The Disorienting Dilemma: Recent Episodes
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Two longtime friends, both Canadian – one black, one white, and both men – explore what it looks like to adopt the mindset of an inclusive society. Instead of asking, ”How do we get there?”, Jake and Chris discuss what does it look like to act as if we’re there already.
According to Pew Research, out of 199 countries and territories, “More than 80 countries favour a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths.” And while, "Islam is the most common government-endorsed faith, with 27 countries (including most in the Middle East-North Africa region) officially enshrining Islam as their state religion’, an additional “40 governments around the globe unofficially favour a particular religion, and in most cases the preferred faith is a branch of Christianity.”
So why is the United States of America, given the early influence of deeply religious groups such as the Pilgrims and Puritans, not a theocracy? And why, when petitioned by Christian clergy of all types, did the Founding Fathers completely reject the idea and in fact, worked to make sure the United States would not become ‘Christian’?
The answers lie in the English Civil War (actually, 3 distinct conflicts between 1642–1651). The civil war was primarily concerned with how the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland should be governed. However, a central feature of the Civil War was the conflict between Protestants (of multiple varieties) and the Catholics.
During this time, John Locke began writing about “the religious intolerance and bickering that was blighting England at the time.” His later writings, Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) and Two Treatises of Government (also 1690) would become foundational for the Founding Fathers framework for government, the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
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CURRENT REFLECTIONS ON CHRISTIAN DOMINIONISM
St. Louis Pastor Confronts Progressive Culture: ‘You’re Either Going to Conform or You’re Going to Stand Out and Be Controversial’. Wes Martin is the lead pastor at Grace Church in St. Louis, where he’s led his congregation through the turbulent times of COVID-19 and some of the political debates that have shaped our society over the last couple of years. Martin spoke to The Daily Signal about his church’s mission and why he’s boldly confronting the progressive culture that’s undermining traditional American values.”
Republicans mostly mum on calls to make GOP ‘party of Christian nationalism’: “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has spent much of the summer calling on her fellow Republicans to become the “party of Christian nationalism,” even selling T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Proud Christian nationalist.” Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s meeting in Texas on Aug. 5, she said the Christian nationalism label is nothing to be “ashamed” of and encouraged other members of her party to “lean in to biblical principles.”
“Christian Nationalism” Used to Be Taboo. Now It’s All the Rage: “Scholars and self-proclaimed Christian nationalists may not always mean the same thing when they use the term. Some self-identifying Christian nationalists might simply be social conservatives who advocate against gay marriage, for example. This is different from the scholarly study of those who believe the American political process itself should be overhauled to serve God—or that the reasoning undergirding the laws of the U.S. should be explicitly Christian.”
The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity. In the United States, the Christian right is an informal coalition formed around a core of largely white conservative Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics. The Christian right draws additional support from politically conservative mainline Protestants and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The movement has its roots in American politics going back as far as the 1940s; it has been especially influential since the 1970s. Its influence draws from grassroots activism as well as from focus on social issues and the ability to motivate the electorate around those issues.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES IN THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED STATES
Who were the Pilgrims and Puritans? “Pilgrim separatists rejected the Church of England and the remnants of Catholicism that the Church of England represented. Puritan non-separatists, while equally fervent in their religious convictions, were committed to the reformation of the Church of England and restoration of early Christian society.”
America’s Unchristian Beginnings – The Founding Fathers: “Most, despite preachings of our pious right, were deists who rejected the divinity of Jesus. The Christian right is trying to rewrite the history of the United States as part of its campaign to force its view of religion on others who ask merely to be left alone. According to this Orwellian revision, the Founding Fathers were devout Christians who envisioned a Christian nation. Not true. The early presidents and patriots were generally deists or Unitarians, believing in some form of impersonal Providence but rejecting the divinity of Jesus and the relevance of the Bible.”
Islam is the most common state religion, but many governments give privileges to Christianity: “More than 80 countries favour a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data covering 199 countries and territories around the world."
Christian amendment describes any of several attempts to amend a country's constitution in order to officially make it a Christian state. In the United States, the most significant attempt to amend the United States Constitution by inserting explicitly Christian ideas and language began during the American Civil War and was spearheaded by the National Reform Association.
The National Reform Association (NRA), formerly known as the National Association to Secure the Religious Amendment of the United States Constitution, is an organization that seeks to introduce a Christian amendment to the U.S. Constitution in order to make the United States a Christian state. Founded in 1864, the National Reform Association included representatives from eleven Christian denominations as well as the official support of a number of Churches. It publishes a magazine called The Christian Statesman.
"In God We Trust": is the official motto of the United States and of the U.S. state of Florida. It was adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1956, replacing E pluribus unum ("Out of many, one"), which had been the de facto motto since the initial design of the Great Seal of the United States.
