I'm ready for the civil war to finally be over

We need to finally decide to marginalize racists and stop allowing them to dictate terms of - anything.  

I grew up in Los Angeles, but now live in the south. Florida to be exact.  I live on what used to be Calusa land in an area that has been inhabited since the last ice age. 

I live on what used to be "plantation" land. The white people who "settled" the specific land I live on - created a slave labor camp here that enslaved over 200 people at one point.  Just a block away from me is the main house (which is now a state park - named after Judah P. Benjamin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_P._Benjamin) a cabinet member of the Confederacy who hid here before fleeing to England at the end of the war. 

It was quite a shock when I moved here, though it took me a while to understand why all the crazy things that were happening - were happening. I just couldn't get my head around it for a while. But once I understood - it radicalized me and I am now - anti-racist. And I REALLY want us to stop fighting the civil war and move on with reconstruction already!  But we can't do that - until we recognize that - we are still fighting - the civil effing war!!!!! And then - once we realize that - we need to win it - for freedom and equality! 

 I grew up with friends and classmates from every ethnicity and background and religion. I had no real sense of what racism is - until I moved here.   I'm not sure people who grow up in this area - really understand how - not ok it is and how racism infects - everything. But it does - effect - EVERYTHING.

First - I want to say - we've made tremendous progress since I've lived here. Locally - our racists - no longer control our government. Our government structure and make up is still designed by racists though - so it's a one party system (with token representation) despite the governing party only having like 55% support of the voters. The fact our government doesn't come close to proportionally representing the people - is by racist design. It's one of the many parts of the racist system (systemic racism) that needs to be fixed.

Voting - we have made great strides. When I first moved here- the system itself was set up by and run by racists. I am a highly educated woman. It took me 6 months to figure out how to register to vote. (I had to take off from work and get to the county building downtown and register there - and even then - they tried to talk me out of registering for the democrats - which I thought was really odd and totally inappropriate). Then - they prevented me from voting for 3 years. I finally registered absentee in order to ensure I could vote because - attempting to vote in person - failed - for 3 years. I understand now - the problem was systemic racism. The great news is - those problems are LARGELY fixed. The last 2 supervisors - have done an amazing job dismantling the barriers that were erected to prevent certain people from a certain party - from voting.  We now almost 2 weeks of early voting and vote by mail and in person voting. And registering can be done at any DMV or county office.  But - there is still a problem of access and locations. My local polling station - for instance - was closed for the primary. I could not walk to my poll. I would have to drive (which is a problem if you don't have a car). 

Speaking of which - public transportation is another part of the system that developed with racism in it's core. Yes - we have public transport. But it's pretty useless. The buses stop running at 6 pm and if you want or need to go to an social service center  - you will probably have to walk 45 minutes from the nearest bus stop to get there in the Florida heat and humidity. You basically can't function here - unless you have your own car.  Too poor to afford a car - or public transport?  You can get a free bus pass - but you have to get yourself downtown to get it which means - paying money - to get downtown. And you can only access that - 9-5 on weekdays. So if you do have a job - good luck - getting a free bus pass - even though they are available. The last time I rode the bus - there was a guy who had just gotten a job near my house - and he had had to go home - by the bus to get a document and come back. Our bus - was the last bus of the day (it was 5:30 pm) and he was going to have a 2 ish hour walk home after dropping off his paperwork! If you are poor - a racist system - will keep you that way. 

Zoning? That's another part of the racist system. I didn't understand it until I was fortunate enough to purchase some rental properties. I knew about red-lining - but I didn't really understand it. What happened here - though - and why our communities developed like they did - have their roots in slavery and emancipation. And every time people tried to fix it - there was a backlash. Where were people allowed to live?  Our zoning laws - restrict where people can live - still. This is it's own topic - but - just understand - we are only just NOW - starting to integrate our communities and the president of the United States is telling people who are afraid of that integration that - he will stop it from happening.  It needs to happen though. And this is one of those - civil war battles that still needs to be won.  We should not allow ourselves to be held hostage this way. It's NOT good for our society and it does REAL harm to real people. We need to integrate ourselves. 

