Thread by @aishuarjun

I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive this award & thank you so much to @carrie_haverty for the nomination. Having you as a mentor, colleague & ally has meant so much.
But if I can say something else, I am also incredibly frustrated at our NSGC community #NSGC20 #GCchat

https://twitter.com/GeneticCouns/status/1330164151877054472

To see people make excuses & provide reasons as to why they may not have participated in the membership DEI survey is ridiculous. Yes, we are in the middle of a pandemic. We ALL are. & everyone has been impacted in some way or another. That is not an excuse. #NSGC20 #GCchat

People that are BIPOC are doing more of the work than ANYONE in the majority with not only a pandemic going on but also fearing for their lives and safety due to the environment we live in. #NSGC20 #GCchat

To not fill out a freakin SURVEY that was sent MULTIPLE times with the subject header: NSGC Member Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Survey where that was the ONLY survey to fill out is inexcusable. W/ multiple reminders ⬇️ this is what it looked like. #NSGC20 #GCchat

DEI is not something we just started talking about this year. We've been talking about it for years but we've spotlighted it for the last TWO years and told people multiple times that this was coming. #NSGC20 #GCchat

The telling statement was that non majority groups were over represented in the people who DID fill out the survey. That means that those that are most marginalized in our community & society & MORE impacted by the pandemic filled it out at a higher rate. #NSGC20 #GCchat

So I just don't want to hear it. Stop whining and complaining and do something about it. I'm speaking for myself here but it's exhausting & mentally draining to keep speaking up & doing the work only to have people make excuses for why they can't step up. #NSGC20 #GCchat

& I'm saying this as someone who has a job, a family that is safe and healthy, I don't have to think about walking out the door and worrying about my safety. So if I am exhausted, then take a moment to think about others that are BIPOC & have to worry about that. #NSGC20 #GCchat

I am here to tell you (majority folks) in our profession, that your actions/excuses are harmful to your BIPOC colleagues & if that doesn't sit well with you then I'm not here to apologize that my words made you feel bad bc your inactions are hurting people. #NSGC20 #GCchat

Sorry I'm not sorry if you're not feeling empathy because most BIPOC folks haven't felt any empathy or a "culture of nice" in this field ever. EVER. #NSGC20 #GCchat

End of my Saturday morning rant. #NSGC20 #GCchat