Racism Takes Many Forms

The Kid, even when his foot is an inch or two off base, offers plenty to think about. The latest involved a schoolmate who was bullying others. That's not right, for sure, but …

It turns out that the young man falls somewhere on the autism scale. His achool's reaction has been to identify him as someone with special needs, and, in fact, to surveil all students with any degree of autistic symptoms or behaviors.

The Kid was outraged. "This is medical racism!" He went off on a rant, and it was neither incoherent nor irrelevant. That the reaction to a medical condition, not pigmentation or eye folds, might not fall into the technical province of classical racism is not important. The concerns for others and for fairness among the human population are.

I raise The Kid's issue with both trepidation and hope. In this second decade of the 21st century, our collective understanding of what constitutes bias and aggression has elevated enormously. It permeates life at large, general business, and supply chain management. And, we've got to get it right.

Have Loony Tunes academics with make-believe agendas taken political correctness to bizarre extremes? Sure. Are workforces, supervisors, and the "leaders" we are encouraged to model guilty of both rank prejudice and innocent insults? Sure.

It's up to a new generation of leaders to change behaviors toward women, people of color, the physically challenged, and others who are "different" in some form or fashion. And to insist that their minions and followers do likewise.

It's the right way to behave. It recognizes and includes many who have been excluded and denigrated for generations. It welcomes and embraces the skills and talents that are in such short supply these days.

Get your act together. If you are not sure what your act ought to be in this dimension, get help in understanding and overcoming the aggression and bias factors that can cost millions, in direct costs and in lost opportunities.