I have grown weary of the wait. Promises. Good Intentions. Baby Steps. Bullshit. Goodness stymied by fear. As a species, as long as each generation considers only their self, and as long as token leadership continues to follow the rules, it appears we will maintain ourselves into nonexistence. It does not have to be.

Last week I called out my employer (who claims to want “to address historical imbalances”) by asking how much more historical can you go than the imbalance between the privileged and the majority? And while on the surface, working through inclusion, diversity and equity initiatives in the interest of “race/ethnicity, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, country of origin, and ability as well as cultural, political, religious, or other affiliations,” appears to be worthwhile (and often, to an extent, is), even when successful the result is deserving individuals given more opportunity to buy into and maintain the status quo. Then we are stymied by our fear that the advances we have made, (if we keep asking for more), might somehow be rescinded. We must go deeper. The true villain is class difference; and of course because the privileged class makes the rules and the decisions, class difference will remain – same as it ever was.

And my employer's response? Consistent. I once again was referred to an HR rep. The entirety of their response was, “Much like last year (email attached), your concerns were forwarded to me, as the School of Medicine HR Director. Please let me know if you would like to set up a time to discuss your concerns.”

Token leadership. Token gesture.

As a species, we believe we thrive but the Truth is, we are slowly fading away.

I am sad.