Thread by @yaneerbaryam

It is hard to understand how people can intentionally hurt others. When unimaginable actions occur, such as those that took George Floyd’s life, the individuals who acted in this way must be judged, as well as the context and history, all must be challenged. 1/-

Only those who choose blindness do not see the pattern that underlies actions in this context. A context in which abuse of power, racism, deprecation of individuals and groups, and violence run rampant through society.

What do we do to make the world a different and better place?

For me it starts with recognizing the importance of each individual. A respect for life, not in the abstract, but in the unique realization that one person has in their presence in the world.

The way to change our world, is to build relationships of caring, compassion and shared purpose, one by one, starting from recognition of the unique contributions each person makes to their family and friends, to the society as a whole.

Those who have difficulty seeing others in this way should not be put into positions in which they can cause others harm. There may be particular ways they can contribute to the world, but surely not in positions of power or authority over others.

For too long the systems we have built have done exactly the opposite. Climbing systems of power rewards individuals who seek power for self-interest.

Those who are successful are often so precisely because they gain advantage by violating societal rules that others follow out of fairness. They see only their own benefit as the goal of their actions.

There is a limit to our ability to accommodate such individuals in a society based upon caring. There must be a recognition that some individuals may be unfixable and justice must be served.

We cannot be focused on the negative of what we now have, we must build a better system in order to replace it. This will take time and patience. The time to start cannot be postponed. Our energies must be devoted to it because every delay will cost more lives and

saving lives cannot wait.

A person is a world. “Saving the life of one individual is like saving the entire world.”

The constructive way forward is through building on the relationships of caring to strengthen communities and teams of shared constructive action.

We have great challenges today, some of which have external triggers, like the current pandemic, some of which are internally driven by hatred, fear, desire for power and exploitation of others.

All of these problems must be solved by shared insight and collective action that can only be successful if we engage positively together.

The current problems that are fanning flames of social conflict must be directly acknowledged and addressed.

There is no doubt that we need to avoid systemic prejudice where actions of one individual member of a group is seen as implicating other members of that group. This is true when white people see a black person as a threat and react with violence, whether in fear or in hatred.

It is also true when every policeman is seen as an abuser of power or worse.

Where the system of power protects those who have acted inexcusably, it must be held accountable.

This is not true everywhere.

Some police are joining in the protests. Where there is a shared purpose in opposing unacceptable actions, this should be acknowledged and a collaboration built upon mutual trust can be made. Building trust where it is possible will serve as an example that can spread.

Not everyone will choose to engage positively. For them there must be a separation from the rest. With those who find the positive in others and can work together, we can find the right way forward.

Some of what I have said here is driven by specific context, its foundation is based upon the science of complexity which says that the way forward must be through diverse teams of individuals who can face complexity successfully. A relevant statement medium.com/complex-system…