Everything Is Awful, But Let's Make It Less Awful, Shall We?

Content warning: This Missive discusses incidents of antisemitism and hate, so skip if reading that isn’t good for you right now… 

Companies are dropping the artist formerly known as Kanye after his Tour de “Shitty 18th Century Antisemitic Tropes” and I gotta say, I ain’t mad. Adidas, Gap, CAA, Vogue and others have decided to axe their relationships with the artist, and companies like Peloton have said they will no longer recommend classes that feature his music or use his music in any new classes.

Now, as I said, the above is the right (and only) move for each of these companies (especially one whose founders joined the Nazi party in 1933). But as I am wont to do as a professional communicator and creator/consumer of corporate statements, I’d like to draw your attention to a line in the Peloton statement I found interesting - and telling. 

After stating why they are removing his music, the second to last sentence reads “You should know this was a decision we made immediately following his remarks.”

Now, I don’t want to get too far into the crisis communication weeds, but the fact that the company wants to remind everyone of the timing of their decision indicates a recognition of the importance of when a company takes a stand regarding an issue. Because being first risks you are the only one sticking your neck out and being last can risk public backlash and/or accusations of cynically jumping on the bandwagon. And major business decisions like this require buy-in from many people across many groups in an organization, and if you’ve ever wanted to understand the term “herding cats” without having your allergies act up, jump on a Zoom call with Product, Legal, Marketing, Comms and Sales. But commenting late leads to damaging (and very valid IMHO) public questions about why did it took so long, and I guarantee those questions come from inside the house as well. (Sidenote: This also why any company should have a preexisting crisis plan with approved messaging and designated decision makers to reduce time and the risk of having to respond to the crisis around the response to the crisis, but I digress…)

I don’t think that I have to tell the fabulous Missive readers this, but it’s much better to be a hipster when it comes to calling out antisemitism and hate (do it before it’s cool), but I would like to gently remind you all that that applies to responding to antisemitism in your day-to-day life as well. 

It should be a no brainer that every company—and individual—decry hateful statements like the ones he made. Because antisemitism exists in ways you may not notice, or think is a big deal, in both our personal and professional lives. It can range from a comment about how Jews are good with money and/or controlling the media, to musings on how the “Globalists” are ruining everything, to inferring that all Jews are responsible for the actions of Israel, to laughing at a joke about how Jews have horns.

I’m a Jew-by-choice, having joined the tribe in 2010, so I never had to deal with the lifetime of direct and indirect antisemitism that my born-Jewish friends and loved ones have had to. But on the flip side, converting has made me FAR more aware of how often people slip into bigoted old thinking when they don’t think a Jew is around. I don’t “appear Jewish”, which means I’ve heard colleagues at a job many years ago state they don’t want to get “Jewed” in a contract negotiation (I’m serious, I heard it, and it sucked), heard someone refer to a lawyer to as a “shyster” and had non-Jewish people I know talk about how someone is cheap and tack on “well, they’re Jewish, so…” at the end of the comment, amongst other supremely uncomfortable moments.

I encourage you to check our the Anti-Defamation League’s “Antisemitism Uncovered”, a thorough explanation of how old ideas are being recycled into new hate, and the insidious impact it has on society. None of these tropes are new, and it’s not getting better - and this is why watching the rise of QAnon and talk of global cabals is so existentially concerning. 

In a very common refrain in this newsletter, we must say it again: words matter. This is 2022, and the staff of the Holocaust Museum of LA are getting harassed with antisemitic hate, while writer Tax Levin is being told they’ll be “first in line when they get the ovens up and running again”. Neo-Nazi groups are dropping banners over the 405 saying “Kanye is right” while throwing up their right arms up like it’s 1939. 

So it’s up to all of YOU, especially my non-Jewish readers, to call out hate when you see it, because it’s the little biases that build into insurmountable hate. While posting that you love your Jewish friends is good, it doesn’t matter if it isn’t coupled with action. If a friend makes an inappropriate comment, make direct eye contact and tell them “That’s a strange thing to say” (I find that shuts down comments without getting into an argument.) If you want to get a bit more direct, ask someone to explain what they mean by something they’d said. Or, if the relationship is a strong one, gently ask if it’s ok if you can correct their language.

Be an anti-hatred hipster, won’t you?

Wow, that was longer than I anticipated. So drink some water, get outside, be kind to each other.

Amy