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I do believe that Ultiworld and the ultimate community can improve and change and become leaders for equity in sports. AND days like this make me question if that& #39;s possible and if it is, what work that entails. And what my role in it is as a white gay trans woman. 2/
To be clear, there are some statements that can be made and should not be controversial. Supporting or having views that directly harm marginalized people should not be welcomed or supported. White people with conservative/bigoted views are not a minority to be protected. 3/
Ultimate and ultimate organizations should prioritize the safety of marginalized people over the comfort of the privileged. And silence or not being outwardly publicly bigoted does not mean that someone is not a bad person or their presence does not threaten or harm others. 4/
That last point I think is notable because there& #39;s an idea that if someone isn& #39;t blatantly bigoted then they& #39;re not a bigot. But if you& #39;ve done any learning around power and systemic bigotry, you know that& #39;s not true. Not looking like a racist doesn& #39;t make you not a racist. 5/
This is one of the points of contention in this discussion, and also in the Josh Anthon/Innova conversation last week. These conservative white men don& #39;t seem to be actively harming people, why is it an issue to have them in our community? Because their presence harms others. 6/
Why then do some people find it okay to criticize Innova and Anthon while backing Ultiworld and Kurt? They& #39;re different situations, sure, but not that different. Do we find it easier to criticize those not in our community, and does it matter tweets vs a tattoo? 7/
We should be holding all of the organizations and people we interact with to the same standard to not support bigotry and hate. And when they fail us, we either can decide to stop interacting with them or push them to change. One is clearly easier than the other. 8/
So that brings me back to my original question, what is my role as in working with Ultiworld? Do I stop, or do I try and work with them to recognize where they may have misstepped and help them to be better? It& #39;s personal and everyone will have a different answer. 9/
For me, I still hope that Charlie and Ultiworld can improve and I plan to continue to work with them to try and make that happen. As a white person I have more capacity to be in those spaces and I hope I can put it to good use and support those that can& #39;t be there. 10/10