Schools - yeah - they are kind of integrated - but also kind of NOT. It's another part of the - racist system that - still exist and still needs to be fixed and is tied - to zoning which has it's roots in slavery and the backlash to emancipation.   And the lynching.

Oh yes - my community - had lynching. https://digital.stpetersburg.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1090&context=honorstheses

But again - these stories are starting to be told - our agricultural museum has information on farms that were stolen - through lynching now.  The people who committed those crimes - finally died so the stories can be told now.

And really - that is what the south has been waiting for. For people to die out. We can finally end the civil war - when the people who committed these crimes - die out. We have all just been waiting for them  - to die off so we can finally remove the yoke they put on our community - so we can FINALLY move forward! And - this desire for this to end - is not partisan at all. The racists are all in one of the parties - but their fellow party members - don't like them at all and would prefer them - gone and actively work to dismantle all the systemic crap they created. 

The hope was - once they all die - THEN we can finally make progress. I'm sick of waiting. And I'm white!  This is all fixable. But to fix it - we need to be honest about what it is and what we allowed to happen to appease the racists so we wouldn't have to continue fighting the civil war as an actual military thing. 

America cannot continue half free. We cannot accomplish all the things we are capable of accomplishing if we continue to do this - with a portion of our fellow citizens intentionally marginalized and prevented from participating in our society - which is what we have allowed to happen in the name of - eventually all these old racists will die off. 

Yes - the ones that committed the crimes of the past century - have largely died - but they also spawned a whole new generation of racists who are still fighting to keep intact - the racist systems we REALLY need to dismantle. 

The only way the civil war ends - is if we intentionally - end it. To do that - we need to acknowledge the reality of this problem and take active steps to marginalize the racists so they can no longer dictate our influence our public policy. 

And while I completely owe a debt of gratitude to the people in the local government who have taken on their own party to make much needed progress - I do think - they either need to jettison the racist wing of their party - or leave their party and create a new governing coalition that is actively anti-racist. We are now the majority. It is clear - we are the majority. Think of how much we can accomplish if we work together - to finally end the remnants of the civil war and finally - move forward - together as a unified country. 

Thanks for listening. 

Strategies for Dealing with Racism in the Workplace

Today's blog post on humanistic leadership is actually just a link to an article I think you all should read. 

It's titled: Confronting the Uncomfortable Reality of Workplace Discrimination by Derek R. Avery and Enrica N. Ruggs at MIT Sloan. 

https://sloanreview-mit-edu.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/sloanreview.mit.edu/article/confronting-the-uncomfortable-reality-of-workplace-discrimination/amp

I love this - because it address - unintentional discrimination which we need to deal with. Unintentional discrimination is not intentional - but it still causes harm.  We need to deal with that effectively.

The other thing it discusses is to think long term about racism in the workplace. Some of what is happening - is structural. And it goes back a LONG LONG time. Pretending that the laws and organizational structures that were developed - weren't developed to control and exclude - is silly. We have to dismantle these things that cause harm.

 #racism #discrimination #workplaceculture

One of the things I teach is how to use behavioral science to stop bullying and harassment in the workplace. This can at least help you fix the intentional racism that crops up from time to time.   I also have programs on how to control your unconcious biases as well. So check out the courses - and let me help you change the culture of your organization. https://humanistlearning.com/programsoffered/

An exercise in honesty - implicit bias and the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery

To help us all get to the heart of the problem of implicit bias - I want to do an exercise in honesty.

First - I want you to view the video of the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man shot while jogging in GA by 2 white men who said they were concerned about burgleries in the area.

Think about how you are feeling. Is there any conflict? Is part of you thinking - well - they should not use force, but I understand why they were patrolling the neighborhood? And if he just stopped as these 2 men asked - then he wouldn't have been shot?   Be honest about what you think about this.

Next I want you to watch a recreation of the entire sequence but with the skin color of the participants - reversed.

Be honest

Now how do you feel about the shooting? Any different?  Probably. Most white people in America will have different emotional reactions to the first and 2nd video - even though - they are exactly the same - just the skin color of the participants reversed.

