I personally believe in the power and appropriateness of call-outs. I’ve seen call-out culture accomplish volumes in the last couple weeks on social media especially. Here are some of the things I consider when deciding to call-out vs. call-in:
Do I have their ear? This can pertain to a person who isn’t open to taking in information from me, or literally isn’t available to me e.g. I don’t have access to Amazon’s executive team.
Do they have the capacity to understand what I’m saying? Cognitive capacity is real and some concepts will be too complex for another to follow.
Am I after accountability, or shame? Call-out culture seems to get tied to shaming, but that isn’t necessarily it. A lot of call-outs these days are action-motivated. (If yours is shame-motivated, you gotta check yourself!) Also, a reminder: You can never control whether the other party FEELS shame regardless, but that isn’t your responsibility!
How much urgency is there? Who is being harmed? Is there room for slow and gentle inroads over time, or is action required now? Can a mass of people or public pressure force accountability faster?
Has calling in failed? If a number of people in their inner circle have already tried to call them in and they ignored, it’s time for a call-out.
Is this actually about disregard? If someone is doing something blatantly wrong, gentle reminders aren’t needed. It’s not a matter of them not knowing it’s wrong to pay Black folks less than White folks, for example. It’s about them NOT CARING, or gambling that they’ll get away with it. No need for calling-in here. In the words of Assata Shakur, “Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.”
Last but not least, I consider what MY time, interest, and expertise look like. Sometimes I won’t have the energy or skill to handle calling someone in or out, but that doesn’t have to mean doing nothing instead. There are options less than call-outs and call-ins that respect my needs + express disapproval. For example, I can not laugh at a racist joke, or simply say, “I don’t find that funny.” On social media, I can unfollow someone, comment that I won’t be buying their products anymore, or like someone else’s comment that resonates. There’s a whole spectrum of possibilities, but it’s imperative we adopt a stance, and not get gaslit by the Rules of Engagement in the process!