Thursday, February 19, 2009

An Ape, My Conflict with My Cousin

I did not want to write this blog post. I am tired of these situations coming up and the same cycle playing itself out, but it is what it is and this time I will respond to get it off my chest.

After receiving an email from my cousin in Texas who got a viral email about the New York Post's (Feb. 18th--see below) chimpanzee cartoon that apparently connotes a racial slur against the President of the United States.

So here is how it happens:

Newspaper editor sits around and thinks about content for the February 18th issue. He has cartoonist Sean Delonas, always controversial, publish a cartoon featuring the chimp that was recently shot for attacking its owner's best friend. The caption makes a reference to a the primate writing the stimulus bill. My cousin sends our family including me an email.

Delonas NYPost Kill Monkey.jpg

My cousin's response to the email she got:
Ok Family and Friends! See this cartoon for yourself and tell me if African-Americans should be offended by this or not! Given our history in this country, the Post has the AUDACITY to put this in their newspaper! They knew EXACTLY what they were doing!

This won't be a problem for most of us but, DO NOT BUY THE NEW YORK POST!!!

My response to my cousin and family: Folks, let's move on the path of transcending these types of things. If the artist had ill intent, let them be who they are and pray that someone does not harm them out of anger.

We have the opportunity to embark on the path of transcending pain and healing our communities. Let's not get caught up in the baiting of outside entities distracting us from the work we have to do, we must do, Yes we can do! Get enraged about the distractions and how we have to detach from them in order to move towards enriching and loving one another as our full-time mission.

My cousin (not agreeing in response): Hello. I respectfully disagree. What does it take to get respect in this country?!!!

Because we African-Americans have already came too far and have worked so hard for what LITTLE strides we have made....is ALL the more reason to stop this subtle bigotry in its tracks! If we overlook something like this, they ( the racist right) will just keep on doing these kinds of things!

To me by jumping on this now or "nipping this in the bud" this will help ALL of us heal properly and transcend the pain we as African-Americans only experience in this country. I would think its a travesty if we let these little, subtle racial time bombs get into the heads of our kids and the many millions of other "non African" Americans that come to this country every year and allowed to look down on us.

Its these kind of things that make our kids want "white" dolls instead of "black". Its these subtle statements that help perpetuate the negative stereotypes in our media and in our songs. Why else do we have 75% of African American men marrying outside their race? Do you think that its all for love?

My reinforcement: Still a distraction. We have been trying to "stop things in their tracks" since the beginning of the Civil Rights movement and it has only gotten us but so far.

In fact, when a movement against something like this arises, the media and a paper like this get more exposure and actually make more money. Think about Don Imus. I think he is a decent guy that said something stupid and racist. He lost one show then picked up another out of us being enraged making MUCH more money.

We are not focused enough on re-segregated inferior schools, issues with HIV, our health, growing OUR businesses, etc but we put time in to making this nothing newspaper a viral hit on-line? It doesn't add up for me. They are getting exactly the livid response from the black community that they intended and it is going to make them money and we are putting it in their pockets!

My overall conclusion about things like this: During the political campaign the New Yorker published a cover that was a caricature of the Presidential Candidate Barack Obama and Michelle Obama during what my friends call a "Terrorist Fist Bump."



People were outraged, I suspect Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson spoke for all of the black people as they are the ones that get on TV. Now fortunately we have heard the voices of people like Roland Martin (whom I differ in perspective with a little in this posting) who I think are more inclusive in their perspective. Nonetheless, I think there is too much time spent on the ignorance and unconsciously or consciously racist remarks that people make.

Should things be pointed out as to the connotation and impact? At times, yes, other times, no. The nature of many media vehicles attention, coverage, etc. at all cost. The NYPost can have commentary about their cartoon for several more weeks to come. It will be talked about on television news casts, the artist will be invited to speak on shows and interviewed, etc. It is a classic publicity coup that newspapers and many media outlets live for. So, for this reason I say no.

I simply don't think it should get much attention. I understand that if this happened and had a negative connotation for the Jewish community (as in a rat character as Roland Martin described) there would be outrage. I agree. I also think that there would be dollars pulled from advertisers because so many business are owned or operated by people from the Jewish community and they are organized to take that stand. Simply not purchasing the Post does very little and a viral email forwarded to potentially hundreds of thousands does not hurt the Post either--it boosts sales.

