Timara (she/her)
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thread 1/15
The elephant and mouse.

Years ago, someone recommended I read a book on DEI. I can never remember the title, but one part of the book always stayed with me. And it's about an elephant and a mouse.
03:24 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 2/15
Both the elephant and the mouse are in a room. The elephant moves as it wants. I mean, it's an elephant.

The mouse; however, is cautious. Because the mouse knows that every move it makes it can easily be squished by an elephant.
03:25 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 3/15
And because of that, the mouse studies every move the elephant makes. The mouse has to, because the mouse realizes that what the elephant does affects the mouse.

It doesn't matter if the move is intentional or not; the mouse is still affected.
03:26 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 4/15
And the elephant, well the elephant goes on existing as elephants do. The elephant is at the top of the power hierarchy. The elephant doesn't have to worry about a little mouse, because what can the mouse do to the elephant?
03:27 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 5/15
Are y'all still with me? If so, are we really talking about an elephant and a mouse?
03:28 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 6/15
We're not. When I read the book years ago the elephant clearly represented white people and the mouse everyone else.

But there are so many other relationships the elephant and mouse could symbolize.
03:30 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 7/15
The elephant can be men; mouse women.

The elephant can be cishet; mouse LGBTQIA2S+.

The elephant can be neurotypical; mouse neurospicy.

The elephant can be abled; mouse differently abled.
03:33 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 8/15
But let's go back to the white versus everyone else for a minute.

Last night a necessary discussion happened around the term woke. Simply put, someone tried to co-opt the definition to fit their needs.
03:34 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 9/15
And from that discussion, you see a clear divide. One side stood up to correct what I believe wasn't nefarious but truly ignorant. The other side agreed with the definition and felt we all could use a little more "empathy."
03:36 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 10/15
Which side was the elephant? Which side was the mouse?
03:36 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 11/15
The reason I point to that example is because the elephant always makes a declaration and assumes everyone's going to follow them because, well, they're an elephant.

And in discussions like this, other elephants don't just follow the first one. They silence the mouse because...
03:38 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 12/15
They feel like the mouse doesn't know what they're talking about.

But not only does the mouse know, but the mouse has the intimate knowledge of being a mouse AND watching the moves of the elephant.
03:40 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 13/15
I implore elephants to be less like elephants. Stop moving needlessly around the world thinking the world should center you because you're an elephant.

And just like the mouse watches you, learn from the mouse. Don't center yourself in that; just be silent and learn.
03:45 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 14/15
Because every day it seems we have a divide between elephants and mice here. The elephants say they're here to learn and do better but still stomp around being elephants.

And this phenomenon isn't just unique to Spoutible. We see it on and offline.
03:47 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Timara (she/her)
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thread 15/15
The mice are committed to bettering themselves because they know it takes a collective effort to make the world a better place and sustain our home.

Elephants, are you?
03:49 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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Siobhán Maree
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Thank you for this
In response to Timara (she/her).
07:41 PM - Aug 27, 2023
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