For the last couple of years, I’ve made it a habit to call out, to varying degrees of “publicly”, all white and/or all male spaces, specifically conferences or other events where people are presented as experts and/ or can make money, because excluding women and people of color from being perceived as experts and having a platform to grow professionally or financially is utter bullshit. Yes, that’s a technical term.
Shockingly but not surprisingly, still in 2019 this happens a whole lot. I decided to do something about it cause it’s the least I can do to shift the mainstream default from white, straight, male… to something better. Yes, more inclusive is better. So there. Here are some examples of my online trolling. (These are facebook posts cause I’m old and I grew up on Tribe.net and refuse to move past facebook. And the younguns tell me that’s the appropriate use of facebook – old people having political rants.)
Case in point #1:
Latest episode of I’m not gonna put up with your shitty conference
Needless to say, Kolby H. never replied
Case in point #2:
Today’s target for trolling toomaletoopale spaces: SF Blockchain Week. https://sfblockchainweek.io LOOK AT THIS FUCKING LINEUP!!
Could I make this shit up?
Case in point #3:
OK this is too good not to share. It’s an oldie but it came up cause a friend finds herself working with this group and having the same issues that I pointed out.
My email to this group in 2017: Hi there, I found your site and I’m so excited about the work that you are doing! I have led organizations around the world and can vouch for the need for your services. I am just utterly confused by an all-white staff in 2017. How is this lack of diversity even in the vicinity of conscious? I am truly intrigued to find out. Thanks!
AND THEIR REPLY, DAMN:
Hi Maritza,
We are so happy you found our site and that you are doing similar work in the world.
The facts are that the people on our team are all white. We here you make up a story about that.
Your stories may sound like:
You do not have enough racial diversity.
You should have more racial diversity.
You are less effective if you don’t have diversity.
Check and see if there is any part of you wanting to be right about any of these stories. Would you be willing to see that the opposite is also true?
And we here that you would prefer that we have more diversity and we appreciate the feedback. We too are excited to have more racial diversity on our team.
Cheers to more conscious leadership in the world.
And the facts are that they don’t know the difference between hear and here and it bugs me.
TAKEAWAY:
So why am I sharing this with you? Because if we all did this on occasion, things would change faster. Also, because it feels fucking awesome to do something about it, even if it’s small, and even if it doesn’t feel like much. The reality is that I can’t ever know what it’s actually doing – that’s the thing about sowing – I may or may not ever get evidence of a harvest, but I sow anyway.
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