George E. Grant (born 1954 in Houston, Texas) is an American evangelical writer, and a Presbyterian Church in America(PCA) pastor. Grant is a prominent figure in the Christian reconstructionist movement in the United States, and has been noted for his extremely conservative views, particularly on the topic of homosexuality. ”
JOHN LOCKE’S INFLUENCE AND THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR
About John Locke: “John Locke (1632-1704) was an English political theorist during the Enlightenment era and the author of A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), and Two Treatises on Government (1690). From 1760 to 1800, Locke’s works on government and religious toleration made him one of the most cited secular authors in America.”
John Locke’s view of religion: “Although Locke, responding to the fevered religious battles of his day, conceded the impracticality of extending tolerance to atheists, who he thought lacked morality, or Catholics, who he felt despised the rule of law, he still sought to distance religious belief from the coercive and corrupting force of the state. For in Locke’s opinion, it was politically imposed unity, rather than religious diversity, that caused conflict.”
John Locke’s Influence on Thomas Jefferson: Most scholars today believe that Jefferson derived the most famous ideas in the Declaration of Independence from the writings of English philosopher John Locke. Locke wrote his Second Treatise of Government in 1689 at the time of
England's Glorious Revolution, which overthrew the rule of James II. Locke wrote that all individuals are equal in the sense that they are born with certain "inalienable" natural rights. That is, rights that are God-given and can never be taken or even given away. Among these
fundamental natural rights, Locke said, are "life, liberty, and property."
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular state (with or without legally explicit church-state separation) and to disestablishment, the changing of an existing, formal relationship between the church and the state. Although the concept is older, the exact phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from "wall of separation between church and state," a term coined by Thomas Jefferson. The concept was promoted by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke. ”
When we first volunteer to help others, most people begin with a desire to ‘make a difference’ or ‘give back’. As we continue in the volunteer journey, we notice a strange phenomenon: the biggest difference may be happening inside us. And although we are giving back, we find we are receiving far more than we may have to offer.
In an effort to explore this dynamic, Chris and Jake pick up where they left off in a previous podcast and explore the contributions of volunteers by sharing the origin stories of two volunteers who worked at the Sunday Suppers in Halifax, both with the surname ‘Jarvis’ (unrelated).
Marguerite Jarvis acted as her neighbourhood’s unofficial resource distribution center, providing access to items that people needed and would not be able to secure on their own. Darrell Jarvis, (Chris’ dad) the other volunteer, focused his attention on bringing resources to the Sunday Supper and making sure things were organized and accessible when needed.
With seemingly little in common, both Jarvis’ found their social justice stride by routinely showing up and being their authentic selves in service to others.
Transformative Volunteering is an approach that emphasizes the exploration and application of empathy and inclusivity in corporate community engagement. Employee volunteer leaders are trained to manage social impact projects in a way that results in sustainable, systemic outcomes.
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Transformative Volunteering: Taking a transformative approach to volunteeringallows us to reach beyond the immediate, transactional contexts and circumstances of volunteers and their communities. Instead of just exchanging time and resources for the reward of making a difference, the volunteer experience becomes an internalized journey – the “reward” becomes pro-social human beings with a greater capacity for empathy. When we ‘belong’ to each other in a community, we address the underlying obstacles to peace and prosperity; the idea of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Neuroscience demonstrates the deep evolutionary reasons humans fear the stranger and protect ourselves from others. So, we must move beyond this posture of charitable helping the ‘other’ while maintaining our separateness. We must know the solidarity of humanity.
3 Stages of a Volunteer Journey:“The first stage on the journey of the volunteer is one of investigation and curiosity. Like a tourist visiting a new place for the first time, a first stage volunteer is not yet sure if this experience is the right fit for them. They cannot be forced or coerced into liking it; instead, they must be given basic, experiential tasks that will allow them to look, taste, see and discover. If they’re ready, they’ll return to the space and continue through the stages. Tourists will make up about 70-80% of any group of employee volunteers.”
Don’t hate the player – hate the game:“In the game of Monopoly the playing field is equal, every player starts the game with the same amount of money. Every player has the same opportunity to roll the dice and advance (unless they go to jail). Every player follows the same set of rules. Imagine instead if one person started the game with a hundred times more money than the other players? What if one player was allowed to roll the dice twice in every turn? What if one player always had a get out of jail free card? If the rules were rigged for one player, it would be impossible for any other player to win the game. We probably wouldn’t want to play!”