That different feeling you have - is your implicit bias.  We all have implicit biases.  It is why as a white person - the first one - I feel bad about the jogger, but I don't necessarily see the white guys as a threat.  In the 2nd one - it's a white guy - being stalked by 2 large armed black men and - I can see why the white guy has no intention of stopping to talk to these guys. This is the honesty about my instincts I was talking about. And I know I'm not alone.

Our implicit biases are our instincts. What we are taught to fear or embrace.  THIS is what needs to change. And the way we change that is by becoming aware of our implicit biases. That is the first step.

Ideally - we should get to a point where the two videos - look the same to us.
 But the only way to get there - is to acknowledge - that at the moment - they aren't.  We don't need to be ashamed about our implicit biases - we just need to acknowledge we have them.

To help us get there - I offer a free uncover and control your implicit bias online program. It includes links to implicit bias tests you can take. It's really eye opening. I encourage you to take the 2 hours it takes to do this course. https://humanistlearning.com/controlling-our-unconscious-bias/

This is the work we need to do as a country. The reason the men who hunted and shot Arbery were not arrested or even charged is because of bias. The DA thought they had reasonable cause to hunt down and shot this innocent man. They didn't. And a quick look at the reversed video - makes that clear.

So - let's not tolerate this sort of biased justice anymore and hold ourselves to a better standard and create the sort of society where all members of society - live without fear.

Is identity a necessary step on the way to Humanism?

This is a question that has been weighing on me for some time.  And I think we need to think about identity politics in a different way. Specifically - we need to eliminate the politics from it - if possible.

I realize this is a very difficult issue and may upset people - because - our identity is central to who we are as people and there are LOTS of people who deny our existence and identity. When our existence is denied - we are harmed, materially and physically.  This is not a minor matter.

But - even as we deal with inequities and discrimination - shouldn't we also keep our eye on our ultimate goal?  Racially transcendent Humanism?

And I say that being fully aware of how not racially transcendent movement Humanism is. For a LONG time - it's been a rich white person's philosophic movement. Heck - most people don't even acknowledge that there are humanist traditions that arose before the white western form that is the hallmark of western humanism. I personally cannot conceive of a Humanism that isn't racially transcendent. If it's not racially transcendent - it's not Humanism. The question is ... how do we get there from here?

Back in 2016 - during the election - there was a lot of discussion and research on exactly why white people voted for Trump and not Hillary. This article was published just before the 2016 election - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/31/hillary-clinton-and-the-populist-revolt?verso=true  It discusses the identity politics through the years and how poor people are used and abused by the political process - which is largely - a marketing process.

Marketing - requires segmentation to create messages that resonate. And thus - we are chopped up - instead of unified.

The article caught my interest as the author specifically discusses the importance of Humanism.

Section on Humanism

I recently spoke with the social scientist Glenn Loury, who teaches at Brown University. As he sees it, if race becomes an irreducible category in politics, rather than being incorporated into universal claims of justice, it’s a weapon that can be picked up and used by anyone. “Better watch out,” he said. “I don’t know how you live by the identity-politics sword and don’t die by it.” Its logic lumps everyone—including soon-to-be-minority whites—into an interest group. One person’s nationalism intensifies tribal feelings in others, in what feels like a zero-sum game. “I really don’t know how you ask white people not to be white in the world we’re creating,” Loury said. “How are there not white interests in a world where there are these other interests?” He continued, “My answer is that we not lose sight of the goal of racially transcendent humanism being the American bedrock. It’s the abandonment of this goal that I’m objecting to.

This is what got me thinking:

Is identity a necessary step on the way to Humanism/cosmopolitianism? It is very common to read about this journey. Ta Nahesi Coates for instance – had to claim his black identity before he could see clearly the identity of others so that he could become cosmopolitan. 

People do this journey with religion. They have to define themselves as unique, before they can see others as truly human too.

If this is the case – perhaps this white identity politics we are hearing about is less about racism and more about people figuring out who they are so that they can recognize others. If you have no sense of self – other people are a threat. Develop a sense of self – it is easier to see others as distinct from you – which for me is central to my practice. Other people aren’t me!  That doesn’t make them bad.

This is about maturity. And yes, not everyone will get to cosmopolitanism. People take detours into very dark places. The men’s rights movement for instance. But doesn’t that mean those of us already through the journey as Humanists, need to create the paths that lead through identity into Humanism?  

