This has come up a few times recently, so I should address it.
-
This has come up a few times recently, so I should address it. People that don't know me view me as a pessimist. But folks that know me, view me as an optimist? What's up with that?
The disconnect, is that I don't just complain about stuff and then do nothing.
There's a lot of broken stuff in the world. In the US, a lot of that is around racism. But I don't just complain about racism. I make the necessary changes in the world to fix the things I talk about.
1/N
-
* A significant percentage of all Black people in tech, have gone through programs I've exec sponsored.
* Police accountability is higher because of projects I've launched. We have better data, and better tools.
* College athletes get paid because of work our group did. NIL will stop the illegitimate transfer of billions from underrepresented men and women.
* Millions more people are registered to vote because of groups that I support.
Etc, etc.
-
@mekkaokereke
People who do the work often see success of doing the work in meaningful ways that over time change lives. They are optimistic bc they see solutions within them, they ARE the change they wish to see.
Pessimists are often overwhelmed by the enormity & give up without trying. They rarely take up a small load, nor built up that optimism muscle that comes from seeing the success of the work.
Pessimism is like a self fulfilling prophecy. It is discouraging rather than courageous. -
@JoBlakely @mekkaokereke yup. Pessimistic behaviors swell up and take up space, just like misery. Both come, imo, from pain and a lack of hope.