Greedy or Needy: “Be sure not to fall into the evolutionary trap of tending to a narrow in-group. Though we survived by focusing on a small tribe, in the modern world, our survival depends on our ability to cooperate on a much greater scale. Especially in times of scarcity, uncertainty, and high stress, when our brains want to treat out-group members as threats, we must deliberately redefine and expand our in-group. Our new in-group, and the source of our generosity, can no longer be confined to the members of our race, ethnicity, or even species. Once we draw wider circles around our identity, our natural urge to give and cooperate will kick in. That's good even for the greediest among us because we’re truly all in this together.”
Jake shares a recent account of being ‘voluntold’ during a hurricane in Nova Scotia earlier this year.
Although Jake's poor math skills almost ended in tragedy for his uncle, he gained some interesting insights about what it means to volunteer at your ‘highest level of contribution’.
Together, Jake and Chris consider how to have a ‘with’ posture with those we are hoping to ‘help,’ and the surprising results of being open to receive ‘help’ from those we are helping through volunteering.
Chris explains the Three Stages in the Journey of a Volunteer and the implications for each of us on that journey.
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CNN- ‘It is surreal’: Canada’s Atlantic coast residents describe devastation as Fiona wipes away homes and knocks out power for thousands. Fiona ripped through Canada’s eastern seaboard at hurricane strength after making landfall in Nova Scotian Saturday, slamming the area with fierce winds and storm surge, sapping power for hundreds of thousands, and washing away or collapsing some coastal homes.
The Restorative Lab: Realizing a more just and inclusive world by transforming society through a restorative approach. The Restorative Research, Innovation, and Education Lab, or the Restorative Lab, is both a “virtual” change lab creating the knowledge needed for social innovation across systems and sites in Canada and around the world and a physical lab serving as a hub for researchers, partners, and communities to convene and work together.
How the “Social Discipline Window” Helps Create an Empowered Classroom: Through a concept called the “social discipline window“, we can help teachers to reflect on power dynamics in their classrooms and how that is linked to students’ emotions.
An introduction to social discipline, restorative and relational-based practice: Restorative practice is a term used to describe a way of being–an underpinning ethos which enables us to build and maintain healthy relationships, resolve difficulties and repair harm when relationships breakdown. It embodies a set of core beliefs, principles and a way of being with people that proactively promotes building a sense of community and developing social capital. It creates a common language and approach for fostering a sense of social responsibility and shared accountability.
Tourist–Traveler–Guide. This is the journey of the volunteer: The great failure of volunteer coordinators lies in expecting tourists to act like guides, treating guides like tourists, and ignoring the traveler all-together. It’s time we meet people where they’re at. Here’s what you need to know to get started.
VIDEO: Empathy in motion: The 3 Stages in the Journey of a Volunteer
Infographic - The Journey of the Volunteer: Check out this resource on the Journey of the Volunteer to learn more about the three stages of the volunteer journey: Tourist, traveler and guide.
Finding the Right Leaders for Employee Volunteering Teams: When it comes right down to it, the success of any company’s employee volunteering program rests on the ability to form, mobilize, and manage teams across all the regions in which the company operates. Not only
is the global spread of the workforce a hurdle, the various departments and business groups can make things very complicated. As you probably know by now, finding the right people to lead and support your program is a foundational element for a successful, scalable volunteer program. Below are the three steps to success in finding and supporting leaders in your employee volunteer program.
Jake and Chris dig a bit deeper on the topic of homelessness and unhoused neighbours. Are the stereotypes society holds about citizens who are unhoused accurate? Or maybe, anyone of us could find ourselves unhoused depending on life events.
To explore this question, Andy Reed joins the podcast to share his story of finding himself ‘homeless’.Andy Reed is the International Trade and Incentives Program Manager with Prosper Portland and an adjunct Instructor with the Portland State University, where he has taught 65+ courses since 2002.
Who are the ‘displaced’ or unhoused? Could it happen to you? We think you’ll be surprised and shocked to hear Andy’s story.
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Portland has a Homelessness Crisis: “An estimated 5,228 people are experiencing homelessness in Portland, according to Multnomah County's 2022 Point-in-Time Count of Homelessness. With only approximately 1,365 shelter beds available you see many people living in tents, vehicles, and on sidewalks across the city.”
Homelessness in the Portland Region: “Portland’s second crisis is worse than that in most other places, and it has two causes: an under-supplied regional housing market and an unresponsive, discretionary rental assistance program. The two crises require different strategies and tactics.”
Liberal US cities including Portland change course, now clearing homeless camps: “The mayor of Portland, Oregon, recently banned camping on the sides of certain roadways, and officials are exploring other aggressive options to combat homelessness.”
History of Racist Planning in Portland: How historical racist land use planning contributed to racial segregation and inequity for people of colour in Portland.