Instead of saying, the path you are on won’t lead you to humanism. Do we need to create  - a white path and a black path and a Mormon path, a Hindi path, etc – to Humanism?

If we want people to recognize each other as Human, do we first need to help them recognize and respect themselves as unique human that matter first? I think so.

Dealing with Racist Rhetoric in a Business Setting

I come at this both from a behavioral perspective (as someone who teaches people how to stop harassment and discrimination using behavioral science) and as someone who has dealt with this.  I also come at this as Los Angelino living in Florida now and this colors my views.

First – personal experience.

I used to work in international franchise sales. My boss was a boorish oaf (he would rub himself in front of me – not joking). We had clients in from Singapore. Nice guys. They were both planning to do vacations after our visit and were asking for advice. One was going to New Orleans. My boss – told him – you need to be careful – there are black people there and he held his hand like a gun.  The guy from Singapore had ZERO idea on why he should be concerned about black people in New Orleans and why that was an issue. He was extremely confused and did not know what my boss was implying. He looked to me for guidance.  I told him – New Orleans has a lot of poverty and a lot of guns and while it’s a very fun safe city, you do have to be aware of your surroundings at times.  He nodded and understood.

  After our guests left, I went into my boss’ office – fists clenched because of how furious and upset I was and I told him he was NEVER to say such racist things in front of me ever again!! Ever.  My position was eliminated 2 weeks later and I was let go. My boss was let go 4 months later when he could no longer blame me for his bad performance.  I did the right thing even though it cost me my job. 

 He wasn’t alone in holding these racist views. My secretary there – told me she didn’t like black people because they would poop in the sinks of her father’s night club and she thought they were animals.  (Those were the words she used).  I told her that her views weren’t accurate and that black people are humans and the majority of them would be horrified at the idea of pooping in someone’s sink! I didn’t let her comments go unchallenged.

  This was the start of my education on just how blatantly racist southerners really were. I grew up in  Los Angeles. Not only were my classmates multi-colored growing up, I only had one job where the staff was majority white.  No one would ever say anything remotely like this because everyone, except people who isolate themselves in certain enclaves, has friends of every color. The racism in Florida was shocking to me when I arrived It’s gotten better, but it’s still pretty shocking.

Now for the behavior side of this:

Racism is a learned behavior. It can be unlearned. The process for unlearning something like this is not easy. It’s best if people have positive personal experiences with people of color – but given the high level of segregation in places in the south – that isn’t likely to happen. 

  It is critically important that white people who don’t like racism speak out against it when it is voiced every time it is voiced.

 Here is why.  Behavior happens when it is rewarded. To get it to stop, you have to stop rewarding it.  Racism is rewarded socially.  It’s a way of bonding. Failure to bond is failure to get reward.  You don’t have to be mean about it – but calling it out as inappropriate is necessary. Every time. People like my boss and my secretary would have never considered themselves racist even though they clearly said and thought horrendously bigoted things and clearly felt fully justified in those views and that it would be safe to voice those views in front of me because I am white too.

Challenging those views – politely – introduces doubt – not everyone agrees. Some will argue. My secretary thought I was naïve and unexperienced with black people and so I just didn’t know the truth.  It doesn’t matter how these situations turn out, the important part is to introduce doubt. Start the process of them rethinking whether what they think they know is actually so.

 The other reason we have to speak out is because of bystanders.  People who are listening who aren’t racist need to know those views aren’t ok and that it’s ok to challenge them.  They can only learn that if someone says – hey – that’s not ok. People of color are human too – stop being an idiot.  This isn’t done to change the beliefs of the racists. It is done to create a new social norm where these ideas are no longer “accepted wisdom.”

If you are a manager and have to deal with this stuff, I recommend taking one of my courses on harassment. They are based in behavioral science and will help you understand the process and how to facilitate it.  And yes, some people may have to be fired.

 If you are an employee and dealing with this stuff – again – I recommend you take my course. I teach a science based approach and can help you navigate these things, without losing your job or at least of setting yourself up to have the best chance of success.   Science really does help.

https://humanistlearning.com/category/bullyingharassment/