Blood On My Hands

Blood On My Hands
Digitally Lit #260 – 9/19/2020

Welcome back to Digitally Literate and issue #260.

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This week I worked on the following:

Ikigai – Some thoughts about Ikigai, the Japanese concept around a “reason for being” as I think about my social signals…and life.
Joy, Love, & Aesthetic Fulfillment – When was the last time you honestly felt pure joy? When was the last time you felt fulfilled?
Re-Examining My Social Signals – An update on how I’m thinking about re-engineer, reconnect, or disconnect the texts, places, and spaces in which I engage online. Oh, and some lessons learned about bird mating.
Using Graphic Novels in Your Classroom – Some ideas about how to embed these wonderful texts into your learning spaces.

Watch

The Bystander Effect vs. The Good Samaritan Effect

If you act on compassion when the moment presents itself, you will have a meaningful life.

Don’t be the bystander that stays in the dark. Do as the Good Samaritan and you will move closer to a life of purpose.

Read

“I Have Blood on My Hands”: A Whistleblower Says Facebook Ignored Global Political Manipulation

After being fired by Facebook this month, a data scientist published a 6,600-word memo to the company’s internal communication systems breaking down 2.5 years of her experiences on the “fake engagement team.”

Former Facebook data scientist Sophie Zhang pointed to activity across the world in nations such as Azerbaijan, Honduras, India, Ukraine, Spain, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

The U.S. Has an Empathy Deficit

Here’s what we can do about it:

Take the time to ask those you encounter how they are feeling, and really listen. Try to put yourself in their shoes. Remember that we all tend to underestimate other people’s emotional distress, and we’re most likely to do so when those people are different from us.
Remind yourself that almost everyone is at the end of their rope these days. Many people barely have enough energy to handle their own problems, so they don’t have their normal ability to think about yours.
Be aware that what is empathy for one person may not be empathy for another person. It’s not a concept that speaks for itself. Asking your friends, family, and coworkers what empathy is for them might open a new door to understanding and helping those around us.

How microaggressions look different when we’re working remotely

According to Columbia professor Derald Wing Sue, whose team defined microaggressions as the “new face of racism” in 2007, these actions fit into one of three categories:

Microassault: an explicit racial derogation; verbal/nonverbal. For example, using racial slurs or refusing to work with someone because of their race, ethnicity, or national origin.
Microinsult: communication that conveys rudeness and demeans a person’s racial heritage or identity; subtle snubs, unknown to the perpetrator; hidden insulting message to the recipient. For example, telling someone they are not like others of their race or repeating an insensitive joke about the person’s ethnicity.
Microinvalidation: communication that excludes or negates the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person belonging to a particular group. This could include telling a person that they are being too sensitive or that they took your joke the wrong way.