I was on the fence between posting this under my name vs. using an anonymous account. I decided to go ahead, because this is something Iāve discussed with other folks and itās something I feel pretty strongly about. I wanted to write this comment both to validate your experience and to say a few words about how I see the path forward.
Iāve had those experiences too: feeling dismissed, shut down, or like Iām not worth someoneās time.
Butāand maybe this is because I have a stubborn, contrary, slightly masochistic, āoh yeah? Iāll show youā streakāI stuck around. Iām not saying that this is the only way to go; if hanging out with other people in the EA community is causing you pain, I donāt want that for you and it is 100% OK to go and do your own thing.
But if you can: stick around.
Because hereās the thing: not everyone is like that. Iād go so far as to say that folks with the attitude above are in the minority. There are SO many humane, warm, kind people in this movement. There are people with a sense of humor and a healthy bit of self-doubt and a generous willingness to meet others where they are. When I hang out with them, I feel inspired to work harder and do more good and to continue to be part of this community. And Iāve made it my task to find those people, encourage them, and make sure they stick around too.
If you (and Iām addressing anyone reading this, not just James) have a vision for what you want a given community to look like, you can stick around and help bring it to life. We get to create the communities we want to be a part ofāhow awesome is that? For my part, thatās what Iām striving to do. And Iām here to encourage others to do the same.
I was on the fence between posting this under my name vs. using an anonymous account. I decided to go ahead, because this is something Iāve discussed with other folks and itās something I feel pretty strongly about. I wanted to write this comment both to validate your experience and to say a few words about how I see the path forward.
Iāve had those experiences too: feeling dismissed, shut down, or like Iām not worth someoneās time.
Butāand maybe this is because I have a stubborn, contrary, slightly masochistic, āoh yeah? Iāll show youā streakāI stuck around. Iām not saying that this is the only way to go; if hanging out with other people in the EA community is causing you pain, I donāt want that for you and it is 100% OK to go and do your own thing.
But if you can: stick around.
Because hereās the thing: not everyone is like that. Iād go so far as to say that folks with the attitude above are in the minority. There are SO many humane, warm, kind people in this movement. There are people with a sense of humor and a healthy bit of self-doubt and a generous willingness to meet others where they are. When I hang out with them, I feel inspired to work harder and do more good and to continue to be part of this community. And Iāve made it my task to find those people, encourage them, and make sure they stick around too.
If you (and Iām addressing anyone reading this, not just James) have a vision for what you want a given community to look like, you can stick around and help bring it to life. We get to create the communities we want to be a part ofāhow awesome is that? For my part, thatās what Iām striving to do. And Iām here to encourage others to do the same.