Reply to DEI and blaming feedback on racism

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am BIPOC but not Black. I totally feel you OP. Agree with the PPs that it is natural for some people to try to use DEI efforts to their advantage. Definitely had a coworker who did this, was one of the most outspoken DEI advocates and was later fired because they were caught stealing. These people are the worst.

I think it is also legitimately difficult to tell when bias occurs, and we do know that it does happen. The problem is you can rarely prove it. Current DEI thinking tries to counter this by asserting that BIPOC people especially Black people are constantly mistreated in the workplace. Anyone who questions this thinking is thought of as a barrier to anti-racism efforts. So as a BIPOC person I am constantly being told I am facing microaggressions based on my race and I'm being prompted to try and think of them. Actually, I am not being constantly mistreated, and I think isolated instances of mistreatment I experienced were based on factors other than my race.

I have another coworker who has basically said she thinks she is smarter than everyone else because she is Black and had to overcome more to get here. She dismisses most criticism as racism and ignores our feedback and contributions. She is actually really smart but she's not always right! And I can point to specific ways in which she is treated much better than I am. [/quote]

Regarding being able to tell, both internally and externally when bias occurs, I can understand completely how to catch internal bias. But how can one tell when one is free of internal bias? Also is there a way to convey that to someone else? Are all people racist or are some people not, and if not, what enables a person to say, “This person is not racist?”[/quote]

Everyone has biases and commits micro aggressions. The question is do you make efforts to avoid doing so?[/quote]

I do. But how do I tell if others do? A person who is racist and a person who is not racist will probably both say that they make efforts to avoid biases. So how can a person tell who is racist and who isn’t?[/quote]

Everyone is racist, and it is hard to tell who is going to be most anti-racist or inclusive. My boss is a fairly gruff person who does not come across as remotely woke but he is a good listener who grants people autonomy after they prove themselves and I think that can promote equity. Also he is pretty big on following EEO rules and avoiding any appearance of discrimination in hiring, yeah probably what motivates him is not getting sued but I think that also prevents some issues. In contrast I have a very "woke" coworker who is terrible to work with because he thinks he is smarter than everyone and just ignores the team he is supposed to be leading and does his own thing and that is not inclusive or helpful.

One sign of inclusivity is if you observe that person X says something is dumb and person Y calls them on it and person X genuinely accepts the criticism as a learning experience and thanks person Y for calling them out, then person X is possibly someone who can promote an inclusive working environment. [/quote]

I really appreciate this thoughtful, collaborative response. In the same vein, I wonder about the difference in levels of racism between the “everyone’s racist” and the “labeled a racist.” How do you know when a person is fairly or unfairly “labeled a racist”? As a bystander, I see this periodically where someone who is trying not to be racist — NOT a Donald Trump type — more an AOC type — is accused of being racist including by upholding systemic racism. I’ve seen people take sides, the language get ugly with people trying to judge the “actual” intent with no one actually being able to tell who’s right. Even the accused is told s/he doesn’t fully know his/her actual intent. Admittedly, this has happened on adjacent teams, and I don’t know what I’d do if it happened on mine.[/quote]

Oof sorry that's happening. That sounds horribly toxic and unfortunately very common. I think people who are accusing others of having bad intent if good intent is the most likely that is really counterproductive. They should focus on impact and say "I know your intent was good but the impact was bad because XYZ". Also address the issue in a way that is compassionate to the person they are calling out. I personally think these conversations should really be one on one and then allow the person being called out to address the group afterwards if appropriate. I've seen cases where a person (usually White) gets called out in a group and then a bunch of people child in to pile on and it's really not helpful at all.

What ends up happening is all the White people clam up and decide not to talk about race ever because nobody wants to go through that humiliation, and they also get very closed off to implementing racial equity in their work because they have been taught they are incapable of understanding racism and racial equity. And it's BS because BIPOC people can also be very ignorant about other people and cultures, but in these settings they can't be called out in the same way.[/quote]

This is a helpful post on a difficult topic. Thank you.[/quote]

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