Transformational Mindset Coach|Speaker|TEDX Speaker|Director of International Outreach at Origin Leadership Consulting
All English, all talented, all courageous, all deserve more respect, all deserve more gratitude for their service to English Football and their contribution to society. Why we mustn't let acts of racism and hate speech directed at minorities go unchecked. I recently posted about unconscious biases and showed that we all possess them and left unchallenged, they lead us to make unhealthy decisions both for us and others. Bringing these biases into our consciousness and awareness is the first step, but awareness without action achieves nothing. We have to replace the false beliefs with the truth. History teaches us we ignore bigotry at our peril as persecution and genocide begins with small steps that escalate so that the final dreadful steps are not an enormous leap but another small step in the process. The more familiar each stage of aggression becomes, the more 'normal' it becomes. The Holocaust was not an isolated act emerging out of nowhere. In 1933 Jewish businesses were boycotted, Books by Jewish authors were burnt, Jewish Lawyers and teachers lost their jobs. Two years later, in 1935, Jews were stripped of their German citizenship and all their civil and political rights. In 1938, these systemic steps of oppression led to Kristallnacht when Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were attacked and for the first time the people themselves were subjected to violence. As we now know, by the end of World War 2, millions of Jews and members of minority groups had been murdered in the worst act of genocide in history. For the past sixteen months since George Floyd's murder, Footballers have been taking the knee, yet Black players are still subjected to racial abuse. Politicians call on Social media companies to ‘do something’ while they ring their hands and pour out empty rhetoric condemning racism. Meanwhile, nothing changes. At the same time LGBT people suffer more homophobia and transphobia than ever; islamophobia and anti-Semitism are on the rise. We can't wait for things to change on their own because they won't. It may seem like an enormous leap to compare today with 1930s and 1940s Europe, and I'm not suggesting anything happening today is remotely comparable to those awful atrocities. But nor was there an indication that burning books would lead to the systematic murder of millions a few years later. We need leadership from politicians and our communities, but individually, we have a duty to speak out and speak up. We can have a fairer, compassionate society for our children, and live in a world where difference is embraced. It will not happen if we are silent. We have to create it. #respect #diversity #identity #leadership #equality #inclusion
I fear we are living in dark times and it is difficult to see where the light will come from, but it will get better and these young me have shown us a way forward
Brilliant awareness and thought leadership covering very important topics Shelley Bridgman
All attacks come from fear and a lack of education and understanding. I have compassion for all but there is much work to be done to recognise that under the sun there is only one of us here in a myriad of different disguises. These guys did great...
Excellent post, Shelley. As John has said, we still have a long way to go. I agree whole-heartedly with taking the knee, but more allies need to call out bias in all its forms whenever they see it - not just following the murder of a black man by the police or when public figures are mistreated as blatantly as our black English football players. It needs to be an all-year-round thing.
It really is time the silent majority stood up to these ignorant attacks. It is not harmless banter, it is not acceptable rhetoric, it is pure hate and that can never lead to a good conclusion. Find the perpetrators and dish out suitable punishments, fines, blocking of social media accounts, name and shame, prison sentences for those that were physically violent, whatever it takes. My family are Jews, I heard many personal accounts of the horrors of Europe in the war years, we cannot let this happen again. Whether it's the three, young heroes who stood up for their country when asked, without a thought for the aftermath, or the fans who were beaten for not being of white, English descent, none of them deserve, or should have been subjected to the abuse they have received. Let's see what our leaders do about it, or will they continue to hide behind words that mean nothing without action. Why have we watched the knee being taken for so long and then the first time English fans have the chance to prove something to our International brothers and sisters, we allow some of them to behave in this way without any retribution? Rant over x
Sarah Doel
2y
Well said, Shelley 👏👏 Humans, generally, often go around in circles and not learn from history. We all need to be mindful and learn from past actions and be proactive in posituve change 💯
I completely agree Shelley that we need better, compassionate leadership from our politicians, but that isn't likely to come from this current government it seems. Let's rejoice in the good leadership coming from Gareth Southgate during this tournament which embarrassed our politicians.
Fully support all you share here, Shelley. Let’s continue to work towards building a compassionate society.
Terrific and powerful reminder Shelley Bridgman. We must all do something "all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing". We see it in different guises time and again. I live in hope that we will conquer it.
Living Adventurously in a World on Fire. Happy to connect IF we share interests. (So don't just send me a request out of the blue without bothering to say why you want to connect. Thanks.)
2yThanks for speaking up. This kind of "in yer face" racism is impossible to miss (unless you are a racist). Much harder is the structural racism that is deeply ingrained in, for example, our collective acceptance of #vaccineapartheid. The chronology of how things went wrong in Germany is a reminder that our #wilfulblindness about millions of unnecessary deaths "over there" doesn't bode well for people "over here" starting with those who are considered unimportant. And the thing about this kind of structural racism is that it is promoted by well meaning and well educated people.