DU is good for playing devil's advocate w/ideas, so....

[OneGrassRoot]

I'd love input regarding an endeavor (which is one piece of a larger ecosystem of projects), especially if you may be an HR professional or work for a mid- to large-size company or organization. I've communicated with several large organizations and received helpful feedback; there are many questions still to be worked out, but I'd love your initial thoughts. When I first pitched this idea, it wasn't as well-received because it was pre-COVID and the value of online discussion and platforms wasn't as recognized. It's different now.

PROBLEM: We live in a deeply fractured society with two primary opposing value systems and visions: Belief in a hierarchy of human value and thus Othering embedded in all systems, versus belief in equity, inclusion and genuine care about the Common Good. While Othering has been a public health crisis for people living with the least resources and least respect shown them all along, Othering has now become a more universal public health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the gaping inequities which put everyone at risk.

This division, resulting in dysfunction and systemic failure, manifests in all organizations to varying degrees, fueled by a lack of trust that has infected the vast majority of people. Our systems are breaking down because our society is, quite frankly, very ill.

We can't return to "business as usual." We must have the difficult conversations we've never had as a society, so we can work toward creating a world where no one is The Other and everyone belongs. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

SOLUTION: A online platform offering safe and brave conversation rooms serving as a 24/7 resource for facilitated, moderated, respectful and courageous conversations. The spaces will be designed to meet people where they are as we explore current events and the entrenched societal and systemic problems of racism, bigotry and all forms of Othering.

For companies and organizations who have Diversity & Inclusion programs such as seminars and retreats, this platform is considered an Employee Assistance Program (third-party platform with confidentiality), similar to third-party mental health EAPs, which builds upon your existing efforts. There are many people who will never ask sensitive questions in person; plus, most questions don't arise until after attending such events. For the people most impacted by Othering, being able to express their experiences -- and not have them questioned -- can be cathartic. Most importantly, this is an ONGOING CONVERSATION, not a finite issue to be addressed.

Othering (racism and all forms of bigotry) is a mental, physical and emotional health crisis. There are many studies and articles showing the impact Othering has on individuals, families, organizations and communities. Conversely, there is research that suggests that individuals who feel a sense of security, belonging, and trust in their community have better health and productivity. We as a society must have these difficult conversations if we are to have any hope of healing.


NOTE: This platform would first be available to companies and organizations that are already generally aligned with these values, have taken steps to address diversity and inclusion, and are committed to building inclusive, anti-racist, anti-Othering cultures, systems, organizations and communities. Even within such organizations, Othering is prevalent, though often not recognized by the dominant groups.

Via the No-Othering Zone Campaign, we will identify and attract people and organizations who will commit to doing the trust- and empathy-building work required to create a more caring, equitable, just world.

This is a job creator. There will be trained moderators and facilitators to help guide these discussions. The focus is to provide income for majority women of color who are interested and who already do this laborious work for free and have for far too long.
Lots of opportunities for D&I professionals to expand their offerings virtually via this platform.


Go ahead, tear it apart...lol. I may not have answers to your questions but most definitely appreciate any comments and take them to heart.

THANKS!

[Ms. Toad]

1. Well-funded failed experiment

https://m.facebook.com/civiccommons/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0. It was primarily an independent online platform. You can see it in its heyday here https://web.archive.org/web/20140914130146/http://theciviccommons.com/

Part of the reason for failure was the insistence on using real names. That limited the participation to a very privileged group, largely cis white straight financially secure mentally healthy liberals-since the deal was you had to bring all of yourself, and on a website on to the public most people other than the above categories can't afford to do that because of the risk to relationships, employment, and safety.

So you would need to ensure that those who are regularly othered can participate openly, if the expectation is that the conversations will be deep and meaningful across cultural lines. DU fails at that, even within a relatively politically homogeneous. Witness the swarm attacks that occur when anyone voices anything other than the party line on a topic that is at all heated - e.g. Sexual assault allegations against one of our own.

So you would to provide safety, and you would also need to find a way to make it worth it for othered people top participate (and that includes a whole lot of people you may think of as on the top of the heap - that those of us who are liberal treat as stereotypes, rather than people.)

[OneGrassRoot]

2. Thank you sooooooo much for this, Ms. Toad!

This is very helpful feedback. I've seen similar experiments for "civil discourse" like Civic Commons. Were you involved?

I've engaged in some too and, yeah, inevitably they don't work -- as far as engaging a diverse group of people.

I absolutely hear you about all the points you raise. Absolutely. I know that for many Black Women, for example, liberal white women are the biggest threat. As many friends have said, they'll take a KKK member over a "good liberal white woman" any day -- they know what they're dealing with with the KKK member.

I have all of those things in mind, not the least of which is that even amongst those who "seem" safe, there is an incredible amount of Othering. There is Othering amongst those who are most Othered.

I am trying to think of how to make it anonymous, yet only employees of participating companies can enter these "rooms" - the safe ones, versus the rooms which are brave rooms, to interact knowing who one another is.

I may ask an HR friend if they have any ideas as to how that could work. My idea is that this could be an EAP, so companies can help address the rampant Othering within their own culture, which means it will have a fee to use the services (the facilitated, moderated aspect is key too). My hope is that this will generate revenue to fund related projects to combat Othering; foundation money and other donation-type funding is obviously drying up.

So, only employees of participating companies and orgs can make use of the platform, but how to keep them anonymous? That's the rub. Even if they had a passcode, only provided to employees, I fear some employees will share with Trumper family and friends or something, to stir shit.

Surely a technical person could devise a solution for this??? Hmmmm...

Anyway, THANK YOU AGAIN SO VERY MUCH!