The Neutrality Trap

chapter twothe neutrality trap

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

—Desmond Tutu

We began drafting this chapter during the first week of 2021. Then the invasion of the US Capitol happened. The biggest threat to American democratic institutions in our lifetime, it grew out of a racist and nativist streak that is foundational to US culture. It also grew out of a strain of that culture that asserts that only White Christian fundamentalists really count and that those who did not vote for Trump, especially people of color, are not real Americans. Those who enabled Trump's actions bought into his false and dangerous narratives about the validity of the election and refused to take any responsibility for the violence, destruction, and attack on democracy that occurred. They have since urged that we “move on” and argued that our focus should now be on unity and reconciliation (c.f. Wang 2021). But reconciliation without responsibility taking or accountability is no reconciliation at all.

Not surprisingly, the response of many in the conflict field to the attack was to call for more dialogue, preferably overseen by trained third‐party mediators, to heal our wounds (see Kenneth Cloke FB post of Jan. 9, 2021). But dialogue is not just an academic exchange of views. It requires a serious effort to ...