I'm summarizing what I've read from black activists -- people who have devoted themselves to this. Here's a couple of articles by black authors on the topic. Please read them in an empathetic mindset.
As I said, that was a gross oversimplification of the situation. But you are absolutely a participant in this society, and you fall somewhere in a gradient spanning the range that I described. On reflection, your assertion that you don't belong to any camp puts you squarely in the third camp: people who are well meaning, and don't see that they're part of the problem. That's an okay place to be. You're showing genuine curiousity about this issue, and you might read up on it and wake up one day with the understanding that you're responsible for taking up the work yourself.
> Nor was I looking into what I need to do in this situation, but rather commenting on ... particularly black people ...
Perhaps you should focus on what you can do about this situation, and not what you think black people are supposed to be doing. Like I said, you can only control your own actions.
> For example, I don't tell my boss to stop staring at my tits.
And so women who have been "MeToo'd" should just be silent? I don't get it. You're advocating exactly for why people in power continue to oppress, because complacency of victims fuels their power.
> As I said before, not every black person wants to be an activist.If we have that expectation, it's extra work they need to do on top of the work required for their actual job / interests.
And so they'll just leave that up the MLK's of the world? Got it. Thanks for your martyrdom MLK, I'm too busy WORKING!
> You're showing genuine curiousity about this issue, and you might read up on it and wake up one day with the understanding that you're responsible for taking up the work yourself.
I have told you NOTHING about what work I've done to be a better participant in society so why are you commenting on this?
> Perhaps you should focus on what you can do about this situation, and not what you think black people are supposed to be doing.
Perhaps you should too? But that's not the point of my comment and hence why I'm failing to understand your responses. /shrug
