In light of recent culture wars, it seems that some people have a disdain for knowledge and education. They don’t want fair play, the rule of law, or diversity, equity, and inclusion. Perhaps more accurately, a few people who have obtained a high level of power and status don’t want to share it with others. I’m speaking about the Clarence Thomases of the world, and don’t have the energy to be subtle or nice about it. There are examples aplenty, but he’ll do, because his example is exemplary.
This realization is both unexpected and true. When I was younger, I found it hard to fathom that people could be this way, but there seems to be more than a grain of truth to it. For those who have been disenfranchised, it feels like disempowerment, and it builds resentment.
In this world, when a person doesn’t feel like they have it within their power to do or obtain something, they feel like the only way they can get that thing is through another person. And when the person doesn’t fork over the goods (whether they actually can or actually have those goods is irrelevant), they get mad and turn on them. This erodes relationships.
The bitter few who think this way have vast sway, and their attitudes demoralize others, spreading like a contagion. Often, the loudest voices are the ones that are listened to the most. This is the enslaved mentality.
We have gone from keeping up with the Joneses to hating the Joneses and I fear, even cutting the brake line on their family RV.
We now have such indifference and disdain for the thinker, the builder, those who invest, that it has to adjust somewhere.
I’m talking about the day-to-day person, not VC babies. Many of whom are so insulated from what people are thinking and doing. Some don’t have those comfy support structures, and they are arguably the influencers of society. Even if they obtain wealth, values are another matter. Do we really want to be a society like that? Is that where our culture is headed? We now view people as resources, not people. “What can you do for me and what can you do for me right now,” is the new law of the land. It will end badly for those who think this way.
To me there seems to be a lack of honesty, or a mental split within many companies who claim publicly to believe in diversity, because I interact with a lot of them and they are anything but inclusive. Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos may not see what their lower levels are doing, but I would urge them to look at things on a data governance level…to look at policies and how they are selectively enforced. And Mark, you need to get rid of human moderation entirely. It invites censorship.
These things persist, even within Web 3 spaces. They say Web 3 will stand for diversity, equity and inclusion, but often their actions don’t match their words. I see it every day. And I have to say, I’m not perfect, I’m far from it. I’m still learning. But we ALL have to do better.
If we want a more inclusive and equitable society, a more egalitarian society with understanding, and to think about people as more than just resources, we need to break down these barriers we claim are in place to protect ourselves and others. It’s not always protection, sometimes it’s good old fashioned gatekeeping. People do many horrible things to others under the guise of protecting them. You also have to put people in power, at decision-making levels, especially in marketing, data governance and customer service who truly believe and understand that diversity is good. Not as a feel-good philosophy but because it’s good for your company’s bottom line. People should be valued beyond what they directly contribute to the bottom line in that quarter. People can sense when they are being patronized and pandered to, and people within your organizations are endlessly creative in making others feel implicitly unwelcome. Tools like Discord and even DAOs can be used to facilitate communication or stifle it. For an industry preaching transparency, ya’ll awfully opaque when it comes to operations. I’m keeping notes.
It should be stressed that diversity and inclusion isn’t a matter of goodwill, this is a matter of good business sense and your survival. Don’t do us any favors…we don’t want special treatment we want equal treatment. To a smart business diversity and inclusion means more revenue and those on the fence need to know that because closed systems, over time, fair far worse than open systems.
The rules and policies may say one thing, but like all things… legal and medical even, you will find people who preempt even the best laid rules, facts, laws and intentions, someone can short circuit all of that by simply saying: “It’s within my power and such-and-such is open to interpretation.” This is why I feel content moderation, data governance and even the judicial system would likely be better served by optimized algorithms that address the bias that humans, almost always, bring to the table.
