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The competitive advantage is hard to quantify though, whereas the disadvantage can be felt directly and immediately if you aren't careful. If someone gets burned, it's hard to see how a vague notion of some intangible advantage would push them to risk a repeat.

As a white male from a poor southern family (not very tolerant) I've had to learn a few hard lessons on similar fronts. I know I don't have a good gauge for what is and isn't ok, even now. Given that in many occasions even mirroring words or behaviors can be a no-no, the only way I've learned that is 100% effective at not causing problems is shutting up, which I'm generally pretty bad at. Luckily I've had mostly understanding and light hearted coworkers, so I haven't been outright ruined yet, but I can think of more than one occasion that likely would have turned my life upside down if the audience was less sensitive to my intent.



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