Some Thoughts on Voting on Election Day 2022

Image description: A screenshot of a measure from the 2022 Oregon midterm election. The measure centers around the Oregon State Constitution stating that slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited - unless it’s considered punishment for a crime.

Here’s an example of why voting matters. The picture accompanying these words is a ballot measure rundown for the Oregon 2022 midterms. The highlighted measure in question is a measure called Measure 112. Measure 112 addresses a state constitutional matter. You see, the Oregon State Constitution was amended some years ago to remove most of the white supremacist racist language that was its foundation. Not all. Most. Most of the language was addressed via amendments. However, those amendments created loopholes in state constitutional law. And what is the loophole that Measure 112 addresses? Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited - unless it’s considered punishment for a crime.

You read that right.

I should’ve been surprised when I saw this on the ballot, but I wasn’t. Over the years, I’ve seen some of the horrific things removed from the Oregon State Constitution, leftovers from Oregon’s founding as a white utopia. What sits with me whenever I see these things is that we have to put removing racist laws from a state constitution to a freaking vote. This should be a given: abolish hateful laws without asking the public for their opinion. Yet we all know we couldn’t be further from a consensus on hate and history as a country if we tried. And you know some people will vote “no” on removing this hateful loophole. If enough people don’t vote “yes” to have this removed, how long do you think it’ll take before some cruel creature of a person or law enforcement in some small Oregon town weaponizes this loophole?

Why do we vote? We vote because we are nowhere near a point in U.S. history where our laws and human rights are intended to apply to all citizens.

[Image description: A screenshot of a measure from the 2022 Oregon midterm election. The measure centers around the Oregon State Constitution stating that slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited - unless it’s considered punishment for a crime.]

On Social Media Scrolling and Inaccurate "DEI" Imagery

Image description: Two pictures. The left picture, labeled "equality," shows three people of varying heights (from L to R: tall, medium, short) standing on the same size wooden crates. They are all trying to look over a fence to watch a baseball game with varying success. The tall person can see the game; the medium person can barely look over the fence to see the game. The shortest person cannot see the game at all. The right picture, labeled "equity," shows the same three people watching the baseball game. However, this time the tallest person is not standing on a crate and can see the game. The medium-height person is standing on one box and can see the game. The shortest person is standing on two crates and can see the game.

Scrolling through my social media feeds, it is not lost on me that in the year of someone's Lord, 2022, some of us are still out here educating folx on the difference between equity and equality while watching some of y'all share that ancient picture with the people on the damn wooden crates, watching baseball, with one of your woke rants. Could someone please take that picture out back and put it out of its misery? It wasn't accurate when it was first rolled out to the masses 20-plus years ago and isn't an accurate visual depiction of equity and equality today. Equity and equality are more than standing on some crates, trying to watch a baseball game, literally or figuratively.

Let's break this down for what feels like the umpteenth time, shall we? Equality is typically defined as treating everyone the same and giving everyone access to the same opportunities. Equality, however, is not attainable without addressing the hurdles that intersect with white supremacist values and other discriminatory values and ideologies. These include but are not limited to racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and ableism.

Equity refers to proportional representation (by race, class, gender, gender identity, disability, etc.) in those same opportunities. To achieve equity, policies and procedures may result in a necessary redistribution of resources to eliminate and mitigate the impacts of the systems and ideologies that threaten equal treatment for all.

There is no equality without equity.

Do you still think you can sum up the difference between equity and equality with some people standing on crates? And don't get me started on how ableist this image is.

Everything ain't meant to be summed up in a couple of images.

Everything can't be whittled down to a few visual Cliff Notes, especially regarding the health, safety, and access to rights, resources, and privileges of marginalized and intersectional identities in a biased and segregationist society.

The oppression of others ain't a meme, y'all.


[Image description: Two pictures. The left picture, labeled "equality," shows three people of varying heights (from L to R: tall, medium, short) standing on the same size wooden crates. They are all trying to look over a fence to watch a baseball game with varying success. The tall person can see the game; the medium person can barely look over the fence to see the game. The shortest person cannot see the game at all. The right picture, labeled "equity," shows the same three people watching the baseball game. However, this time the tallest person is not standing on a crate and can see the game. The medium-height person is standing on one box and can see the game. The shortest person is standing on two crates and can see the game.]

[Image Description: a meme of Spongebob Squarepants getting up from a chair. He has an exasperated look on his face. Above him is the tagline, "Me when white 'professionals' find out that I do anti-racism and equity consulting and want to 'impress me' by telling me they're on the diversity committee at work." A word balloon can be seen coming from Spongebob with the words, "A'ight...I'mma head out."]

Seriously, white "professionals." It's nowhere near as impressive as you think it is. People of color, Black people, are doing heavy, emotionally, and mentally taxing work that often hits trauma points in our experiences as melanated people even when we're not doing equity and anti-racism work for a living. Y'all are attending a 60-minute meeting twice a month.

That don't impress me much.

We are not doing the same work.

[Image Description: a meme of Spongebob Squarepants getting up from a chair. He has an exasperated look on his face. Above him is the tagline, "Me when white 'professionals' find out that I do anti-racism and equity consulting and want to 'impress me' by telling me they're on the diversity committee at work." A word balloon can be seen coming from Spongebob with the words, "A'ight...I'mma head out."]

