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You know, I have so so so many thoughts about this topic. I’ll sum it up by:
Great for my @Morehouse brothers, but this story is still a band-aid on a massive problem.
Great for my @Morehouse brothers, but this story is still a band-aid on a massive problem.
You know about those stories that pop up in the news? The ones about how some disadvantaged soul goes through inordinate struggles to do every day activities, and receives the golden ticket to make their lives better?
Like this one, who gets a car from their boss for walking twenty miles to work,
Or the fact that there’s a whole SECTION OF @gofundme that advertises medical fundraising: gofundme.com/start/medical-…
Or this one, the 400K for the veteran (even though it’s filled with drama and perceived corruption, it still follows the same trend) edition-m.cnn.com/2018/11/15/us/…
It’s a topic I’m sure a whole bunch of folks have discussed before. Because I’m not privy to those discussions, I’m gonna give it a name:
Superhero sleight-of-hand.
Superhero sleight-of-hand.
The news harps on a wonderful altruist, that spends their resources helping the needy in some form. Money, tools, networks, and the like.
The world falls in love with the story, and their ability to rise above.
But the problem: the hero masks the systemic problems.
The world falls in love with the story, and their ability to rise above.
But the problem: the hero masks the systemic problems.
What about the 2018 grads? What about Spelman grads? What about every other student, who’s dealing with trillions of dollars of debt because of a failing system that will likely cause one of many financial collapses?
It’s easier to empathize with a superhero story for countless reasons. It’s much harder to dig past, name, and shift inequitable systems.
Now, I see @AOC offering the idea for researchers to create a natural experiment, in order to collect data on how the community will be affected by this.
All designers, researchers, and the like should hop on this train.
All designers, researchers, and the like should hop on this train.
Collect stories on my brothers and see how their life is affected.
Develop other opportunities for creative financial empowerment.
Develop analyses of collateral impacts. ANYTHING. GO PROSPECTING GUISE
Develop other opportunities for creative financial empowerment.
Develop analyses of collateral impacts. ANYTHING. GO PROSPECTING GUISE
We need more stories, more experiences, to put more pressure on the system.
Cause superheroes like these won’t save us. We gotta save us.
Cause superheroes like these won’t save us. We gotta save us.
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