OD has absolutely nothing to bring the table to combat racism.
It is very “in” to try to lend a helping hand to combat racism, especially since the Floyd incident was recorded on an I phone. “Social justice”, whatever that means, is often adopted by OD practitioners who are prone to try to change the world, not content with changing the organizations that they support.
Not only does OD has absolutely nothing to bring to the table; even worse, OD can do lot of damage by signing up to help.
Here are 3 major reasons why OD has no value to add.
- OD itself has acute western biases and holds many Oriental values in contempt. The profession is in denial of these biases.
- Compromise, listening, patience and tolerance may very well be dysfunctional to social change.
- Neutrality and facilitation legitimize suppression.
Here is some of the damage that OD can bring to table in trying to combat racism.
- OD is extraordinarily ineffective in large system change. Malpractice is common.
- OD, itself repressive to eastern values and lacks the insight to understand the high-handedness of the racist, and thus is often blind to the relevant power dynamics.
- Combating racism is not a tea party; it is not diversity training or other expressions of tokenism; it is a social struggle; it is an economic struggle. It is a political struggle. OD’s preference for dialogue drives albeit (not intentionally), continued repression.