My response to Josh Slocum: considerate, civil, and relatively conservative, at least for what many would expect from someone who works in the so-called DEI space.
I commend you for seeking open-minded discussions, but you might be more selective in choosing them.
Your exchange with Josh only reinforces what behavioral science shows: people like him don’t change when challenged, they just dig in.
I read his post. He seems to have had some bad experiences with a few black people, internalized the emotion, and acts it out by confirming his worldview in a substack. His views strike me as extreme and ill-informed. Social media has provided a small number of people (.001% of the US population) to validate his feelings. Good for him.
Why waste your time on someone like that?
Think of it this way: the day you’re born, you're given an account in the Bank of Life with a finite amount of time. Every day, 24 hours are withdrawn without your consent. No deposits are allowed.
All you control is how you invest the time withdrawn. Each investment has an opportunity cost - once spent, that time is gone forever and can't be invested in anything else. Is Josh a good investment?
By all means, engage in open-minded conversations - I wish more people would - but you might consider your investment goals, options, and desired returns in selecting those engagements.
I commend you for seeking open-minded discussions, but you might be more selective in choosing them.
Your exchange with Josh only reinforces what behavioral science shows: people like him don’t change when challenged, they just dig in.
I read his post. He seems to have had some bad experiences with a few black people, internalized the emotion, and acts it out by confirming his worldview in a substack. His views strike me as extreme and ill-informed. Social media has provided a small number of people (.001% of the US population) to validate his feelings. Good for him.
Why waste your time on someone like that?
Think of it this way: the day you’re born, you're given an account in the Bank of Life with a finite amount of time. Every day, 24 hours are withdrawn without your consent. No deposits are allowed.
All you control is how you invest the time withdrawn. Each investment has an opportunity cost - once spent, that time is gone forever and can't be invested in anything else. Is Josh a good investment?
By all means, engage in open-minded conversations - I wish more people would - but you might consider your investment goals, options, and desired returns in selecting those engagements.
Yeah. I didn’t know Josh was so hardwired when I entered into the fray. It’s likely never to happen again with someone with his archetype.
As he is close to another writer I admire, I kept the light on.
And, if he would have continued to engage, I would have done so. I am not and was not interested in changing his mind. That was clearly not happening.
So, I didn’t spend much too much time in the back and forth. Just enough to have the experience and get blocked to write the follow-up piece.
I think people saw the distinction between heat and light when it comes to such a discourse.