Last night I came under an unrelenting series of attacks intended to tarnish my professional and personal reputation. The cause? Some tweets I sent calling for compassion within our workplace. Those attacks continued this morning. 1/6
In hopes of de-escalating, I temporarily deactivated my account, amid a barrage of online abuse directed by one person but carried out by an eager mob. The one-sided attacks continued even after I stopped engaging. I know the old adage: Hurt people hurt people. But what then? 2/6
In such a situation, it is difficult to find the line between sympathizing and challenging with compassion. My instinct is to defend myself. But I talk a big game about kindness, and I’m going to try to practice some of that now by simply moving on and not engaging. 3/6
I *will* just say that I am proud to be part of a workplace where, contrary to the impression created on this forum, many people are actively engaged in the work of dismantling systems of sexism, racism, and homophobia. Sometimes that work is loud, and sometimes it is quiet. 4/6
As the only Mexican American reporter on the national desk, I know the sting of discriminatory systems firsthand. Anyone who wants you to believe they alone are trying to fix it is doing a disservice to the amazing team effort unfolding, of which I am proud to a part. 5/6
I’ll end where I began: Let’s be kinder to each other. I really believe empathy is a necessary tool in this effort to improve our workplaces and our culture. We can all be better. I certainly will continue trying to be. 6/6
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My latest piece follows a small-town widow as she travels across Wyoming to share the story of the state's most beloved cross-dresser: her deceased husband.
Accompanying her is the writer, a gay man, who curated her words into a play.
Along the way, they contemplate what it means to belong and survive, and how to live authentically in a cruel world. I'd be grateful if you gave it a read. washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12…
"The threat of violence loomed over them from that point on, especially in small-town Wyoming, the Cowboy State. No matter that Larry was in many ways a conventional man from rural America: great at building things, gruff in voice and demeanor, traditionally manly in almost ..."