Psychodabble

This is a private interaction, so you can stop flexing. There's no audience here and nobody is attacking you.

You know full well that I'm not racially profiling anyone as the actual meaning of that term has no bearing on this situation whatsoever.

I asked the question to enhance my knowledge of the circumstances you are dealing with. The fact that you not only refuse to answer, but have twisted my asking the question in an attempt to frame me as something I am not shows me the depth of your need for honest dialogue with people who have different perspectives than you.

I'm not saying that your joke makes you a bad person. You are not under attack here. I'm trying to help you see something that you obviously have not before cannot on your own. You have a blind spot and that is not your fault. If you've never talked about issues of racial justice with people of color, that is perfectly understandable. If there is nobody on the moderation team or on The Fun Pimps staff that can add that perspective, it is even more understandable.

I never assumed any ill will or intent on your part, but I did want to call out your joke as problematic publicly BECAUSE you are part of the leadership of this community. I don't know whether this is a job for you or something you volunteer for, but either way you have chosen to carry a mantle of higher responsibility and handling issues with sensitivity AND dealing with your own mistakes the right way is part of that.

Look at this communication for what it is: an offer of help. This is not a political agenda as equal rights for everyone is not a matter of politics on which reasonable people can disagree. I'm quite sure that you didn't see your joke as such a serious issue, but I'm trying to help you understand WHY it is and the role you can and should play when such issues are broached in our community.

Also, I NEVER said one word about who has the right to say anything, much less based on race. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech. You are clearly free to say whatever you want - the issue is whether you SHOULD. It's not an issue of freedom, it's an issue of empathy, respect, and wisdom.

The reason I asked you about the presence of people of color in your environment is not because they have any greater right to speak than you do, but because have different experiences and perspectives on these issues than you do.

I'm not Jewish, but my conversations with Jewish friends and their grandparents have helped me to understand the seriousness and sensitivity that the holocaust must be treated with. This is the same thing. Firsthand knowledge from people who've suffered from atrocity helps to build empathy and understanding about how those subjects should be handled.

I hope you're getting the message I'm trying to express. I'm not looking for a mea culpa or any demonstration of contrition, I just want to hear that you understand and want to do better.

This is public. Anyone can read what is posted here. You keep casting everything I post the worst possible light. <shrug>. I have a wide spectrum of friends and associates in every demographic you could imagine, thank you. I appreciate your offer to help but, once again, if that was all this was it would have all taken place privately. You made it public and you turned it into something it never was.
 

I feel bad that my play on words referencing the existence of a real world organization so negatively affected you. In that sense I regret posting it but in no way do I think it was wrong or immoral in and of itself. There was no joke at the expense of what that organization stands for and no slant one way or another pro or con. Any of that was solely injected by you. 
I’m not avoiding answering you—I simply don’t know. TFP is an international studio and everyone works remotely. It never occurred to me to find out everyone’s race. I’ve never seen a picture of any of our moderators and I never asked them before promoting them. It just isn’t a criteria.