April 19, 2024

why would we write policies based on extremes?

photo caption: an isolated palm tree practices physical distancing in silhouette across an artificially blue sky. a bird in flight is near the bottom of the frame, flapping to someplace else. the bird hasn’t been confined to its house for ten days now, i can tell you that much.

I recently listened to an episode of a podcast called Activist Class, where they interviewed one of my heroes, Nikkita Oliver. Nikkita talks about the new youth jail in Seattle. They point out that “it was designed to be the nicest public building that kids of color might access.” What if we invested in communities, rather than paying any price to “solve” their problems?

While I’m buried under COVID-19 response, I thought I would share. Here’s my favorite quote from them:

“Why not write our policies based on the world that we would want to see, as opposed to the world that we’re afraid of?”

Please check it out!

my name is josh martinez. i have always loved trying to understand systems, and the systems that built those systems. i spend a lot of time thinking about how to get there from here.

i own and operate a consulting practice, Future Emergent.

say hello: josh[at]bethefuture.space