I'm a designer and tech worker at Amazon. For over a year, dozens of my @AMZNforClimate colleagues and I have been publicly speaking out. We organized thousands of us to walk out in Sept for the Global Climate March.
Yet, @monteiro's piece doesn't sit well w me. Let me explain.https://twitter.com/monteiro/status/1217530092097662976 …
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I appreciated that
@monteiro got to collective action and organizing toward the end of his piece, but wow, it took a while to get there! We live in a system that has almost all of us living compromised lives. Babies may be the only exception to this.Show this thread -
Sure, that doesn't give us a pass. But we have to ask: why are so many humans in that position? Why are so many tech workers (and other workers!) working for companies that compromise our integrity? This must be a systemic problem, not individual moral failings.
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It's our job as designers (and organizers) to think about systems, not just individual moral responsibility. We have to think about the whole goddamn, hard, complex thing.
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We need to put moral issues in the right framework and context. Otherwise we end up blaming blaming blaming individuals for systemic problems. Doing this isn't good for organizing workers because it gives people a warped perspective of the real struggle which is a system issue.
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Often change happens when one person says, "this isn't right." There's a quote I love: "Courage calls to courage everywhere." But this isn't about "those of us with morals" banding together. No. This is about a movement for ALL OF US.
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Most people have been so beaten down by our society that being part of enacting real change is outside their imagination. Most feel powerless even when, as tech workers do, we have real power. So how do we help expand their imagination?
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I've found the most effective way to do this is by *inviting* people in, helping them confront the choices in front of them. Showing them real possibility that things could be different. This requires a lot of deep listening, love, compassion, humor, flexibility. Not shame.
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Shame might work for a limited amount of people, or in certain time periods. But it doesn't work well for inspiring a movement. And what we need is a movement. People are drawn to courage, community, laughter, support for feelings and being their full selves, fun!
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I'll end, but first... thank you for putting out your thinking,
@monteiro. There were many good ideas for me to grapple with. And writing this thread helped me clarify my own thinking. Onwards.

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We have to understand these conversations are public plural. All personal feelings of being shamed etc, are ones inner demons getting triggered. As Cher said in moonstruck. Get over it,;). Much can be done as networks build. It’s only been 50 years;)
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Ps having organized designers for 30 years almost, the right answer is always “ what can I do for you” when asked by a fellow traveler. Not “ wait until I want to do that” . Just a little tidbit to help those to quickly sort out the “ influencer crowd” in today’s network culture
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