Short conversation on Discrimination
Tags: community
Published: 2023-06-19 12:10:15

Today is the Juneteenth holiday. It’s a holiday to celebrate Freedom in the United States from slavery. Even more, it’s a chance to reflect on how far we have grown as a society to be one nation, with one goal of liberty and justice, and a shared home where all people are free.

One of the things I love about my tech community is our ability to talk about (not debate) discrimination and other workplace/life issues.  I want to share what I've learned from this community about discrimination and how to move forward.

- **Keep being phenomenal.** The single best way to defeat someone trying to prove that you are less valuable is to show the world (not the abuser) how awesome you are. Next, people don’t normally see the discriminatory actions; they see the response to it. Remember that retaliation or a negative response, even to valid issues, normally only hurt you.

- **Let your actions prove them wrong and how unjust the treatment is.** You HAVE to stay professional. I personally don’t believe we can change bad people. What we can do is influence others to not do these things, to show that certain actions/thoughts/words are hurtful, and to prove that it’s unwarranted.

- **You are valuable no matter what! Just the way you are.** The universe is infinitely larger than we could possibly imagine. Yet, there is you. Someone so unique and special, that there is only one. Remember that.

- **See what value others are trying to bring**, and become a bullhorn/amplifier for them.

- **Civil rights is about equity. It is about justice.** It is about making the opportunities in life that will give us the clearest path to success as plain as the sky. One of the most challenging parts about poverty is that the brain becomes conditioned to "survive rather than thrive". It turns off the parts that know how to delay instant gratification for a greater future reward because it has been conditioned not to expect that future reward to pan out.

- Civil rights means everyone can have the **dignity** to be happy and pursue being the best citizens of a great country.

- Having **a diverse group of people** to look at your practices and understand the impacts/implications that they have on different communities is the only thing that prevents a company from making a terrible decision.

- **Minorities have to be in the room where decisions are determined to break the cycle that allows discrimination to grow.** History has shown the amazing achievements of humanity and huge levels of love we can show one another when everyone is invited to the table. History has clearly shown the horrible effects of an echo chamber when there aren't diverse groups of voices with the power to be heard.

- I heard the slogan, “It takes grinding to be a King/Queen”. Simply that the path forward is filled with roadblocks including discrimination. No matter the race, creed, sex, or whatnot, there will always be haters. The best way to overcome it is to push past them or the experience, be the best version of yourself, and work harder than those hating you. It’s not a guarantee of success, but **being a “King/Queen” is more inner peace than outer glory**. We have been blessed as a nation to have those willing to march, fight, and die for our chance to live to our fullest potential and now there are ways to shine bright despite discrimination.

I want to end with a personal story and my thoughts.

We should try to break the cycle of discrimination of any kind. Do it for those following behind you that are overlooked for being different but are talented. Shatter the “glass ceiling” and push yourself to climb as high as possible to give others a chance based on merit instead of cultural uniformity. **Sometimes being visible is enough.**

In my former job there weren't a lot of black men in the law enforcement role of my regulatory division. I was out on patrol in my first year and this older black lady gave me a bear hug unexpectedly. She whispered in my ear that she has worked for over 20 years in the community and could count on one hand how many law enforcement officers that look like us have come before me. She was proud that I wore a badge and had a great reputation among the community. **She urged me to do it not for money, but for those who would follow.**

There is an old saying, “you have to be twice as good as them to get half as far”. This has to be tempered with an unquestionable character and reputation. The greatest gift we can give the world is shattering the glass ceiling. **Those following behind you will never know they can reach that high and what skills they need to master until someone trails blaze ahead**. Sometimes, even a chance to "touch the sun and get burned" is better than "forever toiling in the fields" never given a chance to fly high.