Monday's Opening Thought: November 23, 2020

This week’s opening thought: Every place I’ve ever worked I have had to deal with sending out emails to staff and receiving feedback. Not real feedback, though. Staff members email me not about the content of the email but about a missing comma, typo, or recommendations for how I can “word things better” for “professional impact.”

Guess the race of the staff members who regularly send me these emails. Go ahead. Guess. I’ll wait.

Perfectionism and professionalism are both branches of the white supremacy tree, white people. And from what I can see y’all don’t “correct” one another anywhere near as much as y’all correct BIPOC folx, Black and Brown folx, about their words or actions.

Perfectionism.
Worship of the written word.
Only one right way.

All three of those things are why white people send the kinds of response emails they send to me and other persons of color.

All three are characteristics of white supremacy workplace culture.

Y’all need to spend more time on dismantling your racism and ceasing your urges to uphold white supremacist ideals and less time on pouncing when you see a missing comma or a typo from a Black person in the workplace. Don’t you have something else to do? Like your jobs?