This Week's Opening Thought: September 2, 2025

This week’s opening thought: If you’ve lived a life of unearned privilege and white privilege where you have gone out of your way to endanger others, especially vulnerable and mistreated folx, and have ultimately harmed and impacted so many people and communities over your years on this planet that millions of people are anxiously waiting for you to pass away so they can celebrate your demise like it’s Mardi Gras or Carnival?

Well, I’m no expert on what benchmarks or actions someone should undertake to have their legacy viewed as one that people would consider as living a good life, but I know enough to say that if people are giddy about you possibly being sick and dying because you have spent a significant portion of your life using your privilege to be a clear, present, and hate-filled danger to their lives and the lives of those they care about, then you probably haven’t lived a good life.

But again, I’m no expert.

I just know a few things.

[Image description: A black man can be seen smiling at the camera with their right hand near the right side of their face. The man’s right pointer finger is tapping on his right temple, symbolizing that he’s somewhat bragging about his intelligence.]

On The Benefits of Working Remote vs. Onsite While Black

Image description: a picture of R&B musician Carl Thomas. He leans back in his car, his face exasperated. The image is captioned, “Me when I see that one person of pallor who always wants to ‘chat’ with a melanated person about their most recent racist and white supremacist behavior happily entering my office without permission to force a nonconsensual conversation, dumping a bunch of hateful crap in my lap and forcing me to chose between ‘educating’ them or putting my continued employment at risk by checkin’ them.”

One of the most significant benefits I’ve received from transitioning to remote roles is not having to spend my time in an office where people of pallor can force their way into my personal office space any time they see fit and initiate nonconsensual conversations around how racist, oppressive, and harmful they are.

I have had countless unwanted conversations with “well-meaning” people of pallor in workplaces over the years, around how racist and messed up they are. Every in-person job I’ve had for over a decade has had people of pallor forcing me to be their constant sounding board and “teacher.” It’s draining. It’s oppression and abuse masquerading as curiosity and a willingness to learn when all they want is validation for their actions.

Now, some of y’all are probably like, “Why didn’t you have boundaries?”, which is a question that shows how privileged your life has been not to have
to worry about how having boundaries in the workplace unlocks a whole closet of stereotypes and white supremacist workplace-isms that ultimately threaten your ongoing employment prospects.

Boundaries? Oh, you silly lil’ privileged beavers. Of course, I had boundaries in those workplaces.

The thing is, the clearer I was with my boundaries - signage on my office door that made it clear that I was busy, being available by appointment only, asking people to leave and re-enter my office, stating that I was not willing to consent to a racism “chat”, and even making it clear that people had to knock and be invited in before entering - the more “well-meaning” people of pallor would report me to my supervisor. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had to chat with leadership about how I’m not being a “team player,” that my boundaries were somehow in conflict with my job duties (they never were), or that I was the one being harmful to others because I didn’t want to be a racism and bigotry sounding board.

It has always been clear to me that working while Black comes with white supremacy, expecting you to shrink yourself and be used and mistreated as some form of servitude and gratitude to maintain a paycheck. And because I know this? I don’t think I can work in a physical office doing full-time work and feel healthy doing it ever again.

Working remotely has been a blessing for my mental and emotional health, and I don’t believe in letting blessings pass me by.

It’s also saved me from catchin’ a case, so win-win.

[Image description: a picture of R&B musician Carl Thomas. He leans back in his car, his face exasperated. The image is captioned, “Me when I see that one person of pallor who always wants to ‘chat’ with a melanated person about their most recent racist and white supremacist behavior happily entering my office without permission to force a nonconsensual conversation, dumping a bunch of hateful crap in my lap and forcing me to chose between ‘educating’ them or putting my continued employment at risk by checkin’ them.”]

On a Logo With a White Man and a Barrel, a.k.a. "The Country is on Fire, But The Most Important Thing in My Life is This Cracker Barrel Logo"

This week’s example of how fragile whiteness is...

"Cracker Barrel announced Aug. 26 that it is dropping its much-criticized new logo and returning to the 'Old Timer.'

"We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have," the company wrote in a statement provided to USA TODAY. “Our new logo is going away, and our 'Old Timer' will remain."

The nationwide restaurant chain and country store, known for its comfort food and nostalgic atmosphere, unveiled a new, simplified logo with the launch of its fall menu campaign on August 19.

