Dialog across difference #22: Race to the bottom

In the documentary Control Room, which looked at Al Jazeera, there is a scene in which one of the Al Jazeera reporters is in conversation with a number of other Al Jazeera personnel. The conversation is fast-paced, in Arabic, obviously about a very emotional, serious matter. 

Suddenly, he starts laughing and the other three look at him like he's lost it. Nothing being said was a laughing matter. One of them demands an explanation. 

"Listen to yourselves," says the fellow who had burst into laughter. "There is nothing in your minds that isn't the fault of Israel. A fire hydrant could burst in Damascus and you'd blame Israel." He continued laughing, just shaking his head. 

When we consider race in the US, similarly, for too many people, ignorance of the facts is no barrier to forming conclusions.

"Yeah," said the Black fellow, "I wasn't accepted into that masters program. Guess they already met their black quota." 

or

"Of course they hired her instead of me," says the white man. "I'm the wrong color and gender."

In terms of heuristics, there is, of course, a kernel of truth in both statements. Racism exists. So does mandated diversity, equity, and inclusion. But to base fast conclusions on these general facts might be ignoring many other salient and more dispositive facts. 

Here's part of the problem: 

·       White men do not have the lived experience of being either Black or a woman.

·       Black people do not have clear methods of differentiating between the background rate of human misfortune and the extra amount of it due to various forms of racism.

Because of these categories of ignorance, anecdotal information can turn into conclusions based on incomplete information. 

Key to managing this is to acknowledge it. 

"You can't possibly make valid assumptions when you do not actually face a white male power structure which has been proven so many times to make decisions based on race and gender."

"You are right. Let's dig into provable facts together so we can address this with conviction."

and

"Well, yes, denying you that position may have been related to DEI bias, or not. Can we work together to get as close to proof as possible and to advocate in unison for justice?"

To combine both assertions and acknowledgements can help in both managing emotional responses to situations where race is a factor and seeking to be partners in advocating for justice if race has resulted in a prejudicial outcome. Either way, the best outcome is for a culturally competent conversation to help obtain a just outcome and some small diminution of race as a confounding factor.