The Pain of Social Rejection: As far as the brain is concerned, a broken heart may not be so different from a broken arm. “As researchers have dug deeper into the roots of rejection, they’ve found surprising evidence that the pain of being excluded is not so different from the pain of physical injury. Rejection also has serious implications for an individual’s psychological state and for society in general. Social rejection can influence emotion, cognition and even physical health. Ostracized people sometimes become aggressive and can turn to violence.”
Social Pain and Physical Pain: In this video, we can see the MRI results of social rejection and physical pain on the human brain (the way it reacts) which are found to be very similar.
TED TALKS: The Issue of Homelessness:A basic primer on some of the hows and whys, solutions and struggles surrounding the conversation on homelessness.
Jake and Chris stare uncomfortably at the privilege they experience every time they leave their houses, never worrying about whether the place will be there when they get back. Far more than just a roof overhead, it is everything those structures conjure up for them. Feelings of safety, security and relaxation - a place of one’s own - to organize and set up as they see fit.
Most of their housed neighbours (or neighbors) feel the same way but, unsurprisingly, that does not extend to the unhoused community members living in tents at local parks and green spaces. Communities want “their” parks back; unhoused neighbours want dignity, safety and respect – and shelter.
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Unhoused or Homeless?: “Recently, advocates and researchers have begun to question the usage of the term “homeless,” particularly when used as a collective noun (“the homeless”). While the term is still widely used—and in some cases, preferred—by community members and the media, some argue that the term dehumanizes the people experiencing homelessness and flattens their identity into one stigmatized characteristic.”
Heaviness of Homelessness: “Social scientist Eric Weismann, who has lived experience of homelessness, says that people underestimate the mental-health impacts of being homeless. He describes the cruelty of the promise of support and housing that simply doesn’t exist or exists with a long waitlist, as well as the inability to feel safe due to the constant policing. “You’re in survival, anxiety mode all the time,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, making bad choices. It’s not like you can make good choices. Good choices (like being housed) are not there.”
To Protect and Serve: “Some members of the public see the existence of encampments as a significant physical threat to the city as a whole due to the negative connotation that surrounds them. These negative attitudes often result in sweeps, which are the closing of tent cities and the forceful transfer of personal property into police or city custody. Additionally, some municipalities seek out court injunctions to mandate the destruction of encampments and the forced eviction of tenants. These tactics are often justified by claiming that encampments are not houses as they are not sanctioned by the city, do not have proper sanitation facilities, are fire hazards, and are not connected to the electrical grid.”
Pick one - CSR or ESG?: “Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is no longer just admirable business practice, it’s a demand. People are more socially conscious than ever before. A recent study by Business Wire revealed that more than a third of buyers globally are prepared to pay more for sustainable products. So, what is corporate social responsibility in detail? CSR defines the activities companies maintain to have a greater global positive impact. Developing a CSR model helps companies report its efforts to itself, stakeholders, staff, the public and the environment (local and worldwide).”
Podcast Recommendation – The Health Disparities Podcast – GUEST – Fr. Greg Boyle: “We somehow blame people for their own deaths, we blame people for their own misfortune, and it’s really, peculiar. We don’t have any kind of reverence for how complex poverty is - the disparity is. We have no reverence how the poor have to carry more than anybody else and yet, we want to demonize it. We want to get it to a place where we think it’s really about people’s moral bankruptcy.”
Jake and Chris are joined by the author of “Becoming a Changemaker’, Alex Budak. Together, they explore what it means to be a ‘changemaker’, both in terms of how to make change happen in the world but also the internal work required. For example, what role does our own implicit bias play in scaling change at the systemic level as well as leading change through networks?
Besides authoring the book ‘Becoming a Changemaker’, he is a UC Berkeley faculty member and the co-founder of StartSomeGood.com, a platform that helps break down barriers that prevent people from enacting change, helping over 1,000 changemakers in 50 countries raise over $12 Million USD to catalyze new projects. Budak is driven by the belief that anyone—regardless of title, personality, race, gender, age, or class—can be a changemaker.
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Check out Alex's website and connect with him on LinkedIn.
Also visit StartSomeGood.com and get your own copy of Becoming A Changemaker.
In this episode we talk about the issue of Sexualized Violence. We recognize this topic can be challenging and encourage you to take care as you listen. Below are some resources in the event you need support or want to learn more.
Resource and Support Links:
US: National Sexual Violence Resource Center | National Sexual Violence Resource Center
(NSVRC)
Can: Ending Violence Association of Canada Find Help Across Canada - Ending Violence
Association of Canada
Can you hear me now?: “By looking past the negative connotation that accompanies the phrase“cancel culture,” we can begin to hear the voices of those who were previously silenced by their marginalized and undue place in society’s hierarchy. Anne Charity Hudley, the chair of linguistics of African America at UC Santa Barbara, explained to Vox, “From my point of view, for Black culture and cultures of people who are lower income and disenfranchised, this is the first time you do have a voice in those types of conversations.”
