For the record, I care about fairness. In the sense that justice should work the same for everyone. In the sense that white supremacist racism is the ultimate denial of fair treatment. And I absolutely think it's fair that racists should lose their fucking jobs.
I've talked about this a number of different ways. But racism must have consequences. If there are no consequences for being racist, the outcome is that we will remain a racist society in perpetuity.
As long as white people stop short of *demanding* real consequences for racism, they are contributing to a tacit approval and preservation of a white supremacist culture.
Let's make sure we don't miss the opportunity to reflect on this. White Americans are very comfortable demanding shit that they care about. They will rain fire on another human for even simple things. Having a BBQ in the "wrong" spot. Looking suspicious in a coffee shop. Etc.
The fact that even obvious and virulent racism does not prompt white Americans to demand serious consequences is a clear and unambiguous statement about what they truly care about. We have to start accepting that and using that fact to frame the discourse.
This one is easy. Because American culture is entirely centered around work and jobs. I'm not married to any particular kind of consequence personally. But many people view impacting someone's livelihood as the most severe form of repercussion.
In America, removing someone's income is the best way to cause them all manner of hardship. Not just financial, but social, mental and I'm sure other forms. In other cultures where they provide a true safety net for everyone, losing your job wouldn't be as severe a consequence.
By the way, this is part of my point. I believe this is one concrete reason that white Americans are resistant to people loosing their jobs due to racism. They still care about the sanctity of work much more than eradicating white supremacy.
Real quick, I wanna talk about a specific on this Amy Cooper situation. As I said above in this thread, I see a lot of people struggling with whether she should lose her job. Some people are saying "losing her job isn't going to change her views". Let's talk about it.
One of the main things you can do for yourself when engaging with systemic racism is to stop thinking about people's "views" and start thinking about harm reduction. We often talk about re-centering. The focus should be on the people harmed. Not what is in the mind of oppressor.
We all need to just acknowledge and accept that we have limited ability to change what's in someone's mind and heart. But we *still* have to make decisions about what comes after that. We still have to operate as a society that can have some impact over what an individual does.
The reason to levy consequences against people who cause harm is not punishment. It's not about trying to impact them personally as some kind of retribution. It should be about *protecting other people from them*. That should guide us away from being bloodthirsty towards healing.
The reason Amy Cooper should be fired is that she has shown unequivocally that the people in her sphere are not safe from her prejudices. She causes harm to the people around her. And any company that seeks to do business in our society should understand that is bad for business.
Amy Cooper has almost certainly violated actual laws about racial discrimination. That's just baseline. But how many other ways has she harmed people she works with? How many ways has her prejudice harmed the customers that the company seeks to serve and gets paid by?
Amy Cooper should be removed from her job as a consequence of the documented malicious behavior she has exhibited due to racial prejudice. You don't have to know anything about what's inside her head in order to take steps to protect people from her. Period.
We're gonna keep saying this until y'all start to get it. We don't need pretty words. We need protection.
Let’s close the loop on this. Because some of y’all are gonna get confused again. The victim has chosen forgiveness. Does that mean she shouldn’t experience the societal consequences of her actions? Nope. Not at all. The goal is harm reduction.
Just because Christian Cooper has the grace and/or privilege to forgive what happened to him doesn’t mean he gets to make the decision for everyone else she is a danger to. He’s not offering to take responsibility for her the next time she harms someone. It’s not only about him.
I’m gonna move on from this. I hope it’s helpful to folks to talk all the way through situations like this sometimes. Because it’s exhausting. I don’t do this because I enjoy it.
