I see and face fear every day in the workplace. No, I do not work in a coal mine. I am not a police officer or a fireman. I’m not a high-rise window cleaner. I have an office job for a Fortune 100 company. Every day I think, “What if they find out?” “Do they already know?” “Oh no, I think they do!”
I’ll tell you my secret. Come closer. Shh! I need to whisper. I’m only going to say this once. Are you ready?
I like Trump.
The BLM movement is doing more harm than good.
I value diversity of thought more than outward diversity.
There are many like me out there. We like the people with whom we work. We gladly hire people of all races, gender, and sexual orientation. We passionately support equality.
Of course, we also attend trainings about our unconscious bias and white privilege. We are told that there are quotas for hiring minorities and that we shouldn’t apply for “that” role. We attend work-sponsored rallies about victims of police brutality where the details of the tragedy are unclear. Motives of racism in these unfortunate events are even less clear.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. I must be upset about the success of people of color in the workplace. I must feel that I am discriminated. I never owned slaves. Why should I have all this stuff shoved down my throat!!! My America is being changed and I don’t like it!!!
This is 100% false.
Not everything is about me. I love learning about things I do not fully understand. I attend meetings about understanding the African American experience in America. I build relationships with people that do not look like me in order to understand their perspective. I go out of my way to hire and promote people of all races, gender and sexual orientation. I want to learn and grow.
So why is it that I am scared to share an opinion that might be slightly Right of Center? It’s because people “fear what they don’t understand and they hate what they can’t conquer.”
You know who is even more scared than me? CEO’s. Presidents. Board members. They are scared of not being woke. They are still mostly old white guys trying to protect themselves. They follow every woke trend. They wear the bracelets. They put a fist in the air. They distance themselves from anything pro-American or pro-Police.
For the record, talking politics in the office is generally a recipe for a disaster anyways. What starts out as an innocuous discussion the equivalent of “Tastes Great! Less Filling” can quickly turn uncomfortable at best and could easily lead to a relationship being damaged or ending.
When the protesting and rioting began earlier this summer, the building where I work had windows shattered and many buildings in the immediate area were also damaged. There were no emails about associate safety. They did not tell us to stay home or to be careful. Why? They would rather an associate be injured than to be charged with Not Being Woke in the First Degree by saying something that could be deemed negative about the BLM protesters. I walked out of work one day through a large group of protestors who had apparent ANTIFA members blocking the roads for them. I meekly walked through the roadblock to get to my car to ensure I did not end up in an altercation. I knew that if I did end up in something that was filmed, the same company who put me in the potentially dangerous position would fire me to ensure that the Woke Police would not go after them.
I am not a victim. I do not feel sorry for myself. It’s not about the good old days. It’s not about Making America Great Again. As someone who loves ALL people. As someone who would do anything to lift up ALL those around them at work. As someone who loves this country it took me a while to understand how we got here. How we are now in a place where only the Woke are pure and everyone else is full of unforgivable sin and must be punished.
Unfortunately, it is all because of fear. I am not going to stop going to work. I am not going to stop supporting All people around me at work. I am not going to stop trying to learn and grow.
“People fear what they don’t understand and they hate what they can’t conquer.” Want to understand me? Just ask! I’ll tell you all about me!