RE: On LinkedIn, White-Leaning Double Standards, and the Reverse Racism Defense

Image description: A screenshot of a private direct message sent to me by LinkedIn’s support team in reference to the removal of one of my posts. The message:

"Your LinkedIn Inquiry

Hello Pharoah - I am reaching out to you regarding your recent post: https://lnkd.in/gHPUE_ZK

I can understand the frustrations the removal of this post has caused. Can you tell me if you have taken action to ask our Trust and Safety team for a second look on the post through the link provided in their notice? -DZ"

Yesterday, I posted about my experience on LinkedIn dealing with having my posts reported for "hate speech" and "bullying" by white "professionals" who can't deal with the discomfort of a Black person setting boundaries and calling out white supremacy. The short version of the story is that LinkedIn allowed a white "professional" or two who were uncomfortable with my post to report said post as hate speech. Yesterday's posting removal was the third in two months. You can read the full post here.

Well, my blog post about LinkedIn removing my post went viral. Viral to the point where other folx on LinkedIn started tagging LinkedIn's Help Team and Trust and Safety team in the comments. With the post going viral the way it has, I expected to receive a message from someone working for LinkedIn, hoping to quell the situation. These things usually take a few days. Lo and behold, this morning, I woke up to the following direct message from a member of the LinkedIn Help team in my inbox:

"Your LinkedIn Inquiry

Hello Pharoah - I am reaching out to you regarding your recent post: https://lnkd.in/gHPUE_ZK

I can understand the frustrations the removal of this post has caused. Can you tell me if you have taken action to ask our Trust and Safety team for a second look on the post through the link provided in their notice? -DZ"

My response?

"DZ,

No, you do not understand my frustration. And no, I did not ask the Trust and Safety team for a second look. I did not ask because the last few times I've had my post taken down for alleged "bullying" and "hate speech," the Trust and Safety team declined my appeals. Those other posts were similar in vein and tone to the post y'all took down this week after some white "professionals" reported that my post on setting a boundary for me on your platform was somehow "hate speech." I find it intriguing that most of the Black women and Global Majority professionals on this platform have had similar experiences as my own, yet white "professionals" on this platform get to intimidate and spew vitriol that y'all do nothing about.

I refuse to waste time and energy defending myself on a platform that does not care about Black women, Black and Brown professionals, and professionals of color. I've wasted time and energy in the past defending my post only to receive confirmation that the LinkedIn platform is white-centered and does not care about melanated professionals and their experiences on here. Besides, you're only reaching out to me this morning because my post went viral and someone in the comments tagged your team. Your help isn't wanted because you and your team don't want to help - you want to make this disappear.

Don't bother reinstating my previous post. You'd only be doing so to feel like "good" people. Reinstating my post does not change the fact that thousands of Black women, Black and Brown folx, people of color, and queer-identifying folx face hatred and vitriol on your platform and have learned that you will not stop that harm from happening. Put your energy into making LinkedIn a welcoming environment for more than hateful white "professionals" who know you're their protectors.

Here's to y'all doing something more than reactive damage control.

-Pharoah"

LinkedIn Help and Trust and Safety suddenly only caring about their actions and inactions after they've been outed and gone viral? Not a good look. And not a look I support.

I'm not here to make LinkedIn or any white supremacist-driven platform feel like they're doing the right things when they're not. I don't play those games.

Real talk? They can keep that post hidden. Them hiding the post ultimately made it go viral accidentally. They gave the post 8,000+ more hits and reshares than it would've if they let it be. LinkedIn hides or limits the audience reach of 90% of the posts Black women, Black and Brown folx, Global Majority folx, and queer-identifying folx post on their platform, calling out patriarchal, heteronormative white supremacist workplace culture as it is. They silence melanated and queer voices for white comfort all the time. That's their bread and butter: be a good little "professional," and we'll let you keep playing in our sandbox. But their actions in this situation did the opposite. Technically, my post was another drop in a big bucket for them.

They just don't like that this drop caused ripples they can't soothe or quickly quell.

On Frappucinos and Letting My People Go While People Can't (Won't) Pronounce My Name

Image description: a picture of me holding a frappuccino. The drink label attempted to spell my name so the barista could call me to pick up my order. Instead of Pharoah, the label reads Faro.

Faro.

This is the closest a Starbucks barista has ever gotten to a phonetic spelling of my name during a recent visit to Starbucks. I can't even be mad because at least they tried. Usually, when I order food or a beverage with my name and not a pseudonym, the name on the cup looks like someone shook up a bag of Scrabble tiles, poured seven tiles onto a table, and said close enough.

I could be 100 years old, and I will still not understand how people butcher my name, especially the "Christians." Yeah, there aren't 800 dudes named Pharoah walking around every town and city, but who doesn't know of the Pharaohs in some ways, shape, or form?

These microaggressions pile up, wear you down, and make you feel like you need to assimilate or whitewash yourself to survive. Everyone should be able to order a beverage at a coffee shop and not need to use an alias because you're exhausted by the lack of effort to pronounce your name. Everyone should be able to go to work, go to an event, and traverse the world they live in without needing a "white" identity and name that white people and institutions feel "comfortable" with pronouncing. Many people think that little things like this don't matter or don't hurt, but they do. They have a resonant long-term impact on Global Majority folx that many carries with us for our entire lives.

I've been dealing with my name being mangled in every setting you can think of my entire life.

All a brother wants is an occasional cold beverage with my name spelled correctly.

I know I'm not the only one.

[Image description: a picture of me holding a frappuccino. The drink label attempted to spell my name so the barista could call me to pick up my order. Instead of Pharoah, the label reads Faro.]