What can I do: the paradox of awareness
A simple and often asked question leads to new frustrations and the coining of a term describing a phenomenon often felt by minorities.
For anyone who identifies with me, perhaps the quintessential question we’ve been struggling with is: What can I do? Given what we knew, given what has percolated to the top, and given our affinity for black lives that each matter, I would like to help advance this conversation.
It starts by recognizing—what I will refer to here as—the paradox of awareness, when the act of becoming aware of an afflicted group places further burden on the group to make and articulate their case for the purpose of educating others of their circumstance. It is time we realize it is not the assumed responsibility of any burdened, marginalized minority individual to teach us the solutions to the problem (we) perpetuate. I neither say this to suggest that they have nothing to teach us nor do I say this to imply we cannot ask for their input. I say this because either a) in some instances the source of this question is not curiosity, it’s indifference, or b) however good intentioned we think we are, this allows us to avoid our responsibility to take action. Simply put: we are being lazy. I am not exempt from this, and I dare say, too many of us fall under this second category. A colleague of mine recently said, “it’s not enough for you to be ‘not racist’. We need you to be anti-racist.” I think she is right, and I think this begins with allies who take enough responsibility to lead by example. Asking ourselves what we can do is a good starting place, but we need to own up to seeking the answers.