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POWERFUL & timely essay by @JohnRWoodJr. Read the thread. It's may not be what you expected:"We do need unity in America. We need peace & order. We need justice & the correcting of genuine social inequities. There is a path to this kind of unity. It is a painful path."
1/19
2/19
"There is a price to be paid for what we sometimes call 'unity.' Sometimes, consciously or not, we use 'unity' to fashion societal arrangements that bury legitimate grievance and social dissent beneath consensus, where they may be comfortably ignored."
"There is a price to be paid for what we sometimes call 'unity.' Sometimes, consciously or not, we use 'unity' to fashion societal arrangements that bury legitimate grievance and social dissent beneath consensus, where they may be comfortably ignored."
3/19
"We may feel polarized in America along the axes of left and right, Black and white. But the core division that must be identified and spoken to in American life is the divide between the privileged and the marginalized—in ways that go beyond what you might think."
"We may feel polarized in America along the axes of left and right, Black and white. But the core division that must be identified and spoken to in American life is the divide between the privileged and the marginalized—in ways that go beyond what you might think."
4/19
"I live an immensely privileged life. I am half African-American, but my privilege exists not merely despite my color but also, in my case, because of it. I grew up biracial in a liberal, multicultural community where people like me were celebrated.
"I live an immensely privileged life. I am half African-American, but my privilege exists not merely despite my color but also, in my case, because of it. I grew up biracial in a liberal, multicultural community where people like me were celebrated.
5/19
"This acceptance...translated into opportunities. I was ever conscious of the fact that America...was rooting for me. That, in truth, has been the experience of my entire life.
This is not the experience of millions of white kids across America.
"This acceptance...translated into opportunities. I was ever conscious of the fact that America...was rooting for me. That, in truth, has been the experience of my entire life.
This is not the experience of millions of white kids across America.
6/19
"It is not the experience of millions of people enduring rural poverty in the Deep South, nor narrowing opportunities in the industrial corpses of the rust belt, or diminishing life-spans in drug-addled & sometimes violence-ridden neighborhoods littered across Appalachia."
"It is not the experience of millions of people enduring rural poverty in the Deep South, nor narrowing opportunities in the industrial corpses of the rust belt, or diminishing life-spans in drug-addled & sometimes violence-ridden neighborhoods littered across Appalachia."
7/19
As a child, "my sensibilities were sophisticated, even at the age of eight or nine. Teachers found me bright and articulate. I was someone worth encouraging. Strangers would compliment me on my speech, my hair, even the 'beautiful color' of my skin.
As a child, "my sensibilities were sophisticated, even at the age of eight or nine. Teachers found me bright and articulate. I was someone worth encouraging. Strangers would compliment me on my speech, my hair, even the 'beautiful color' of my skin.
8/19
A white kid named "Donny, however, spoke w/ a thick southern twang that conjured stereotypic images of backwoods and chewing tobacco. He wrote half his letters backwards. He listened to country music. Donny was 'dumb.' Donny was a 'redneck.' Donny was teased & isolated."
A white kid named "Donny, however, spoke w/ a thick southern twang that conjured stereotypic images of backwoods and chewing tobacco. He wrote half his letters backwards. He listened to country music. Donny was 'dumb.' Donny was a 'redneck.' Donny was teased & isolated."
9/19
"There was no culture of charity for kids like [Donny]. When an immigrant student would join our class,...we were told to be patient with them. Some special interest would be taken in them. No special interest would be taken in kids like Donny.
"There was no culture of charity for kids like [Donny]. When an immigrant student would join our class,...we were told to be patient with them. Some special interest would be taken in them. No special interest would be taken in kids like Donny.
10/19
"The struggles of millions of poor white Americans are real. Their lack of privilege is evidence...of the consequences of falling into the wrong categories of white. There is a belief among poor...White people that 'we' do not want them. And we don’t, by and large.
"The struggles of millions of poor white Americans are real. Their lack of privilege is evidence...of the consequences of falling into the wrong categories of white. There is a belief among poor...White people that 'we' do not want them. And we don’t, by and large.
11/19
"We don’t push for their representation in universities. We don’t put them in movies & TV except as bigots & bad guys. We often frame the struggle for social progress...as the struggle to overcome their values, culture, & identities as the bane of real equality in America.
"We don’t push for their representation in universities. We don’t put them in movies & TV except as bigots & bad guys. We often frame the struggle for social progress...as the struggle to overcome their values, culture, & identities as the bane of real equality in America.
12/19
"Pointing out that I, as one individual Black man, am possessed of more privilege in my life than millions of white people in America is not to claim that the historic struggle of Afr-Ams & other marginalized groups is roughly comparable to that of poor white people today.
"Pointing out that I, as one individual Black man, am possessed of more privilege in my life than millions of white people in America is not to claim that the historic struggle of Afr-Ams & other marginalized groups is roughly comparable to that of poor white people today.
13/19
"It is, instead, to say that privilege & marginalization in America are not mere matters of color. My story points to the larger inequity that faces a greater number of Black people in America for falling into the wrong categories of Black.
"It is, instead, to say that privilege & marginalization in America are not mere matters of color. My story points to the larger inequity that faces a greater number of Black people in America for falling into the wrong categories of Black.
14/19
"Black kids I grew up w/ received less social access & special support. They were patronized...within an ed system that wished to signal its tolerance. But meaningful empowerment of children of color is not proven by special affection for 'well-adjusted' kids like me."
"Black kids I grew up w/ received less social access & special support. They were patronized...within an ed system that wished to signal its tolerance. But meaningful empowerment of children of color is not proven by special affection for 'well-adjusted' kids like me."
15/19
"Our empathy w/ the marginalized becomes divided. We cherry-pick which of the disenfranchised are worthy of our understanding. We obliterate the common cause between all who are shut out of the American dream. We fail to keep the suffering of all Americans in plain view.
"Our empathy w/ the marginalized becomes divided. We cherry-pick which of the disenfranchised are worthy of our understanding. We obliterate the common cause between all who are shut out of the American dream. We fail to keep the suffering of all Americans in plain view.
16/19
"The path to unity does not end w/ our learning to empathize w/ the struggle of Americans across the spectrum of suffering. But it is a necessary step towards unity.
We must not be afraid to learn from the example of Martin Luther King, Jr. ...
"The path to unity does not end w/ our learning to empathize w/ the struggle of Americans across the spectrum of suffering. But it is a necessary step towards unity.
We must not be afraid to learn from the example of Martin Luther King, Jr. ...
17/19
"The foundational teaching of King’s nonviolence was that we must recognize the mutual human dignity of all suffering people. From there we may move together towards justice and community.
"The foundational teaching of King’s nonviolence was that we must recognize the mutual human dignity of all suffering people. From there we may move together towards justice and community.
18/19
"The work of unity is the labor of loving our enemies until they become our friends. Sometimes it produces inspiring stories of transformation. In some cases, our enemies really do become our friends. Other times they spit in our faces and do not change at all.
"The work of unity is the labor of loving our enemies until they become our friends. Sometimes it produces inspiring stories of transformation. In some cases, our enemies really do become our friends. Other times they spit in our faces and do not change at all.
19/19
"The question is whether we as Americans are willing to accept that the path to unity—at least a unity worth having—is a painful one, littered with disappointment in others & in ourselves. But we must walk it anyway."
Read it all @JoinPersuasion: https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-painful-path-to-unity
"The question is whether we as Americans are willing to accept that the path to unity—at least a unity worth having—is a painful one, littered with disappointment in others & in ourselves. But we must walk it anyway."
Read it all @JoinPersuasion: https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-painful-path-to-unity
