Either/Or Thinking

For the next series of white supremacy reflections, I decided to focus on either/or thinking.

Either/Or Thinking
Life is not “either or,” it’s “both and” — Royce White

What might this look like?

● things are either/or — good/bad, right/wrong, with us/against us
● closely linked to perfectionism in making it difficult to learn from mistakes or accommodate conflict
● no sense that things can be both/and
● results in trying to simplify complex things, for example, believing that poverty is simply a result of lack of education
● creates conflict and increases sense of urgency, as people feel they have to make decisions to do either this or that, with no time or encouragement to consider alternatives, particularly those which may require more time or resources
● often used by those with a clear agenda or goal to push those who are still thinking or reflecting to make a choice between ‘a’ or ‘b’ without acknowledging a need for time and creativity to come up with more options

Reflection Questions

a. What does this look like when you act with either/or thinking?
I tend not to listen to other ideas and options when I get into either/or thinking.

b. What feelings do you have when you act with either/or thinking? I feel stressed with the idea of both/and at times. It’s like the sense of urgency creeps in and I don’t want to consider two things beings viable options and having truth to them.

c. What policies and/or practices does your work/organization reinforce or encourage either/or thinking? I feel like many fiscal policies and decisions about what and how money can be spent by grantees are reinforcing this mindset. While it’s good to be fiscally sound, the decision tends to come from a narrow and white dominant culture viewpoint. The consideration that we can be fiscally sound and flexible seems daunting.

d. What actions can you take to go from either/or thinking to systems and complexity thinking? I can start to question assumptions that I am making that can help me see more context and patterns.

e. What benefits do you think you would get from applying more of the replacement characteristics? I think we can find more solutions when we consider systems and complexity thinking.

Action Plan Statement

From now on when I feel the urge to act with either/or thinking, I will start to ask questions because it provides me with more solutions to problems. I will also support my work/organization to either/or thinking by addressing practices and policies that reinforce this like some fiscal policies. When I do act with either/or thinking, I will give myself some grace, acknowledge the impact I had on others, and engage in repair work by being honest with myself and going back to the above actions.