Cultivating Space to Learn: “There are blurry lines between being held accountable and getting cancelled. We live in a society that is seeking to redress historically imbalanced levels of accountability while still relying on a punitive justice system. We’re trying to fix an imbalanced system with broken tools. Advocating for accountability falls short when it doesn’t revolve around empathy. Restorative justice is the answer—but we’re not there yet.”
Reverse Cancelled - Amber Heard: “Although jurors were considering civil libel claims and not criminal abuse charges, the verdict largely vindicated Depp’s allegations that Heard lied about abusing her. During testimony, Heard detailed dozens of instances of assault, and Depp
emphatically denied ever abusing her. In 2020, a U.K. judge in a civil libel case found that Depp assaulted Heard on a dozen occasions. For Scartz, who directs the clinic at the University of Georgia’s law school, the concern is about the assumptions some will make that women are lying. She fears abusers may be newly emboldened to paint their accusers as liars in retaliation for them coming forward.”
Can I come back yet?: “Thanks so much to our industry for once again telling us that survivors don’t matter,” tweeted writer and producer Sarah Ann Masse. To outraged critics, Louis CK’s comeback was like five years’ worth of progress undone. But looking back, it’s hard to believe we were ever so confident in our ability to permanently separate a massively successful entertainer from an audience that still clamoured for his work. Even when Louis CK began popping up at comedy clubs in late 2018, the response from media folks and comedy scene critics was a chorus of “too soons” — as if their opinions mattered, when audiences at these events greeted him with wild applause.”
Trevor Noah on Twitter: “I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye”: “If you like me, or if you like anyone in your life, I hope you’d have the ability to say to that person, ‘Hey, I think what you’re doing here is wrong. I think you may be headed in a dangerous direction. And I’m saying that to you because I like you. I don’t discard you as a person,’” Noah said, before going on to hint that he hopes West can redeem himself in the eyes of the public. “I think we have gotten very comfortable discarding human beings, immediately tossing them away and making them irredeemable characters,” he said, in an apparent reference to “cancel culture.” “I think all of us should be afforded the opportunity to redeem ourselves. All of us should have an opportunity at redemption.”
It’s about damn time: “Shortly after the post and the song's rerelease, disabled people praised Lizzo for being so receptive and for responding well to the community's feedback. Thompson noted, however, that she was not surprised that Lizzo responded the way that she did. Having done work in Black progressive spaces, Thompson has seen Black people who are not versed in disability but who actively work to do better. They know the importance of understanding when they've messed up and being inclusive to everybody. Grace and room for correction are typically not given [to Black people]. The double standard of inconsistent reactions is profound. They don't trust Black people to do the right thing," she said.
BOOK: We Will Not Cancel Us: And Other Dreams of Transformative Justice, by Adrienne Maree Brown: “Cancel culture addresses real harm...and sometimes causes more. It's time to think this through. ’Cancel’ or ‘call-out’ culture is a source of much tension and debate in
American society…Originating as a way for marginalized and disempowered people to address harm and take down powerful abusers, often with the help of social media, call outs are seen by some as having gone too far. But what is ‘too far’ when you're talking about imbalances of power and patterns of harm? And what happens when people in social justice movements direct their righteous anger inward at one another.”
Is cancel culture good for women?: “When it comes to strategies for pursuing ideals of justice in the real world, a practice mostly neglected by philosophers but with considerable real-life purchase is that of refusing or withdrawing a public platform or position. There are various reasons for thinking that supporting what is commonly referred to (mainly by its opponents) as “cancel culture” would further women’s interests, but I will argue that due to the background sexism in society, cancel culture is in fact bad for women.”
Over 25 years ago, Scott Lynch, along with other local “punks”, participated in a series of grassroots anti-racism efforts in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He sits down in studio with his friends, Jake and Chris, and shared why he joined the Ku Klux Klan and what it meant to him as a place of belonging and identity. He also discussed how truly leaving White power groups is more complicated than cancelling monthly membership dues.
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Bronwen & Yaffa (Moving Towards Tolerance): “This documentary presents two young women from Halifax who are organizing rock concerts to raise money for the group Eastcoast Against Racism. Bronwen and Yaffa believe that the universal language of music will help unite the community. At the same time, they struggle to renew their friendship with Scott, a former Ku Klux Klan member. This moving film is set against a vibrant soundtrack of punk and rap music.”
