In 2015, Dr. Maria Dixon Hall, an associate professor of organizational communication at Southern Methodist University taught me an unforgettable inclusion lesson as she responded to the University of Oklahoma’s expulsion of two students who led a racist chant that was secretly filmed on video. She seared in my mind this notion that we think we can sustain a zero tolerance for racism by blaming, shaming and erasing racists from the conversation.
Blame Her
It is hard to argue with this one. Barr was caught in the act. As referees say the ball does not lie and neither does Twitter. Yet, ABC had to know what they were getting with Barr since her hand had been caught in the cookie jar several previous times when it comes to making offensive remarks.
Shame Her
Not much disagreement here. However, the question is how much shame is enough? Obviously, some of the shame was self-inflicted but are some people in this conversation piling on here of late. Who among us can claim they have never uttered a vulgarity?
Erase Her
I think ABC had too much of a knee jerk, amygdala hijack moment regarding this incident and forgot about what kind of outcome did they want for everyone involved. This swift justice response to offensiveness is rooted in our own hesitancy to stay in long conversations about race. We are more concerned about intervention and fixing people as opposed to extended dialogue about how to prevent this problem.
Sure, they have gotten rid of the bad apple. But what lessons did Barr receive. After apologizing on Twitter for her racist comments, she later started throwing her former cast members under the same bus she was crushed by after they opined on the situation.
Inclusion is ultimately about second chances. Just as Roseanne Barr should not be labeled as a racist for the rest of her life if she confesses, repents and compensates for her sins, neither should we be unwilling to forgive her for the rest of our lives.
Inclusion happens at the intersection of redemption and conversion.
- Redemption-we all want social primacy, affiliation and connection even when we fail.
- Conversion-we all have the capacity to change we just need a little help along the way.
My wish for the Roseanne Barr and all of us is that we find our redemption and conversion so that the next time this happens, we won’t talk about zero tolerance but about universal forgiveness.
