Past Listen - The Liturgists Podcast: Episode 34: Black and White: Racism in America (Released March 28, 2016)
“There was this period of white progress on the issue of race, but the response, instead of fully adjusting for these enduring economic disparities, was to roughly integrate schools but still associating school funding with property taxes, which is a form of economic segregation and violence and then you have an intentional effort to create a post-racial America by telling school children, white and black school children, the narrative in which, ‘No, we’re all equal, and we all get along now.’ So then you have this generation of people all over the country who believe they exist in a post-racial society. White kids bought the story because white kids in school districts that had enough property taxes for a new school all their black friends were affluent, so they knew affluent black children who reinforced their idea that they lived in a post-racial America. And that’s what happened during the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s... Then we get to today, and a couple things are happening. One, a continually soft economy that is disproportionately benefiting the wealthiest Americans has created a sense of unease and panic among low-income and middle-income white people. So their station is legitimately getting worse, and so, for example, the data would tell us that the only population group in America who is experiencing a decline in life expectancy is low-income whites. So there’s a real problem there. And so they’re panicked. But at the same time, you’re seeing the whirlwind be reaped of longstanding racist policies in America, especially in terms of incarceration, drug crime, police brutality for black America, so you have this dissolving of the post-racial facade. So people entrench in one of two ways. They become fragile with white fragility, white fragility is what happens when a white person believes themselves to be basically good is confronted by the idea that they are part of supremacist systems and it frightens them and it either paralyzes them or puts them in a state of denial, or some demagogue comes along and tells them, ‘The reason your factory jobs are gone is because of these Mexicans and these angry black people,’ and so you have this legitimate angry response in the form of movements like Black Lives Matter, that become a way to demonize a good movement by people who are afraid and trying to drive this wedge into the country, and that’s the cauldron and the tempest we’re sitting in.” - Science Mike
“That same group of people that received this money from a G.I. Bill two generations later is looking at a young black man, complaining about welfare and wanting help from the government and is saying, ‘You work hard, and you get what you gotta get. You don’t need no government handouts. Y’all are just all so lazy, looking for a handout.’ Time out. You know how you got to the suburbs? It was the G.I. Bill. It was a government handout. And I’m gonna take them a step further and say how y’all had the family farm was the Homestead Act. So when we bought the Louisiana Purchase and we needed people to fill that place, the government was handing out monies for families to move there and if you didn’t know how to farm, ‘No problem, we will pay for you to learn how to farm.’ That’s a government program... So when you tell me that my family has not attained wealth, and I’m just looking for the government to help me out, I’m like, ‘Time out, young buck. That’s exactly how you developed wealth. It just happened two centuries ago.’” - Propaganda
In this episode of The Liturgists, Michael Gungor and Science Mike talked with Propaganda and William Matthews. The topics of race, racism, and white supremacy in the United States were discussed. My dear friend Danielle recommended this to me, and it was the very first podcast I listened to on these topics. It was pivotal for putting me on the journey to broadening the narrative I had previously been taught regarding race.
What podcasts have you listened to recently?
#michaelgungor #sciencemike #propaganda #williammatthews #theliturgists #podcast #podcastrecommendation #race #racism #endracism #dismantlewhitesupremacy #listen #learn #empathy #equality #learning #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative
Account to Follow - Aug. 28, 2019
“Exploring shame, identity, & racial reconciliation.” These words in the bio and the content of the posts drew me to the Shameless Bibliophile page.
I have added numerous books to my only ever-growing list to read because of the recommendations given. I appreciate the diversity in content, characters, and genres, as well as each thoughtful synopsis and analysis.
Follow @shamelessbibliophile, and get recommendations from someone who understands the value of representation, loves the books, and will talk Enneagram with you!
