“The language is in on it.”

I’ve been saying that a lot lately.

And it’s what I said when my general manager explained to me a few days ago that “quiet quitting” is a thing.

Whew chile…….this racist capitalist system is up to it again.

“Quiet quitting.”

What the actual…….?!

To coin an expression, “Now ain’t that some racist capitalist bullsh&t!”

You’ll understand how when you consider that “quiet quitting” refers to healthy behaviors like….

• self-care
• protecting one’s peace
• setting boundaries
• balance
• work-life management

In other words, employees are rightfully saying “no” to being overwhelmed, “no” to being over-worked.

Newsflash.

Employees get to quit……..being fatigued or exploited, that is.

No more over-work for under-value and under-pay.

No more burnout.

People are not stretching themselves anymore to give extra.

It’s called boundaries.

It’s called prioritizing human being over human doing.

Two Discerning Questions to Always Ask

1.  Who does the narrative benefit, and how?
2. Who does the narrative harm/demonize, and how?

Once you ask yourself this about “quiet quitting” and answer both questions, it will tell you everything you need to know about why I keep saying that the language is in on it.

Those in power both control and manipulate the narrative to shape perception and to maintain status quo.

If enough people share a perception, it then becomes mass reality…. a mass reality that rarely gets questioned.

They Tried It With the “Great Resignation”

Narrative controllers insist on framing this current season we’re in as the “Great Resignation.”

Some of them even resorted to saying that “people just don’t want to work,” that people are “lazy” and want a “handout.”

Another newsflash.

The so-called “Great Resignation” is not about people not being willing to work. It’s about employers not being decent to employees.

People are fed up and over it!

We are voting with our voice and our feet.

Recent Background

Remember the early days of the first covid shutdown? It revealed and exposed this country’s ugly underbelly….

• Existing power structures are fueled and supported by race-based capitalism.
• Narratives are controlled by those in power.
• Work which we were told couldn’t be done remotely can indeed be done remotely.
• Disabled and “neurodivergent” individuals could’ve been working remotely all along instead of being faced with inadequate accommodations or unemployment.
• Profit is ALWAYS king.

A narrative that came into prominence during this time was “essential workers.”

Oh, the irony.

The term “essential” took on new meaning in 2020. For a proverbial minute, folks who had typically been relegated to the bottom through a combination of race and class were having a bit of a moment because of the “essential designation” narrative.

Low-wage WORK and “unskilled” WORK received a semantics makeover. The WORK is considered essential. The WORKERS are not.

At best, workers were considered “essentially disposable” workers, but companies were certainly not saying that quiet part out loud.

So the approved narrative during the covid emergency was this:  essential workers.

You know…..the ones who’ve always kept society running.

The ones who lack access to benefits such as paid leave and health insurance.

The ones who are expected to live on a non-livable wage.

The ones not provided with sufficient PPE.

Remember that?

Yeah, good times.

1. Who benefitted from the “essential” narrative? How?  
2. Who was harmed/demonized by the “essential” narrative? How?  

Exhibit A: URMs

Black, Brown, and Indigenous employees are referred to as URMs—”under-represented minorities.” By keeping the focus on the “under-represented” aspect, it deflects away from acknowledging and drawing attention to companies’ ongoing discriminatory practices against us……THE MAIN REASON why we are so under-represented in the first place.

We are under-represented primarily because we are regularly discriminated against in systematic and systemic ways.

Check with Wells Fargo, who leads the pack in making sure we stay “under-represented.”

1. Who benefits from the euphemistic “under-represented” narrative? How?  
2. Who is harmed/demonized by the euphemistic “under-represented” narrative? How?

Let’s not forget the “minorities” aspect of URM. It is a term that should have long ago been retired for its connotative reliance on a power dynamic.

As one of my friends, Melinda Hansbury, pointed out, “Whiteness loves calling everybody ‘minorities.’ OpenTable needs to cut it out.”

So, OpenTable, is the category “minority owned/operated” even necessary? The list stands on its own.

Imagine having a list like that, and then blowing it by labeling everybody on the list as “minority.”

Ugh.

Do better, OpenTable.

Exhibit B: Diversity Candidate/Hire

This is a non-sensical offensive category.

Full stop.

And it’s being used by companies, leaders, recruiters, hiring managers across the board.

Ugh.

A person is NOT diverse. Teams and workplaces are diverse. Have you ever heard of a cis hetero white male being called a “diversity candidate/hire”?

No.

And you damn well know why.

“Diversity candidate/hire” is code and virtue-signaling.

1. Who benefits from the “diversity candidate/hire” narrative? How?  
2. Who is harmed/demonized by the “diversity candidate/hire” narrative? How?  

Keep Questioning and Challenging the Language

I’ve provided several examples for you to consider – quiet quitting, Great Resignation, essential, under-represented, minorities, diversity candidate/hire.

Keep going.

Language has been manipulated, weaponized, encoded to serve the interests of whiteness.

• professional
• unprofessional
• microaggression (thank you to A Johanna for recently highlighting that there is nothing micro about ongoing regular bouts with racism)
• lowering the bar
• reverse racism
• CRT
• tradition
• culture fit
• law and order
• POC

CONCLUSION

The same way that history can be “rewritten” is the same way that narratives can be molded in real time to align with an agenda.

And what’s the agenda when it comes to DEI?

White-centered DEI has no intention of being anything other than white-centered DEI.

Whiteness has essentially written itself into and grafted itself onto DEI, a body of work whose ideals and practices did not originate with white people.

In other words, while many folks were out here not paying attention, DEI was colonized.

Want proof?

• Look up who comprises the majority of Chief Diversity Officers. (thank you to Dr. Gillian Marcelle who recently reminded us of this)
• Look up retention rates for Black CDOs and the reasons for their termination.
• Look up who secures the majority of DEI contracts.
• Look up who self-markets themselves as “leading” and “leaders of” DEI training and education.
• Look up who primarily gets major exposure, lucrative book deals, and big bucks from DEI work.
• Look up who controls the majority of DEI-certifying bodies.
• Look up which companies are making certification mandatory for DEI practitioners they hire.
• Look up which company DEI gatekeepers (a combination of CDOs, CHROs, etc.) have rejected anti-racism education in favor of countless rounds of “unconscious bias” training or a “kindness” philosophy.
• Look up which companies are erasing Black employees by reporting Black employee data under a generalized POC umbrella.

Yes. Follow the data.

Follow the money.

And also follow the language.

It’s where DEI goes to die and to be reborn as……

Business as usual.

“All is white with the world.”

Not much longer though.

Tehilliym (Psalm) 37 is giving me life today.

Tick. Tock.

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Thru September 30 or until we reach maximum capacity of 50 (whichever comes first), you can apply to be a member of my “True Anti-Racism Allies Academy.” The optimum term here is “true.”

Having launched August 1, the Academy is a subscription-based community for aspiring anti-racism allies and anti-racism allies-in-progress to (un)learn and grow to become impactivists™. Benefits include community support for the journey, coaching, content not released on LinkedIn, minimum of one video lesson per month, monthly invitation to a live virtual learning lab.

The community is NOT right for those who are “fragile,” ego-driven, unreceptive to feedback and correction, averse or “allergic” to discomfort, or are looking for “ally cookies.”

Membership is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

Our first week together focused on “adulting” (it doesn’t mean what you think it means in the anti-racism space) as a non-desirable trait for impactivists™ and on what it means to really listen. This week we are wrapping up discussing and practicing “The Impact Apology,” which decenters intent. We’ve also been looking at common reasons why apologies fail; private versus public apologies; and repeat offender apologies.

Click here for more information and to apply.