Are Your Acts of Inclusion Authentic?

You may be familiar with the popular phrase “You can fool some of the people all the time. You can fool all the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” I’m sure you’ve probably realized that those who practice fooling people will eventually be discovered for the fraud that they are and that the masquerade was not worth it in the end.  The fact is that when it comes to issues of social and racial justice, there are those of us who would rather take the “fool people“ route than put in the work of creating equitable systems and cultures. Afterall, it takes courage to speak up when we’ve heard a sexist joke. It takes persistence to get over mistake after mistake of incorrectly using  gender pronouns.  It takes strong character to recognize and call out prejudicial acts. Social movements like Me Too, Black Lives Matter, Gay Rights or Stop Asian Hate tend to reduce us to performers and hypocrites when we want to be perceived as supporters or allies on the issues. Perhaps there’s guilt in not caring or we just want to jump on the bandwagon and get congratulated for being there. The last thing we want is for others to suspect us to be racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, or worse, just not give a damn.  It’s much easier to fake authenticity with symbolic or performative gestures like showcasing a Pride mug on our desks, wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, or posting on social media our “disgust” for the most recent hate crime. In doing so we get to feel better about ourselves and reassure our marginalized coworkers or staff that we’re one of the good ones. In essence, saying ‘I am on your side. I support you,’  without uttering a word - while assuaging the guilt and pressure to be on the right side of the issues.  That said, rather than waste so much energy in pretending to stand for equality and justice, opting to do nothing  may be a close second. That way, we’re not standing for or against and we get to enjoy the comfort of the neutral zone. Spoiler alert: doing nothing is doing something – it condones and perpetuates the very systems and behaviors that need to be changed.

Folks may argue that the symbolism serves as a reminder of their allegiance and a call to be prepared when they see something or when asked for help. Seriously? That’s like preparing for an exam by merely looking at the study materials – totally ineffective. While these performative gestures raise awareness, they require minimal effort, no commitment and provide no progress toward change. We must consider how we will respond and be prepared to do so if ever called upon to back up those signs of support. Real authenticity requires consistency in word and deed – even when we think that no one is watching.  There should not be an “off” button in the creation of equity and inclusion as social, gender and racial inequities are always “on.”  The systems of inequity are hundreds of years old and never take a day off – nor do they plan to. To tip the scales, we must approach this effort with the same fervor as those fighting to maintain the status quo.  To get started, we must ask ourselves, ‘How can I show that I stand for justice and equality in an authentic, impactful, and accountable way?’  Decide today what that looks like for you. Actions speak louder than words, and when words and actions are in sync, real authenticity emerges.