Study Hall! Tone policing and language.

Get Educated

• Reflect on the questions prompted by our community.

• Discuss with a friend: how did you learn about slavery growing up? How does that inform your perception on the civil rights movement of today?

Q+A

I have to say, the language in this is super harsh. I feel if the writer was nicer with their tone they'd get more of us white people to actually do better.
From Make the outdoors more equitable on 10/14/2020.

This is tone policing, a personal attack against someone for expressing emotion to detract from the validity of the statement itself. This can be wielded against anyone, but it's particularly harmful when it's leveraged in conversations on inequity – including race.

"At its best, tone policing is an irritating behavior pattern that blocks meaningful conversation. But at its worst, tone policing is an insidious and sometimes hard-to-grasp method of reinforcing elitism and structural racism". Naomi Day, Medium

The stories we publish here are valid regardless of how they make you – the reader – feel. And to be in this work we must be committed to making space for the pain and trauma that individuals experience, and how they choose to express it. Honoring both the message and the tone is a way to acknowledge another's humanness. In contrast, placing your own slight discomfort above the suffering of another is a form of oppression. And there's no space for that here – in this work, and particularly in the discourse of this newsletter. I'm proud to share a wide range of stories and perspectives.

Q+A

There's no Chinatown in my community. How can I help other Chinatowns?
From Support Chinatown during COVID-19 on 10/13/2020.

If you can't support one in your direct community, consider adding a visit the next time you're in a city that includes one! And although there might not be a Chinatown per se, I can imagine there are Asian American-owned businesses that have also experienced some type of anti-Asian racism or bias since COVID-19 launched. Go and support them.

We also have additional resources in a previous newsletter on standing against this rise of anti-Asian racism. You can stand for representation at your business, in your local city council, your child's schools, and other community touchpoints.

Q+A

I noticed you used ACB as an acronym for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. I'm worried conservative are doing this to make her feel like the next RBG, which is a major NO for me. How can we stop this association?
From Understand Judge Amy Coney Barrett's stance on racism on 10/15/2020.

Whew I hear you on this! I can imagine that many are quick to insert Judge Barrett into the same fervor of appreciation and respect that Justice Ginsburg gleaned in her tenure. And a three-letter abbreviation does help.

But I think these abbreviations are more akin to how social media dominates how we stay informed. With constraints around tweet and Instagram copy length (and subject lines, which is where I abbreviated to ACB) it's difficult to share without the abbreviation, especially when many include the word "Judge" in front as a sign of respect. We are quick to shorthand, not just to show our affinity and familiarity, but for brevity's sake, too.

We've also got many men historically that have the same monikers – MLK, FDR, LBJ, JFK, and RFK, for starters.