The "enhanced brand look" was intended to modernize the company’s brand, executives said. The intent includes moving its restaurants away from nostalgia-rich decor to something more contemporary and less cluttered.

The change drew sharp criticism from customers and politicians, with both President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party decrying the change.

"All of your fans very much appreciate it," Trump said in a post on Truth Social following the announcement. "Make lots of money and, most importantly, make your customers happy again!"

USA TODAY followed up with Cracker Barrel, asking if Trump’s comments had influenced its decision, and did not receive an immediate response."

A logo.

Y'all went apesh-- over them removing an old man of pallor and a barrel from a logo.

Y'all's president is literally trying to be a dictator by Christmas, yet y'all lost your minds over a person of pallor being removed from the logo of a restaurant chain that has always had big white supremacist Klan energy.

Good to know what really matters to U.S. Americans of pallor.

This Week's Opening Thought: August 25, 2025

This week's opening thought: In Florida, they've legalized beating children at school.

With "parental consent," of course.

Florida's public school system is literally asking parents to sign off on giving teachers, administrators, and school officials the permission to beat their children, either as a complete thumbs up at the beginning of the school year where they can beat your kid whenever they "deem it appropriate" or on a case-by-case basis where they'll call parents to ask permission to beat their children.

Great.

Splendid.

This won't go bad in any way.

This won't generate a litany of lawsuits, years of therapy for hundreds or thousands of children, or long-term physical harm for children at the hands of adults who have been given the green light to not have their emotions in check. This won't erode the trust children should have in their parents.

Nope. This is going to go just fine.

This is where we're at now. As a country, we've got states changing the age of consent and marriage eligibility to protect adults who prey on children. We've got states drafting laws to physically abuse your children with your "permission." We have states figuring out ways to bring back child labor in full force. And all of this is coming from the political party that swears they care about the safety and needs of children and families.

Every day in the United States is another reminder that the most vulnerable citizens of this country do not matter to those who make the decisions, people who consider said vulnerable populations to be a nuisance or commodity to exploit.

On Schadenfreude, Bigotry, and Job Interviews

Image description: A male of pallor is shown in a workplace meeting, making their melanated colleagues highly uncomfortable.

One of my favorite things in the world is watching bigots being outed by the public, losing their jobs. I have no issue with hateful Karens and Chets losing their jobs after their beliefs are shared with their employers by people in the community. But while I love allowing the schadenfreude to wash over me like a gentle autumn rain, I can’t help but think about the one party in these matters that is never held accountable: the companies that hire these people.

I’ve been recruiting and interviewing people for over 20 years. I’ve conducted hundreds of interviews and led dozens of recruitments. Please believe that Karens and Chets don’t suddenly wake up one morning and decide they want to be hateful people. They are and have always been hateful people, and it comes out in their job interviews. The way they answer questions, the way they show up in spaces. The red flags are always there.

And companies hire these people anyway.

I can count on my fingers and toes multiple times how often hiring managers and department heads have willingly ignored red flags around hate and bigotry and pushed someone through a recruitment process because they “really like them,” are “a person I’d grab a beer with,” or they “remind me of myself at that age.” Why?

Because it’s easier to ride with the comforts and familiarity of white supremacy than it is to take a stance and not bring people into your organization that pose a risk to your employees and the people you serve.

It has been proven that people hire people with whom they feel comfortable. Bigots, or people who are comfortable with bigotry happening in front of them and not calling it out, hire bigots. Chets and Karens hire other Chets and Karens. It’s white supremacist workplace culture 101. And it’s never a workplace issue until that bigotry gets attached to the company name in a public way.

Chet and Karen have been doing and saying horrible things at work for years. They’ve been reported to HR and their supervisors for their harmful words and actions for years. But as soon as their hateful nonsense spills out into the public in a way that gets them screenshotted and recorded? Then it’s an immediate dismissal and a well-written PR statement touting how the company doesn’t support these views and cares about equity and inclusion. Meanwhile, everyone who has had to work with and be harmed by Karen and Chet every damn day for years has to sit with the learned understanding that their company has never really cared about equity and inclusion and has no issue with gaslighting their employees around supporting these views.

Be mad at Chet and Karen. Be glad that they’re getting their comeuppance. But save some of those side-eyes for the jerks that employed them in the first place, who now want to absolve themselves of their responsibility in giving these people a paycheck.

[Image description: A male of pallor is shown in a workplace meeting, making their melanated colleagues highly uncomfortable.]