I’m not sure Nightingale explicitly lays out a step by step plan to educate oneself about inequality, but he does make suggestions on how to move forward. Stay vigilant, don’t make it about you, do research and read articles, don’t question a person’s rightful ability to make a complaint, and reflect on yourself rather than ask why if you’re called out. In 2016, Nightingale’s suggestion doesn’t even even make a ‘blip’ on the radical-o-meter. At least for me, none of this is really anything that I haven’t heard before. I guess that I might not entirely agree with “not asking why” if you get called out by someone. I get it, the onus is on the transgressor to figure out wtf they did wrong…the offended shouldn’t have to spell it out with extra effort…but come on…that extra effort could be a catalyst for the other to change their ways or work toward illumination. It shouldn’t be expected, but if it could help make the world better I don’t think the idea of explanation and dialogue should be completely thrown away. He suggests going to the lengths he does because in the grand scheme of things that amount of effort is the least one can do compared to the garbage everyone else has to put up with daily.
According to Nightingale, intellectual conversation can seem like a challenge to the person who feels transgressed. They have just had some slight happen to them, and other people trying to piece out in their brain what’s going on and bounce questions off of the slighted instead of just supporting them adds on to that current “pile of shit” that they’re dealing with. You don’t need to work to understand the problem [if you don’t] immediately. You need to be supportive and uplifting. I’m not entirely sure Nightingale mentions a right time for intellectual conversation other than in your head and on your own time
Challenging? I’m not so sure that’s the word I’d use to describe how I find his piece. I think he makes some fair points and my agreement with him lays on a spectrum. Nightingale includes a myriad of links to sources throughout his piece, which I love (I f-ing hate freewheeling broad assertions without at least an attempt at backing it up). Through those sources and the twitter “follow” links, one can educate themselves further and push their illumination on the subject. I think the point of his tone was to make his target audience, me, uncomfortable and then for me to realize that I have no right to be uncomfortable about this situation. I think he fails at that, as I’m open to educating myself and bettering myself and gaining perspective. That’s not to say (by any means) that it’s a comfortable topic, which it isn’t and shouldn’t be.