PODCAST RECOMMENDATION - Africville Forever: “In 1969, the last home in the Black community of Africville was flattened. The bulldozer was hired by a city that had schemed to claim this valuable land for generations. In this 5 part series, we tell the story of this unique and beautiful place. Born out of adversity, it thrived as a safe haven for people of African descent in Canada. If you care about racism, displaced peoples and social justice, then you need to know the story of Africville Forever. Hosted by Eddy Carvery III & Alfred Burgesson.
KKK in Kanada?: “The Canadian expansion of the KKK was buoyed by inter-war anti-immigrant sentiment, the usual white nationalism that had deep roots since Confederation and concerns over vice—alcohol, drugs and non-heterosexual monogamous sex that was often prejudicially associated with ethnic minorities. In the United States, similar concerns were in play, but the biggest reason for the revival of the anachronistic post-Civil War-era “Clansman” group at the start of the 20th century was the concern in the south that black Americans were making real political and economic gains. It was a backlash.”
Getting out can be lonely: “Having friends, community, and purpose, make it possible for people to sustain the new life they’ve created, but it can be extremely difficult. We believe people are more likely to disengage from hate groups if they have a different community waiting for them so part of our work is to convince the public that these people should not be given up on, that they can take responsibility for their past and change.”
Hate in Canada: A Brief History: “These are the remnants of older groups that operated predominantly in the 20th Century. This includes the KKK and the Creativity movement, which are considered to be still present, but considerably weakened. The ideas (particularly RAHOWA) and symbols promoted by these groups continue to carry significance in the hate movements. Additionally, there are signs that the Klan and people sympathetic to its aims exist in Canada today; in 2017, flyers claiming to be from the organization were distributed in British Columbia. There have also been some reports of limited online activities in the late 2010s”.
Chris and Jake chat through the difference between radicalization and wokeness, and how sometimes tehey appear to be the same thing from the “outside”. In considering the influences of politics, religion, and social media on their DEI work, Jake and Chris end up admitting that some days, it feels exhausting to keep having these conversations and give themselves some permission to pause… but not quit!
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Oh, for the love of God: “The clear goal of Christian nationalism is to seize power only for its mostly white evangelical and conservative Catholic followers, no matter who else gets hurt or how many elections have to be overturned. This is the unholy force that incited the failed coup of Jan. 6, 2021, brought us the recent spate of theocratic Supreme Court opinions, and has inspired multiple wave upon wave of dangerous misinformation about elections, climate change, and COVID-19—all in direct contrast to Jesus’ teachings of love, truth, and the common good.”
We get it, dude. You’re woke: “For some, “woke” symbolizes an awakening to the injustices around the world, a sort of enlightenment. While others view the term as being commodified to attract attention from progressive movements. In today’s world, wokeness has been reduced to social media activism. Like a lot of things, people have taken this powerful word from the Black community and converted it into a one-dimensional trendy term.”
What is radicalization?: “It is important to recognize that radicalization, or having radical thoughts, is not illegal or necessarily problematic in and of itself. The Canadian Constitution, through the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, protects Canadians' freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression. Radicalization to violence occurs when a person or group takes on extreme ideas and begins to think they should use violence to support or advance their ideas or beliefs. These beliefs can fall along a wide spectrum of ideologies, including political and religious ideologies.”
Hate Scrolling: “It’s hard to argue that YouTube doesn’t play a role in radicalization. This was first pointed out by technology sociologist Zeynep Tufekci, who illustrated how recommended videos gradually drive users towards more extreme content. In Tufekci’s words, videos about jogging lead to videos about running ultramarathons, videos about vaccines lead to conspiracy theories, and videos about politics lead to “Holocaust denials and other disturbing content””
BONUS: Book Recommendation – Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates: “This normalization of so-called ‘low-level’ misogyny is what forms the foundations from which men and boys become capable of climbing the ladder towards radical ideologies, which are both a symptom and cause of the epidemic of violence against women. Men Who Hate Women is a wake-up call to how seriously misogyny at all levels needs to be taken in order for society to tackle violence against women”.
Chris shares some ‘rules’ he learned as a child that he came to understand (later in life) were not exactly universal, but rather preferences and meanings specific to his family. Jake and Chris explore how this phenomenon of ‘hidden rules’ or, more accurately, ‘hidden curriculum’, comes into play when thinking about education practices, supply chain procurement, and everyday encounters. If we are unaware of the hidden curriculum we’ve learned throughout our life, and the way it affects people in groups different than our own, we will make judgements and assign meaning to experiences that promote exclusion and trigger suspicion.
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Resources/materials:
Hidden curriculum: a set of lessons "which are learned but not openly intended" to be taught in school such as the norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in both the classroom and social environment.
