Against Easy

When the world found itself in the grips of a pandemic, we regrouped and kept working. We hoped things would return to normal. 

This is different. We've stopped working on Pop Neuro and our book Blindsight. George Floyd's murder reminds us of what normal is like. This is not a normal worth returning to. It deserves our full recognition and condemnation, and to fully condemn something requires more than words. 

Gil Scott-Heron once said, "Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something." 

We feel compelled to do something. Do something to create a new normal.

Like many, we've experienced a range of emotions over the last week: anger, disgust, and sadness. We've come to recognize that emotions and words alone won't lead to a new normal. We've also come to realize that none of this is easy; nothing worthwhile is.  

Google fingers are harder than Twitter fingers. It takes deliberate effort to research organizations to support, to learn about the history of this country, and how to apply pressure to its political structure. 

For companies, it's easy to fire up the PR team and make boilerplate statements about Black Lives Matter. It's hard to fire up the finance team and sacrifice corporate interests to support these statements. 

Lastly, it's easy for us to point the finger at what other companies should do and not do the hard things ourselves. Action over words. We will continue to protest. We will continue to sign petitions and apply pressure to our political representatives. We will continue to make donations to national and local organizations here in Oakland, CA, which align with our beliefs on ending police violence and racial inequality. 

We hesitate to mention our own actions, as this is not something we should be congratulated for. Rather, this should be expected. We should all be expected to make hard personal and professional sacrifices to create a new normal.

Love,
Prince & Matt