Is Passive Allyship a thing?

I recently read an article discussing the differences between passive allyship and active allyship. This didn’t make sense to me and got me thinking. I did some research on the differences between passive and active allyship. The active allyship information is exactly what you would expect: speaking up, educating oneself, amplifying marginalized voices, taking initiative, and so on. The bullets describing passive allyship are:

• Believes in equality and supports marginalized groups in theory, but doesn’t often take direct action.

• May stay silent in the face of discrimination to avoid conflict.

• May listen and learn, but not apply that knowledge in a meaningful way.

• Often waits for others to lead or ask for help instead of offering it proactively.

  Cue the puzzled look on my face. This description is the exact opposite of the definition of allyship. Ally is a verb that comes from the Latin word meaning “to bind to”. If you aren’t in action, you aren’t allying. So, how can you be an ally if you are passive when it comes to allyship? You can’t. If you are staying silent, supporting historically marginalized groups in theory, waiting for someone else to take the lead, etc., etc, then you are not an ally in any sense of the word.

  The bottom line is that there is no such thing as passive when it comes to allyship.

  To learn more about allyship and how to create an inclusive space at work, let’s chat - https://calendly.com/coachaimee-1/30min.