Brené Brown Instagram – Unlocking Us is back today with a solo “On My Mind” episode about what’s weighing on my heart and spirit: the carefully laid path of dehumanization that led to the insurrection at the Capitol last week. I can’t count the number of emails, tweets, and social media comments I’m receiving about shame, specifically the lack of it and the need for more of it. I get it. Shaming the shit out of people for the trauma and hate-fueled violence we witnessed last week is SO seductive. And, if it worked, I’d do it. Even fully knowing the pain it causes. I wouldn’t care — I’m that scared and anxious and worn down. But shame is not the answer — it changes nothing. It’s easy and self-righteous and it gives us the counterfeit feeling of having discharged our rage, but it changes nothing. It is just more self-indulgent behavior that adds to the shit that’s covering ALL of our shoes. Shame is a function of dehumanization, and we need to have a SERIOUS conversation about how dehumanization and shame undermine accountability and corrode empathy. And, as Nelba Márquez-Greene, “White supremacy is not the elephant in the room. It is the room.” We need accountability. We need love. We need to own our history so our history doesn’t own us. You can listen to the new episode of Unlocking Us now.