Alec Ward | The 800-pound sycophant

Talking Backward | Who are the real allies?

By Alec Ward 11/18/15 2:22am

In the wake of protests against racism on campuses around the country last week, many of my acquaintances took to social media to declare their status as “allies” of the protestors and to affirm their solidarity with the various movements participating.

It was far from the first time I’d seen the term “ally” used in conjunction with social justice movements, but it raised the concept afresh in my mind. Specifically, I got to wondering about my own ability to claim alliance with those striving to bring attention to their belief that they are routinely denied full and equal partnership in the academic community and in public life.

On the one hand, I long to see a world where nobody’s identity is seen as grounds for social subjugation. Members of those groups clearly feel deeply that such a world is not at hand, and I agree wholehe

artedly with a number of their reasons for thinking so. On the other hand, I’ve been publicly and vocally critical of the methods and stated goals of some of these groups, particularly where they have sought punishment for the perpetrators of perceived racial slights. These criticisms, I suspected, would exclude me from ally status in the eyes of many.

A former classmate of mine took to Facebook to make this point explicit. The obligation of a white ally, she insisted, was not to speak, but to listen only: to offer no criticism, no response, no comment. The criterion for alliance was unconditional agreement and support. For me, this was a moment of clarity.

Good-faith dissent and criticism are not enmity. Indeed, they have the potential to be far more sincere manifestations of support than the silently-nodding total acquiescence which my former classmate suggests that alliance with the marginalized demands.

No leader is correct about all matters in all cases at all times. It is inevitable that sometimes we all make errors, neglect the obvious or allow our biases and our emotions to cloud our judgement. Such oversights are not reprehensible failings, but often-laudable features of our humanity. It is at the times when such features threaten to lead us badly astray, however, that the true ally makes himself known not by his automatic assent but by his voice raised in earnest disagreement. Good leaders know this, and they do well to heed their critics, rather than to demonize them.

Activists for historically persecuted groups are often quick to note that those outside such groups cannot possibly understand what it’s like to be inside them and to experience living with the legacy of that persecution. They are absolutely correct; I will never know what it feels like to be black, gay or female in America. I’m not a part of those groups, and the legacies of their subjugation don’t affect my life the way they would if I were.

I don’t agree, however, that these facts render my voice devoid of value when I speak about the efforts to overcome those legacies. Of course, there are some things I’m simply not qualified to speak about; if I claimed I knew firsthand what types of emotions a gay person feels when they’re called an anti-gay slur, you’d be justified in dismissing me out of hand. Our commitment to diversity in education, however, is anchored in a belief that the pursuit of truth and justice is aided, rather than hindered, by the contributing presence of people with many different, discreet life experiences. We do not declare that the privileges or hardships afforded to some render their voices devoid of value, we believe that each life experience provides a different perspective through which to examine the world and thereby to know it better. Those seeking social justice ought to realize that the same is true of their goals and to embrace as many diverse views as possible, regarding each as a potential contribution to the achievement of a more just society.

And so, to those who have raised their voices in protest I offer myself as a different sort of ally. I will neither unquestioningly affirm your every position, nor leave your every claim unchallenged. Rather I will raise my own voice in earnest dissent, in the hope that in doing so I might strengthen yours. In such a partnership as I desire, I do not doubt that I will learn and grow and change as well. This is not a condescension, but an earnest offer of aid.

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