We have to acknowledge these racial dynamics, but if we want to begin to embark on the road to change, hold people accountable without promoting their negative actions. So, yes to pointing it out, just not too much.

If we want to come down on vehicles like the NYPost, and request that they contribute to various non-profits working in struggling communities with depressed schools and families. Make them go beyond a defensive stance and engage in a back and forth blaming of leading blacks for their so-called opportunism. Make them say, "we did not intend for this to be offensive". Even if they don't mean it, call for them to back it up and contribute to something that combats the perception if they are sincere. Will they do it, maybe not, but it will give the public insight into what they are all about in earnest and then the outcomes will play themselves out over time.

Don't give them more fuel that helps add to their coffers. There is no progression in that approach and it has not helped race relations and it definitely is not what the diversity conversation should create. In fact, it is the cycle of perpetual sameness that we have seen over and over the more we try to make the "bad people" fess up so that the "good people" can be satisfied that their justice has been served.

I doubt the President cares or has time to care and in fact, he probably shook his head and laughed it off. The stimulus bill is passed and he is off to a great start!

Make it a great day!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Connection is the New Career Economy


When I make art, I think about its ability to connect with others, to bring them into the process.


After a 10+ day trip from coast to coast, connecting, consulting, and collecting stories and learning so much from so many, I returned to see my plants a little irritated with me. In fact, two of them went on strike to the point that they looked as though they were on the brink of death.

I definitely know why I don't have a pet as much as I travel. . .Back to the plants.

After buying new pots, soil, collecting rain water from friends that had it to spare in addition to the small amount that I collected from my deck while away, I went about re-connecting with my plants. Now, they were not altogether neglected while I was away, but they did not (and I could see it) feel connected to or any other human because there was no human presence. As a result, they slowly moved towards a state of being less than they are capable of being.

Traveling is not new for me and my plants are not without their alone time. The difference this time was that I did not leave a key for my neighbor to come buy and spend time with them. I asked a friend who is very good with plants to water them, but he does not have the time to spend with them like my next door neighbor takes the time to do. The difference: watered plants vs. plants that were given the opportunity to interact with an oxygen breathing organism--to connect.

My plants have historically been very healthy and have grown a great deal. Until my previous trip while in Washington, DC for about 9 days in January, they were flourishing. However, the less interaction they have had the less healthy they have been and because I have been gone back to back, I was not able to repair the small issues I noticed they were experiencing. In fact, I said to myself, "they will be okay until I get back."

This was not the best decision. In fact, when I saw the slight wilting and leaves dropping off, I would have served us both better by taking the time to connect, if only for a little while. Assuring them that upon my return, we would spend an extended period of time together renewing our greenness! But I didn't.

Connecting is the new career economy. When I say, "new" I am not implying that we haven't connected in the past and that it hasn't been vital to our careers, recruiting, retention, advancement, etc. What I am saying is that the nature of our connections is now beyond necessity and what is ironic is that the necessity of consciously creating connections evolved to the next level from what some recruiters, candidates, etc. considered as a disconnector--the Internet!

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and niches like Medical Mingle, and soon Diversity HealthWorks as well as many others are principally focused on connecting people and hearing what they have to say and are up to. People want to connect, these sites allow it to happen.

While traveling, I connected with my best friend from high school, John Dean (our picture is above). John lives just outside of Los Angeles. He doesn't work in healthcare, but he works in social services and there is a definitely connection to some of the things that I am committed to: children, health, diversity, transformation. Possibility lies in the conversation and I know I am better because of it regardless of the future outcomes.

I re-connected with John through Facebook after 15 years. While this example is not one that is directly job-oriented or career building, the connection is about possibilities. The new job economy is about connecting to create possibility. Where in the past, we connect with a particular rationale, now we connect just to connect and out of not knowing what a connection, or a follow, or a poke, or a tweet, or an inMail, or a response to a blog post might create we connect for its sake and then see what happens.

In the James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds:

He postulates the following about wise crowds and their superior collective wisdom (from Wikipedia):
Diversity of opinion
Each person should have private information even if it's just an eccentric interpretation of the known facts.
Independence
People's opinions aren't determined by the opinions of those around them.
Decentralization
People are able to specialize and draw on local knowledge.
Aggregation
Some mechanism exists for turning private judgments into a collective decision.
In essence, communities or crowds lead us in a direction that allows for connection and connection creates solutions that we could not imagine in a vacuum. This is exciting to me and leads me to know that I cannot neglect my plants as they cannot connect to the internet and connect with you (or me for that matter when I am on the road.)

