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1/
Seeing some pretty bad @JohnBoyega takes so let me get personal for a minute.
I know the likelihood of many people seeing this is low but I feel convicted to share what I can in light of this interview and in light of this year.
Seeing some pretty bad @JohnBoyega takes so let me get personal for a minute.
I know the likelihood of many people seeing this is low but I feel convicted to share what I can in light of this interview and in light of this year.
2/
I’m about to leave a job. Friday is my last day. It is a job that has paid my bills, provided the necessary healthcare plan that got my wife a surgery she desperately needed, provided me with what is
I’m about to leave a job. Friday is my last day. It is a job that has paid my bills, provided the necessary healthcare plan that got my wife a surgery she desperately needed, provided me with what is
3/
practically unheard of in smaller city Southern US, 6 weeks paid paternity leave for the birth of my son. That entire pregnancy was made possible by the surgery that was made possible by the healthcare plan that was made possible by the job I have.
practically unheard of in smaller city Southern US, 6 weeks paid paternity leave for the birth of my son. That entire pregnancy was made possible by the surgery that was made possible by the healthcare plan that was made possible by the job I have.
4/
To an extent, everything I have right now is as a result of the good things this job has done for me. And the five years of working here is the most miserable I have ever been. I have been used, neglected, degraded, deceived, passed over, forced into situations which make me
To an extent, everything I have right now is as a result of the good things this job has done for me. And the five years of working here is the most miserable I have ever been. I have been used, neglected, degraded, deceived, passed over, forced into situations which make me
5/
uncomfortable and if I dare to raise a voice of concern, not even protest, I would be degraded even further, accused of laziness and told I should be grateful to have this job at all.
And it’s an otherwise meaningless 8-5. Not even close to my dream job.
uncomfortable and if I dare to raise a voice of concern, not even protest, I would be degraded even further, accused of laziness and told I should be grateful to have this job at all.
And it’s an otherwise meaningless 8-5. Not even close to my dream job.
6/
And now that I’m leaving, I feel a sudden freedom that the bogged down state of “don’t rock the boat or you’ll lose what you’ve got” sense of dedication to trying to be professional, respectful, and grateful never allowed me.
And it’s not even close to my dream job.
And now that I’m leaving, I feel a sudden freedom that the bogged down state of “don’t rock the boat or you’ll lose what you’ve got” sense of dedication to trying to be professional, respectful, and grateful never allowed me.
And it’s not even close to my dream job.
7/
I’m the same age as @johnboyega and I cannot imagine, getting my dream job, Star Wars, in my early 20s, and having that dream experience sullied with the things he did.
As a white man, I know I cannot imagine.
I’m the same age as @johnboyega and I cannot imagine, getting my dream job, Star Wars, in my early 20s, and having that dream experience sullied with the things he did.
As a white man, I know I cannot imagine.
8/
But as a person who has had to suffer through a job that made me miserable, and yet also gave me everything I have over the last five years, I feel at the minimum qualified to say this:
But as a person who has had to suffer through a job that made me miserable, and yet also gave me everything I have over the last five years, I feel at the minimum qualified to say this:
9/
It is possible to have a job provide you with many good things, and also to subject you to misery. It is possible to try to protect that job while you have it out of real respect and gratitude, but also out of very real fear and basic necessity.
It is possible to have a job provide you with many good things, and also to subject you to misery. It is possible to try to protect that job while you have it out of real respect and gratitude, but also out of very real fear and basic necessity.
10/
This is bigger than Star Wars, it’s bigger than the film industry. And clearly, it’s bigger than the US. The racial inequality that John is speaking against is global, and the fact that it made it into his experience of a film franchise
This is bigger than Star Wars, it’s bigger than the film industry. And clearly, it’s bigger than the US. The racial inequality that John is speaking against is global, and the fact that it made it into his experience of a film franchise
11/
That means a whole lot to a lot of people, should at the very least get the attention of those people. The man was in Star Wars. The man got to be a lead. He got to wear the costumes and wield a lightsaber and sit in the Falcon.
That means a whole lot to a lot of people, should at the very least get the attention of those people. The man was in Star Wars. The man got to be a lead. He got to wear the costumes and wield a lightsaber and sit in the Falcon.
12/
But what he’s telling us is none of that is as significant as being treated or told outright that your race makes you lesser than the other people doing the same things. That should not be hard to understand.
But what he’s telling us is none of that is as significant as being treated or told outright that your race makes you lesser than the other people doing the same things. That should not be hard to understand.
13/
So listen to him. Don’t tell him he should be grateful to have had a job when the terms of having that job were weighted with assaults on his value as a human. Human decency is worth much more than Star Wars.
So listen to him. Don’t tell him he should be grateful to have had a job when the terms of having that job were weighted with assaults on his value as a human. Human decency is worth much more than Star Wars.
14/
It is possible to have loved Finn, loved the sequels, loved The Last Jedi, and also to understand that his experience behind the scenes was not your experience of watching a film.
It is possible to have loved Finn, loved the sequels, loved The Last Jedi, and also to understand that his experience behind the scenes was not your experience of watching a film.
15/
I will leave this job Friday with my head held high, but also with years of weight I know I have to process. The first step in that for me has been my exit interview, which took the form of a five page essay on my experience, respectful but honest.
I will leave this job Friday with my head held high, but also with years of weight I know I have to process. The first step in that for me has been my exit interview, which took the form of a five page essay on my experience, respectful but honest.
16/
It was liberating, like shrugging off a weight I wasn’t allowed to acknowledge existed. I am grateful for the good things I have, but also very aware that they came with a price tag, which was often my dignity and joy.
It was liberating, like shrugging off a weight I wasn’t allowed to acknowledge existed. I am grateful for the good things I have, but also very aware that they came with a price tag, which was often my dignity and joy.
17/
The worst part of it was not being listened to, and being told I was wrong for feeling and expressing my concerns. The best part of leaving us been learning how valid my feelings actually were, and how right I am to leave.
The worst part of it was not being listened to, and being told I was wrong for feeling and expressing my concerns. The best part of leaving us been learning how valid my feelings actually were, and how right I am to leave.
18/
And my experience has nothing to do with my race. John’s did. If he’s telling us things aren’t what we thought they were, we should listen to that. My customers will never know what I went through. As an audience, we’re getting a look at his experience.
And my experience has nothing to do with my race. John’s did. If he’s telling us things aren’t what we thought they were, we should listen to that. My customers will never know what I went through. As an audience, we’re getting a look at his experience.
19/
Take it seriously.
As a Star Wars fan, I love the movies, I love Finn, I love John’s performance. None of that will change.
As a person, knowing what came with his experience means knowing something has to change.
Take it seriously.
As a Star Wars fan, I love the movies, I love Finn, I love John’s performance. None of that will change.
As a person, knowing what came with his experience means knowing something has to change.
