Monday's Opening Thought: September 20, 2021

This week's opening thought: I am NOT looking forward to being back in physical workplaces with white people. I've been mulling over how I can work remotely, either part-time or full-time. And I'm not the only one.

White folx, I know many of y'all have seen the polls and surveys asking Black folx, Black women if they're looking forward to being back in physical workplaces. I know many of y'all have read the responses. I'm sure many of y'all have thought things like, "I didn't even know this was going on," or "How do we fix this, so it doesn't happen anymore?" Some of you probably reached out to the Black folx, Black women you work with, or brought these survey results into team meetings where you wanted to talk about them. You didn't think about how your team only has one person of color, and now that you've opened the door for this microaggression, every white person on your team expects the one person of color to answer all of your questions and solve the "racism problem." You've probably even convinced yourself that you aren't one of the white people creating the environment that so many Black folx, Black women, do not want to go back to.

YOU are the reason we don't want to return to physical workplaces.

Yes, YOU. Don't be lookin' around, trying to figure out who the "you" is in this scenario. It's YOU. Don't look any further.

Does any of what I said above sound like a beneficial relationship to you? Does it sound like something anybody would want to be subjected to when you come to work every day? Do you like being singled out and being forced to be a "subject matter expert" because of the melanin in your skin? Do you want to be around people for 8 hours a day who invalidate your views? Do you want to be around folx who regularly treat you like you're invisible, that you don't matter until someone wants to prove their diversity through optics? Do you want to spend the bulk of your day around people who have no qualms about gaslighting you? Does it sound fun to have to wake up every morning and get into character to get through your workday to mitigate as much pain and trauma as possible? After you answer all of those questions, ask yourself this one:

Why the hell do you think we want to do this with you again, day after day, in physical space, after having somewhat of a reprieve from being subjected to all of this?

Ain't this pandemic been hard enough without that pot o' gold at the end of the crappy rainbow?

Do you know how many microaggressions so many of us have been able to dodge working remotely? Sure, we can't avoid all of them because y'all are some persistent bastards, but not having to be in physical spaces with y'all every day cuts the number of microaggressions in half. Do you know how great it is not to have to pass y'all in a hallway or see your faces all day with your fake smiles after meetings where y'all say and do the most racist things to other people of color and us? I bet you have no idea how nice it is not to have to be a caricature of yourself, do you?

So again, I have to ask why do you think Black folx want to see y'all in person again after having somewhat of a reprieve from being subjected to all that y'all casually, overtly, and covertly say and do to us?

We get nothing out of being in physical spaces with you again other than having to re-engage with trauma.

At this point, I'm looking very forward to seeing most of you on Zoom in perpetuity. And I know I'm not the only one. Now that so many other Black folx and I have been exposed to a world where we don't have to see you and feel your presence in person every day but still (hopefully) get paid well and take care of ourselves in different ways, we ain't goin' back if we don't have to. You want the office and the spaces to yourselves? It's yours. We ain't going to stop you. We also ain't going to be there. I hope y'all enjoy hangin' out with one another in a sea of non-melanated fun.

May your potlucks be full of raisin-studded potato salads, and your office Halloween and Thanksgiving parties be full of appropriation and tastelessness, just like your forefathers.