I am an immigrant from Germany. I became a citizen 10 years ago. I felt responsible for and ashamed of a lot of things my birth country has done, the holocaust against Jews and the aggression of two world wars at the top. But I did not feel responsible for the legacy of slavery and the continued racism in my new country. In fact, I somewhat resent to be put in the same box of “white” people who may need to deal with their racism. That defense may be getting brittle now. My daughter, now working in the HR area of the IT industry, has impacted me with her emotional response and call to action.
Our country is in trouble on many fronts. Let’s just name four major areas:
- 100,000 deaths and climbing through Covid-19 -> fear and isolation
- Racial and economic disparity -> anger and defensiveness
- Depression style recession and unemployment -> despair and anxiety
- Political and cultural divide -> inability for collective action
I believe we need to get involved and the key may be found in unlocking the dialogue. As we recognize each other’s humanity and uniqueness we can organize actions bridging the divide. If we can listen and talk to each other, if we can find commonalities and respect differences – then we can start solving all other problems.
Do you think that we should stick with only personal and private responses? Is the risk of creating friction within the organization or alienating customers too high? Many companies seem to be willing to take that risk, see Nike, Wells Fargo, Best Buy, Allianz…… I believe that we as business and IT professionals should accept a shared responsibility to take constructive action together, and also do this within our professional organizations. What do you think? Please let me know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drcO2V2m7lw
For once I can’t do it, I cannot look away. Can you?