Hard disagree. If you won’t take the time out of your day to explain to a curious passerby something about your identity that puts you in a minority, you are making an active choice to passively perpetuate prejudice.
It’s not even about the information. As a member of a group, whenever you encounter someone not from your group you unwittingly become an ambassador for your group to that person. Whether you like it or not, that person’s opinion of your group is directly influenced by how you respond.
If you politely educate, people will come away with a more positive opinion of your group than if you dismiss or demean them. And if their curiosity is taking up too much of your time and energy, you have the advantageous ability to refer them to resources that you know and trust.
The general population, in my experience, puts more stock in anecdotal evidence than research. Add onto that all the pop culture and pseudoscience articles and the advent of AI like ChatGPT, you’re putting blind faith and trust in someone else’s ability to learn about something that is a part of your daily life.
Now, some people who struggle with social interactions should be given the patience and grace they need. But denying your role as an ambassador of your group because you see it as ‘not your responsibility’ negatively impacts your community. It’s an incredibly selfish, shortsighted act that causes harm through follow-on interactions.
Hard disagree. If you won’t take the time out of your day to explain to a curious passerby something about your identity that puts you in a minority, you are making an active choice to passively perpetuate prejudice.
It’s not even about the information. As a member of a group, whenever you encounter someone not from your group you unwittingly become an ambassador for your group to that person. Whether you like it or not, that person’s opinion of your group is directly influenced by how you respond.
If you politely educate, people will come away with a more positive opinion of your group than if you dismiss or demean them. And if their curiosity is taking up too much of your time and energy, you have the advantageous ability to refer them to resources that you know and trust.
The general population, in my experience, puts more stock in anecdotal evidence than research. Add onto that all the pop culture and pseudoscience articles and the advent of AI like ChatGPT, you’re putting blind faith and trust in someone else’s ability to learn about something that is a part of your daily life.
Now, some people who struggle with social interactions should be given the patience and grace they need. But denying your role as an ambassador of your group because you see it as ‘not your responsibility’ negatively impacts your community. It’s an incredibly selfish, shortsighted act that causes harm through follow-on interactions.