I find this article to be potentially damaging but also potentially valuable. The "potentially damaging" part is likely because of where I work and what "assume good intent" means to me as a result. For me it doesn't mean "telling people to “assume good intent” is a sign that if they come to you with a concern, you will minimize their feelings, police their reactions, and question their perceptions."
What it means, for me, is don't react emotionally but rather logically. Tell the person that an interpretation of their words/actions is very negative. Explain why. Explain the impact that it has. Then move on. My experience has shown that the majority of people will learn from this. It won't be instant, but it will happen in most cases. I find the assumption in this article that "assume good intent" means people get a free pass for bad behavior to be worrisome. It doesn't mean that to me. Repeated and malicious bad behavior should be dealt with. Assume good intent doesn't mean blindly pretend that good intent exists. That said, I do think the article highlights a potential problem I had not considered. That is for people who "have their feet stepped on every day" it can be very much harder to "assume good intent", even if it really is accidental. It will become even harder still if we allow a policy of "assume good intent" to become the kind of loophole the author identifies. Lets carry on with "assume good intent" here int he ASF, but lets also be vigilant. As the author puts it let's "create a culture that recognizes and pushes back against the ways that marginalized people are dehumanized. Expect people to demonstrate their good intent by treating people with respect." ________________________________ From: Justin Mclean <jus...@classsoftware.com> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2019 3:39 AM To: diversity@apache.org <diversity@apache.org> Subject: good intent Hi, Run into this today, it’s probably nothing new, but ASF context wise I think it's worth reading and considering: https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthebias.com%2F2017%2F09%2F26%2Fhow-good-intent-undermines-diversity-and-inclusion&data=02%7C01%7CRoss.Gardler%40microsoft.com%7C225a93c055a8432781bb08d73a9223ac%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C1%7C637042271645833110&sdata=iLJp4Dp2zOHUOtpIl15tl%2FSxCgopkVNwQmk6TQA0dFY%3D&reserved=0 Thanks, Justin --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: diversity-unsubscr...@apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: diversity-h...@apache.org