VIDEO: What is the Hidden Curriculum? (3:45 mins)
BOOK - Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students: To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation―until now. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain compatible culturally responsive instruction.
Understanding Behavioral Symptoms in Tourette Syndrome: “Educators are more likely to punish a student whom they see as BEING the problem. If the educational team recognizes that the student HAS a problem and is not deliberately causing the problem, they’ll be more likely to provide unique and creative strategies for that student. When educators consider what they can do FOR the child and not what they can do TO the child, strategies are more positive, proactive and effective.”
American Progress is an 1872 painting by John Gast: “American Progress visually portrays the process of American westward expansion. The figure of Columbia is ushering in an era of modernization, development, and advancement to the West, which in the painting is portrayed as a dark and savage place, especially when compared to the eastern side of the painting. But, with the ushering in of these developments, the indigenous people living in the West and their way of life is cast out.”
Specimen Days: Human Zoos at the 1904 World’s Fair: The Philippine Reservation was but one of a panoply of “living exhibitions” available at the exposition’s human zoo, in which indigenous people from around the globe –– as well as their food, dress, architecture, games, and religious rites –– were converted into fairground attractions. Exhibition organizers hoped to demonstrate to the world that ethnic groups could be definitively ranked according to biological and cultural markers of civilization –– and that in this ranking, the United States came out on top.
RECOMMENDED READING - The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War: In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt dispatched Secretary of War William Howard Taft on the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in history to Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea. Roosevelt's glamorous twenty-one year old daughter Alice served as mistress of the cruise, which included senators and congressmen. On this trip, Taft concluded secret agreements in Roosevelt's name. Roosevelt was bully-confident and made secret agreements that he though would secure America's westward push into the Pacific. Instead, he lit the long fuse on the Asian firecrackers that would singe America's hands for a century.
Prosper Portland: We are the economic and urban development agency for the city of Portland. We focus on building an equitable economy by carrying out a comprehensive range of economic development programs that support small business, improve access to workforce training, and create jobs for Portland residents. We work with partners to drive public attention and resources to different areas of the city, which helps Portland realize capital projects – parks, streetscape improvements, community centres – that would not happen on their own, making it a better place to live for all Portlanders.
Portland Means Progress (PMP): 130+ companies are working together already on DEI initiatives throughout the Portland Metro area. Companies have reported $200M in direct spend with diverse suppliers in the last 3 years through PMP. Join today if you aren’t already involved!
When someone tells you that you don’t belong here, it can hurt – a lot! What happens when that
voice comes from inside your head? This week, Chris and Jake take on “Imposter Syndrome” and
interrogate how something so common place can be experienced differently by folks from historically
marginalized communities. Chris offers a few tips on how to navigate feeling like a fraud while public
speaking and Jake explains why he uses an alias when ordering at his local coffee shop.
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Started studying in the 70s: “In the past five years we have worked in individual psychotherapy,
theme-centered international groups, and college classes with over 150 highly successful women --
women who have earned PhDs in various specialties, who are respected professionals in their fields,
or who are students recognized for their academic excellence. However, despite their earned
degrees, scholastic honors, high achievement on standardized tests, praise and professional
recognition from colleagues and respected authorities, these women do not experience an internal
sense of success. They consider themselves to be “impostors.” Women who experience the
impostor phenomenon maintain a strong belief that they are not intelligent; in fact they are convinced
that they have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise.”
Excluded from the Study: “The impact of systemic racism, classism, xenophobia, and other biases
was categorically absent when the concept of imposter syndrome was developed. Many groups
were excluded from the study, namely women of color and people of various income levels, genders,
and professional backgrounds. Even as we know it today, imposter syndrome puts the blame on
individuals, without accounting for the historical and cultural contexts that are foundational to how it
manifests in both women of color and white women. Imposter syndrome directs our view toward
fixing women at work instead of fixing the places where women work.”
A Human Experience: “Do you feel like a fraud? Many of us do. Perhaps you started a new job and
believe you have less experience than you need, despite being the perfect candidate on paper. Or
maybe your boss trusted you with an assignment that you feel totally unprepared to lead, regardless
of your flawless track record. There is a name for this feeling: imposter syndrome. Around one-third
of young people suffer from it, and 70% of everyone else is likely to experience it at some point in
their lives.”
Public Speaking Tips: “Screwing up will make the audience like you more. No, seriously. It’s called
the Pratfall Effect, and it’s a known psychological phenomenon. When someone makes a mistake,
we feel like they are human and vulnerable and we like them more as a result. So remember: the
audience is on your side (unless they’re sociopaths, they are in the audience because they like you),
and those little mistakes are just going to endear you to them.”
