Tod shares some of his reflections on working with diverse groups working toward a common goal, and postures necessary to make the most of such situations…
Tod and I go into more detail about the term “Institutionalized Rasism” and talk about a few concrete examples of how it looks and what effects it has.
Questions that come to mind are:
Who sets policy and guidelines for content for educational materials? How could that person being aware of the implications of the content that they are producing make a difference in this process?
Think about the prison system; the educational system; political system; the economic system: What positions and roles can contribute to positive change regarding the postures and attitudes that these systems assume in how they develop and implement policy?
I am thoroughly appreciative to allow you who have been readers, commenters and sharers of the Reflection Phase of this blog. We will have a few more posts of that kind over the next couple weeks, and again in the future, but for the next while it has become apparent that the most timely thing is for us to now engage in an Action Phase.
What that means is that what will be most valuable for those of us here looking to see the world become a better place in this phase is learning WHAT YOU ARE PREPARED TO DO. There are iterative processes of theory and action going on here. Without some theory, we have little to focus on and test…without action, we don’t get to see if any of it is practical. It is time to do something.
The challenge of the team at Steady Flow will be to develop and craft content that asks good questions about the systems that exist in our neighborhoods, towns, cities and countries. The challenge that we pose to you is to consider and share your learning about questions such as these:
1. What do you need to see change most about your life or where you live?
2. WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO to improve those things?
3. What concrete support do you need to improve conditions in your environment?
4. What can you do to shake off the shackles of passivity and voyeuristic patterns, and rather plug in to the people around you and start building something truly just and connected?
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This is just an intro to where we are going for a while. I will understand if some folks don’t feel prepared yet to engage in action, but I encourage you to participate in discussions and share your concrete learning as you feel ready. This phase is not about being comfortable. It is about flexing muscles that you may not have worked in a while, if at all. I am willing to give my all throughout this phase, and it would be very encouraging if you “builders” out there would join me in this growth process. You will likely begin to hear some other voices arise in this space, and if you’d like to join the creative team, please comment saying so, and you will be contacted by email.
Regardless of your race, gender, economic bracket or education level, I believe that all of you are noble, and capable of amazing things if you stand up to do something.
Listening to National Public Radio while you're driving can be hazardous. Once again I almost drove off the road. The reporter was talking about a fourteen year old girl in Pakistan, hunted down and shot by the Pakistani Taliban for the offense of going to school. I was enraged. In spite of myself, all manner of hostile thoughts filled my mind.
Yes, Fam!
This is a solid comment on some serious reflection that many of us need to make that I couldn't help but repost this! I'm very interested to hear what emotions and thoughts run through your mind as you consider the points here:
In a continuation from our last Finance post, Colby talks a little about finding one’s path, and ways that one can approach career and education…Enjoy!
In this short post, Colby and I discuss approaching higher education, and the implications of choices going in…
What would you do differently if you had it to do over? If you’re at the point of transition from high school to college, what’s your sense of purpose for the next few years?
Here, Colby and I have a back and forth about how we look at money(as a means or an end), and explore some possible healthy postures surrounding gaining more wealth and saving where it counts.
To my atheist and agnostic family: God gets mentioned here. It’s not to exclude you or create discomfort…that’s just where we’re coming from on that. There are other valid sources of inspiration to serve one’s fellow man, I know.
Here, Colby and I finish out this part of the Finance conversation, which is a continuation of Wealth and Poverty and Religion and Culture. It has been quite fun hearing folks’ thoughts on these last couple posts! Enjoy!
Here, I go into some of the postures and attitudes surrounding the conversation on wealth and poverty, which is a continuation from the last video post on Religion and Culture…Enjoy!
Here we have a continuation of “Avoiding Debt”, Part 1 and Part 2, dealing specifically with credit cards. Colby and I explore some of the implications of credit to one’s future…
Continuation from Part 1. Colby goes further into the issue of going into debt and things to consider regarding pursuing higher education and its costs…
A number of previous posts written here were on the subject of community and human nature. It seems pertinent to draw some of those concepts to some current affairs such as the Trayvon Martin killing and the murder of James Craig Anderson amongst many others. Many would attribute tragedies such as these to a rising race or class war, but I feel that there are larger principles at play that we may benefit from considering before we blame these actions of individuals on an overly-superficial analysis of what’s going on.
As some of the discussion in previous posts on race explores, it’s very easy to point the finger at familiar terms such as “race” or “class” when I feel that “trust” among us as individuals and a community is the element has to be considered. Many of us have been led to believe that people outside our blood family are not to be trusted, and that people will likely take advantage of us at every opportunity given the opportunity.
Obviously I generalize, but I believe that most will agree that some degree of suspicion is common in our experience and training about survival in today’s world:
Don’t trust the cops.
Don’t trust the people.
Don’t trust people wealthier than you.
Don’t trust people poorer than you.
Don’t trust people of other religions.
Don’t trust business people.
Don’t trust customers.
Don’t trust women.
Don’t trust men.
Messages like these were often unspoken rules that I assimilated to, and doubt that others are immune to these subtle but ever-present messages we send each other through how we behave and talk to each other and the messages we consume in our media.
The thing is, I’ve had so many places in my life that informed me through experience that people are very much worthy of trust…in fact, we don’t get what we need in life as far as diversity of human interaction and experience without it. Further, people want to trust and be trusted. When you watch a movie, who do you generally gravitate towards and root for? Is it the self-serving bully who takes advantage of those weaker than them or the noble champion who grows through their hard-work and challenges to move higher and higher in their understanding?
So pulling back to the recent news events that I mentioned above(and I welcome others brought forth as examples of a point, please share a link), who are the people who are part of the story? Are they stories of “saints” and “monsters” who are essentially “black or white” characters with no gray area to them or are they individuals with challenging environments that they navigate and make mistakes(sometimes gravely serious) from their vantage point? Can we easily put ourselves in the other person’s shoes, say, in the case of someone like George Zimmerman? What is his story? What was he taught about at home about who and what he can trust? What pain shaped him into the character that committed this act? …it’s possible that his past has a good deal of sadness and pain to it. Do you know any young folks like Deryl Dedmon, John Aaron Rice and Dylan Butler? Is there something you can do now to assist in them making different decisions as they grow?
I’m not trying to excuse inexcusable actions, mind…I’m just trying to look beyond the emotional response to an act that is easy to engage, and think about we can go about the business of preventing the sadness that come from acts like these by healing ourselves and those around us.
