Emails
Have you ever had to stop yourself from replying to an email right away because you might type something that you can’t come back from?
Have you ever needed to stop yourself from replying to an email right away because your response at that moment might be inconsistent with your values?
What strategies have worked best for you?
Give yourself some credit for the times that you have been able to successfully take a pause, reflect, reframe (when necessary), and respond in ways that are consistent with your values.
Try and forgive yourself for the times you have not been able to do this, and think about what people, environments, events, triggers, unmet needs, power dynamics, etc may have influenced that outcome.
We’re situated differently, and that reality influences how we craft emails, as well as how we interpret the messages we send and receive. When I think of power dynamics and the way Dr. King used to talk about creative maladjustment, I’m reminded that there are some things that we just shouldn’t get used to.
Although the following points are often connected and not mutually exclusive, have you ever had to stop yourself from replying to an email as a person with one or multiple marginalized identities because to do so might put you in danger of some kind?
Have you ever consciously thrown caution to the wind and replied to an email as a person with one or multiple marginalized identities because to you felt it was the right thing to do?
Give yourself some credit for the times that you have been able to respond in ways that spoke truth to power, in addition to the risks involved.
Try and forgive yourself for the times you have not been able to do this, and think about what people, environments, events, triggers, unmet needs, power dynamics, etc may have influenced that outcome.
Thining about email, power, and agency, and access.
From Aspiring Humanitarian, Relando Thompkins-Jones
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