Explaining Avoidance by Dr. Shaun Harper https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9 Reasons people avoid talking about race en-us 2021-11-19 18:05:44 UTC 2026-02-23 19:09:53 UTC hello@padlet.com People are afraid these conversations will be explosive and divisive shaunharper https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902684351 2021-11-19 18:11:14 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902684351 People of color don’t feel safe, don’t want to be perceived as angry, and are tired of having to always be the one to raise these issues shaunharper https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902684755 2021-11-19 18:11:27 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902684755 White people don’t want to make mistakes, don’t want to be seen as naïve, and don’t want to be seen as racist shaunharper https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902685192 2021-11-19 18:11:41 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902685192 Personal and professional inexperience shaunharper https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902685699 2021-11-19 18:11:57 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902685699 Avoidance is cultural in most workplaces shaunharper https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902686314 2021-11-19 18:12:16 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902686314 https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902837442 self doubt - not being sure if what you experienced was even real or valid]]> 2021-11-19 19:45:06 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902837442 the people who NEED to hear conversations about race are the same ones who won't listen--what's the point? https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902838766 2021-11-19 19:46:02 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902838766 https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902838949 As student leaders and future leaders, implementation of systems talking about race as well as facilitating dialogue about race is sensitive, scary and intimidating.]]> 2021-11-19 19:46:10 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902838949 We often question ourselves as students, and want to assume the best in people, and instead of confronting someone right away who wronged us, we want to discuss the problem with friends or a leader (student or faculty) to see if our thoughts and opinions are justified https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839118 2021-11-19 19:46:19 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839118 Whitesplaining https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839414 I’ve seen this and it’s happened to me too. When we as students of color bring up an issue, faculty and other students dismiss what we feel and tell us what we should be feeling instead. ]]> 2021-11-19 19:46:32 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839414 a lot of the times when there are issues with race it comes from someone in a position of power and bringing it up could cost you your position or lose respect https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839504 2021-11-19 19:46:36 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839504 https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839540 Being able to tell the stories that we believe are important without having them flipped a completely different way and not getting the cure of the story out ]]> 2021-11-19 19:46:38 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839540 don’t want to burn bridges/get in trouble/misstep https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839624 2021-11-19 19:46:41 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839624 https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839811 it’s draining when there’s not gonna be any change right then anyway. the burden is on me to fix it but more than likely i won’t even be the one immediately reaping the benefits of improving things. sometimes it feels like “what’s the point?”]]> 2021-11-19 19:46:48 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902839811 https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902840256 Not feeling well equipped with the proper language and rhetoric around the conversation ]]> 2021-11-19 19:47:05 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902840256 Sometimes the talk of race get tired especially when it's your reality everyday and nothing seems to change https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902840572 2021-11-19 19:47:15 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902840572 we're exhausted trying to make the newsroom equitable and it feels pointless to try to explain why things that were said were offensive or insensitive https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902840928 2021-11-19 19:47:32 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902840928 if we want to report something the faculty/staff did or said, who is going to check them? again--what is the point? https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902841623 2021-11-19 19:48:01 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902841623 https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902843518 It often feels like we (marginalized groups in the newsroom) have to coddle or spoon feed certain ideas to ignorant non-listeners ]]> 2021-11-19 19:49:20 UTC https://padlet.com/shaunharper/gdhmu9l2lj3kksf9/wish/1902843518