Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
Speaking out against injustices in society is a virtue that requires courage and zeal. Knowing that one can suffer dare consequences ranging from financial, social and even psychological. Over the years, the belief that the less you say the better it is has been misinterpreted to mean that people should shun the virtue of being vocal about vices in the society. Such misguided beliefs have seen injustice in society double to a point where those who seem to speak against it are taken to be the enemy of social ethics and progression. Though speaking out against injustices and inequality might prove difficult in a society that has been indoctrinated to believe that social injustice and inequalities are part of the normal, citizens should unite and use their voice to speak out against such beliefs for the betterment of society.
- The Ted Talk presented by Ajayi Luvvie capitalizes on the need to speak out against injustices in the society even if doing so might jeopardize one’s wellbeing either economically, socially and psychologically. According to the speaker, speaking out requires inner courage and a sense of responsibility towards others. one has to be empathetic about others. such are the predisposing conditions that lead people to do something about injustices in society. The author points out that it might be easy to think that those who are vocal about social injustices and inequalities are courageous people. the author disputes this by saying that such people are also afraid but decide to do it anyway. The speaker says” A lot of times people think that we’re fearless, the people who do this, we’re fearless. We’re not fearless. We’re not unafraid of the consequences of the sacrifices that we have to make by speaking truth to power” ( Luvvie46 – 01.43). The author points out that society must be comfortable with engaging in issues that make them uncomfortable. By upholding integrity, honesty and shear butter as the core values, the society will be committing itself to the greater good where justice is not an option.
- The speaker highlights a scenario where she was invited to speak at a conference. She was required to pay for her to speak at the conference. On doing some background investigation, she discovered that black women were required to pay for them to speak at the conference. On the other hand, white men and women were being compensated to speak at the conference. This was an outright show of discrimination which the author decided to speak out against. By speaking out publicly against racial discrimination and pay inequality, more women started coming out to share their experiences relating to discrimination. The speaker likens herself to the domino whereby she addresses injustices that are perpetrated by people in positions of authority, who can impact her career negatively but she decided to do it anyway. In another scenario, the speaker says that upon turning age 30, she decided to pursue things that frighten her as a way to overcome her fears. To start with, she went ziplining through the forest of Punta Cana to overcome her fear of heights. Also, she does not like being submerged in water. To overcome fear, she went to Mexico and swam with the dolphins underwater. By pursuing these things, the speaker was able to overcome her fears which gave her even more courage to speak out against atrocities that are perpetrated by individuals or institutions that are more powerful than her.
- As an individual, I have always felt that I have a social responsibility to speak up against injustices whether am at home, at school or workplace. It concerns me when people who cannot speak up for themselves are bullied or discriminated by a person or institution that has authority over others. I have experienced injustice at one point when I was working at a cafeteria a few years back. The management was very strict on employees and they would find slight mistakes that resulted in pay cuts or being fired. When I joined the cafeteria, I observed that my fellow employees were getting pay cuts every end month. This raised my suspicion but I never bothered because I was not subjected to the pay cut. However, in the third month of my employment, I was summoned by the branch manager and told that I would also be subjected to a pay cut because the branch had incurred losses by disposing of products that had expired before customers could order them. This came to me as a shock because naturally, I would expect the cafeteria owner to absorb the losses and not divert them to employees who had done anything wrong that might have resulted to the products expiring before customers could order them. I raised my concerns but the manager said that that is how things operate in that particular cafeteria. I felt it was my responsibility to seek justice not only for me but the other employees who felt the injustice but were too afraid to speak out. I contacted a labour organization and laid out my concerns about the injustices perpetrated by the cafeteria owner. I knew that the move was detrimental because I could lose the job. However, I felt that someone needs to stand and speak up against the injustice being perpetrated by the owner, otherwise people will continue suffering in silence. The labour organization addressed the issue promptly and the owner was forced to pay all the money that had been deducted from the employees. He also received a warning of being shut down in case of such allegations being levelled against him. I completely agree with Luvvie’s perspective about speaking out against injustices in the society irrespective of the consequences that we may suffer. By speaking out about the cafeteria management injustices, my fellow employees were more than happy to receive all the money that they had been deducted for years.
- My personal opinion and that of the speaker are similar. The speaker believes in standing up against injustices in the society irrespective of the consequences that one might suffer. I strongly believe in this perspective because if all people are afraid of speaking out against injustices, perpetrators will win and continue oppressing others for their selfish gains. This perspective is not without repercussions. For instance, the speaker says that she was aware that speaking out against institutions or individuals who are perpetrating injustices may result in financial losses. However, she decided to speak out anyway for the sake of greater good. In my situation, I was also afraid of losing the job by speaking out against the cafeteria owner. However, I decided I will go ahead and seek justices despite the repercussions that may result.
The Ted Talk by Ajayi Luvvie about speaking out against social injustices has impacted my zeal on speaking out against injustices. I have learnt that it is alight to be afraid of the repercussions. I have learnt that being the person who chooses not to be silent against social injustices is alight. Before listening to the talk, I felt uncomfortable being the one to speak up against social injustices. However, I feel my zeal is renewed and will continue upholding honesty, integrity and advocating for justices wherever I am.
Work Cited
Ajayi Luvvie. “Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable.” TED Talk. 2017. www.ted.com/talks/luvvie_ajayi_get_comfortable_with_being_uncomfortable/transcript?language=en#t-636369