#shamelessbibliophile #accounttofollow #getbookrecommendations #bookrecommendations #bookrec #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #seekjustice #restorativejustice #reconciliation #lovemercy #walkhumbly #beautyindiversity #bettertogether #representationmatters #broadeningthenarrative
Additional Rec - Aug. 29, 2019
Learning the truth about the history of Indigenous people in the United States was one of the first steps in my journey broadening the narrative. Throughout my time in school, my textbooks, teachers, and those around me perpetuated stereotypes, whitewashed history, and painted Native Americans as a people of the past. I, too, am guilty of these actions. I am deeply grieved as I acknowledge my wrongdoing and want to join the work to be part of the solution. On March 5, 2019, Alia Wong wrote an article titled “The Schools That Tried—But Failed—to Make Native Americans Obsolete” for The Atlantic that I wanted to share today. A transcript is included from a conversation she had with novelist and historian David Treuer, who wrote The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present. An excerpt from the article is below.
“The Civilization Fund Act of 1819... had the purported goal of infusing the country’s indigenous people with ‘good moral character’ and vocational skills. The law tasked Christian missions and the federal government with teaching young indigenous Americans subjects ranging from reading to math, eventually leading to a network of boarding schools designed to carry out this charge. The act was, in effect, an effort to stamp out America’s original cultural identity and replace it with one that Europeans had, not long before, imported to the continent. Over time, countless Native American children were taken from their families and homelands and placed in faraway boarding schools, a process that was often traumatic and degrading... It wasn’t until the late 1970s that Congress outlawed the forced removal of Native children from their families.”
Do you have additional resources or insights to share?
#indigenouspeoplearestillhere #indigineousexperiences #boardingschools #tellthetruth #thewholetruth #andnothingbutthetruth #beautyindiversity #bettertogether #empathy #equality #learning #history #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #repent #repair #loveyourneighbor #facethepast #healthefuture #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative
Book Rec - Aug. 31, 2019
Current Read - Boundaries Updated and Expanded: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
“We are responsible to others and for ourselves. ‘Carry each other’s burdens,’ says Galatians 6:2… On the other hand, Galatians 6:5 says that ‘each one should carry their own load.’ Everyone has responsibilities that only he or she can carry… The Greek words for burden and load give us insight into the meaning of these texts. The Greek word for burden means ‘excess burdens,’ or burdens that are so heavy that they weigh us down. These burdens are like boulders. They can crush us. We shouldn’t be expected to carry a boulder by ourselves! It would break our backs. We need help with the boulders - those times of crisis and tragedy in our lives. In contrast, the Greek word for load means ‘cargo,’ or ‘the burden of daily toil.’ This word describes the everyday things we all need to do. These loads are like knapsacks. Knapsacks are possible to carry. We are expected to carry our own. We are expected to deal with our own feelings, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as the responsibilities God has given to each one of us, even though it takes effort. Problems arise when people act as if their ‘boulders’ are daily loads and refuse help, or as if their ‘daily loads’ are boulders they shouldn’t have to carry. The results of these two instances are either perpetual pain or irresponsibility.” (Cloud & Townsend, 2017, pp.32-33).
“Compliant avoidants search for someone to repair. This keeps them saying yes and keeps them out of touch with their own needs. Who fits the bill better than a controlling nonresponsive? And controlling nonresponsives search for someone to keep them away from responsibility. Who better than a compliant avoidant?” (Cloud & Townsend, 2017, p.61).
As someone who is a compliant avoidant, this book brought me face to face with some of the hardest truths about myself. I have work ahead of me for sure, which I plan to do in safe community with people who still love me even when I say, “No.” I am also seeing how the Church often serves as a breeding ground for compliant avoidants to be taken advantage of by controlling nonresponsives. Here’s to putting boundaries in place while walking in restored dignity, valuing mental health, and healing after experiencing spiritual abuse.
Full disclosure: I personally didn’t like how body size and food were handled on pages 17, 238-239, and 318 where they were mentioned.
Has anyone else read this book?
#currentread #boundaries #bookrecommendation #bookrec #reading #learning #mentalhealth #whentosayyes #howtosayno #takecontrolofyourlife #growing #changing #gettinghealthy #healing #churchtoo #restoreddignity #lifeafterspiritualabuse #broadeningthenarrative
No comments:
Post a Comment