I'm Taking a Break

Like many of my Facebook friends, I’m sure, I have struggled to process the events of the last week (let alone the last several months). I have come to realize that I am privileged beyond comprehension – I've been able to work through the shelter-at-home orders in California. The small community where I live seems far removed from the violence that has engulfed most of our country in the last 8 days. But I’ve also come to realize that this geographical privilege is, at least in part, due to the fact that I was born white and male. I'm not guilty about this, but it is nonetheless a fact.

In conversations with my wife and daughters and with my female colleagues over the last several weeks, I’ve realized that they consider things like, “Should I go into the field to do research by myself?” or “Is this a safe time to pump gas at this gas station?” That I never even think about these things strongly suggests my own privilege.

The color of my skin confers further privilege, I believe. An example – my truck registration was due in April. The notice got buried in my family’s transition to working at home – and so I didn’t get it paid until May. I drove my truck for several weeks – around Auburn, to Sacramento, as far east as Truckee and as far west as Dixon – without a current tag. I didn’t worry about getting pulled over – and had I been stopped, I knew that my explanation would have been sufficient for the officer who stopped me. I don’t know that this privilege would have been extended to me if my skin were black or brown.

Facebook – and social media generally – allows all of us to post things without considering their consequences. For me, Facebook has become both an echo chamber (confirming my world view) and a place of incendiary and divisive discourse. Friends – people who I respect – have posted things about people of other races, religious beliefs, and perspectives that they would never say face-to-face. I have seen things posted by other agriculturists in the last several days that are beyond disgusting. I’m both discouraged and saddened.

As a consequence of all this, I’ve decided to take a long (perhaps permanent) break from my personal Facebook account. I will probably still post photos of sheep on my Flying Mule Sheep Company page, and I’ll still post science-based information on my Sustainable Foothill Ranching page, but I won’t be on Facebook as Dan Macon. I'm also exploring more about my own implicit biases - learning about the things I don't even realize I'm doing. I've found Harvard University's implicit bias site to be helpful in this regard (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html).

I hope that my Facebook friends who have my email address or my phone number will engage in conversation – I think we can make progress as a society when we talk (and listen) to one another and try to understand one another. I would also welcome your comments on this blog - provided they're respectful and constructive. I simply don’t think Facebook provides that opportunity at the moment. Facebook provides a place to speak, not a place to listen, in my opinion. And we need more listening at the moment.

Peace.