I think this article mostly just made me feel better about how I choose to conduct myself, especially in an attention economy that seems to reward righteousness only if it’s delivered with a triumphant slap in the face. I also liked how it broke down “nonthreatening behavior” into concrete, actionable examples. Here’s an excerpt from one:
Four. Don’t Use a Ten Dollar Word When a Ten Cent Word Will Do
This is controversial, confronting territory so let me elaborate with an example. To a non-native English speaker, there is no discernible semantic difference between the term “people of color” and the term “colored people.” The former term is socially acceptable to most people on the left, while the latter term is no longer okay. It is good and important to be responsive to what members of a community want to be called, but we also need to recognize how such verbal distinctions require specialized knowledge. Not knowing is not a function of our values, it’s a function of the conditions of our lives.
This isn’t about talking down to people or treating them like children – except insofar as we should treat everyone with the respect with which a good Auntie treats a child. This is about taking the message seriously.