Likewise, not everyone in our purview desires to connect like we do. Find ways to connect with your colleagues, your friends, family members, employees, etc. in ways that work for them. It will without a doubt be the critical component of success in all relationships business, small to global, and personal from this point on. It always has been and it always will, now lets take it seriously and consciously connect like we never have before!

Make it a great day!





Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Chain Reactions

I have been in California for the past week and traveling basically from DC to Chicago, NYC to LA to where I am now in San Francisco since January 14th.

My travels have given me a unique opportunity to compare the dynamics that are happening with the economic realities we are facing from a more intimate local perspective in the cities I have been in.

First off, everyone as expected is concerned about financial realities. It is a part of every conversation and in each business conversation that I have had both healthcare and non-healthcare related, it comes up in context or through more specific content. In each local paper I read, there is some semblance of the economic reality. Hotels are cheaper (good for me) and the appreciation I get for a tip seems to be acknowledged more so than I can recall from past experiences where I have given equal percentages for the service delivered.

Specifically, with my healthcare industry conversations, the over arching theme is the cutting of budgets by hospitals and healthcare systems. In NYC where I visited a hospital in Brooklyn, stretching the dollar for programs related to diversity and cultural competency is not a new thing. However, this particular facility has shown tangible results as far as ROI directly and indirectly through the efforts of its diversity lead; however, the budget to increase initiatives has remained flat and this year has threatened to be cut significantly. What is the rationale?

In Chicago there is a theme of cost cutting as well, but some of the healthcare organizations there are experiencing an increase in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claims. This is to be expected since the EEOC reports that when the economy is down, discrimination charges go up. A recent Society for Human Resource Management article (January 2009, HR Magazine) quoted The Training Associates marketing director Jeanne Picardi stating that, "Not all senior leaders are familiar with employment law, and may see all training as 'discretionary spending' to be cut. This is a bad idea at any time, and especially in a downturn, because employment law claims increase substantially during a poor economy."

So, while I cannot speak for all of Chicago or all of anywhere for that matter, it is evident that claims will go up and some organizations are taking preventive measures to mitigate the potential circumstances that can result from the current economic reality.

In Los Angeles and in all of California, the talk is on the CA State budget. It is a mess and all Californians are feeling it. From the healthcare industry to retail, jobs are being cut, budgets slashed and consumers are feeling the effects. The effects are coming in decreases in public services (including cuts in public health funding/services), hospital personnel, infrastructure, etc. Not anything different from the rest of the country per se; however, in California there is a conversation in the media that illustrates the dynamics of how the State budget connects to the local economy connects to healthcare that connects to a more profound crisis of deeper, chronic (pun intended) proportions.

Again, I am sure this is happening in most States, but I am not sure about the dialogue being future-oriented given the challenges in the present and the recounting of rationale from the past.

So, where do these chain reactions leave us? First, I think they leave us with a need to turn inward for clarity about what those of us who have the privilege to contemplate the future can do right now to play our role in the collective betterment. This does not exclude concern for our personal and family well-being, but it does require us to look beyond a myopic sentiment of self-interest towards what will create long-term prosperity for many.

Second, we have to stay the course. The money did not "go away". Whatever comes from congress or whatever the banks at some point decide to loan again, we cannot quit moving forward with the focus on growth, not maintenance. Maintenance is death, you grow or you die. If we are maintaining to keep what we have, we will soon see it dwindle. So, whether it be money-wise, health-wise or otherwise, whether we profit, break even, or take a loss, growth has to be at the root of what we do.

If we miss the mark of fiscal profit or better health, we have to sow the seeds and reap profit from our learning about what we missed. If we profit, re-invest in future growth rather than hoard. Gather and store, but let the overflow return to the flow. If it sounds a little Buddhist in nature, so be it. We will see nothing less than the reaping of our labor's fruits of the next 6-12 months. It will seem to arise almost immediately on either continuum. Take note and do what we have to do to not create more suffering from the suffering that we are experiencing individually and collectively right now.

Thirdly, but not last (as I am only sharing snippets) acknowledge that this is temporary and if you act in temporary ways, we will have results based on temporary circumstances. This crisis was created and it can be transformed. It will take the efforts of many to do it. Act based on what you want, not based on what you don't. Either way, we will get what we act upon. Let's act on the greatness that we desire!

Make it a great day!