BONUS: Podcast Recommendation – Work Life by Adam Grant: “I can’t do this.” “I didn’t
deserve this promotion.” “When will they find me out?” If you’ve had thoughts like these, you aren’t
alone. Nearly 70% of people have experienced imposter syndrome—even some of the most
successful ones! The difference is in how they can use imposter thoughts as fuel, rather than a fire
to burn them out. Adam shares three steps you can take to harness your own self-doubt as a fuel for
success, and why we stand to gain more from embracing our insecurities rather than hiding from
them."
Chris uses his hot question “hall pass” from Jake as he tries to understand a lived experience that he
never considered until now. They discuss why going straight to “asking your Black friend” for the
answer can be a costly short cut to valuable learning and brain changes. The discussion prompts
Chris to think about his White privilege and his responsibility to work toward dismantling systems of
oppressions to ensure the next generation is better off.
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Nudges to Increasing Diversity: “Attracting, hiring, and retaining talent is the result of
organizational decision-making dynamics. Organizational procedures result from the leadership’s
decision making and enable organizations to function. In theory, such decision-making processes
seem rather straightforward: a goal is defined, and a course of action is set out. If a problem
emerges, the possible options and actions are identified for achieving and solving the problem. The
different options are then analyzed and weighed, and the most effective one is selected and adopted
by the organization.”
Hardwired to Exclude Others: “We are each entitled to our own personal world view. But
unfortunately, when it comes to interpreting information and trying to make objective sense of reality,
human brains are hard-wired to make all kinds of mental mistakes that can impact our ability to
make rational judgments. In total, there are over 180 cognitive biases that interfere with how we
process data, think critically, and perceive reality. There is no simple way to get around these basic
human instincts, but one thing that we can do is understand the specific mistakes we make and
why.”
Do No Harm Guide: “Personal and organizational efforts to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion
(DEI) need to extend not only to our internal processes of hiring, promotion, and professional
development but also to our external communication efforts to represent the people and
communities we focus on. To that end, we need to consider how to apply a DEI lens not just to the
words, colors, icons, and other elements in our writing, graphs, charts, and diagrams, but also to the
process of crafting these communication products. This guide and the associated checklists and
toolkits focus on the often hidden or subtle ways that data analysts and communicators fail to
incorporate equitable awareness in the data they use and the products they create.”
From colour blind to Anti-Racist: “For many people, their skin colour matters very much because
they experience racism on a daily basis. To say “I don’t see colour,” is to say we don’t see the
racism people face. What matters is people’s own experience of being racialized. Believing that
ignoring skin colour will solve all of our problems fails to consider the very real experiences of racism
that occur in daily life. As a result, this attitude helps to maintain inequities and systemic racism. We
need to see to believe."
Employee Volunteering: “You’ve been tasked by your company to operationalize purpose – big
commitments to “make an impact” on an important social issue – maybe it’s childhood hunger,
STEM education or homelessness. You’re charged with engaging employees around this critical
issue – at scale. You’re reminded that it’s important that you consider this critical issue through an
intersectional lens because diversity, equity and inclusion are a priority for your company. You’re told
that it would also be fantastic if you could find a way to make it connect with your company’s
sustainability goals, as well (thanks so much!)”
Jake playfully tries to convince his Dad that his conservative and traditional “Canadian” values are under attack and they need defending. Chris worries aloud that he might be oversharing before telling his own story about when he defended his turf. Throughout the episode, they wind their way through a discussion about inclusion that touches on identity politics, intersectionality, critical race theory and so much more.
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Traditionalism Under Attack (IOTBW): “It’s okay to be white,” appears to be a literal, or denotative, message, but when we read it in context — against the backdrop of institutionalized Eurocentrism and current anti-racist political movements like Black Lives Matter — we see that it is far from benign. The poster believes that white identities are no longer accepted at the university. He believes a double standard exists in conversations of cultural diversity. This attitude is aligned with the alt-right, a U.S.-based white nationalist movement.”
Meeting at the Crossroads: “Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.”
Theory of Social Learning – Selective Moral Disconnection: “Advantageous comparison - Mainly, this defensive mechanism involves making comparisons between one's behaviour and one considered much worse, in such a way that by comparison the first does not seem so serious. The typical expression "... but I have not killed anyone" would be a simple example of such a comparison. It is also common to use as an excuse to perform the immoral act the fact that another or others have done something worse. Own locus of behaviour, by reinterpreting the facts based on that comparison.”
Unclean Hands: “The no-touch soap dispenser most likely uses some kind of light sensor to detect when a hand is beneath the contraption. Apparently, a dark-skinned hand wasn’t light enough to register on the sensor. This simple problem would have been avoided if it had been tested on a variety of skin tones. That, of course, requires people working in the industry from a variety of backgrounds. There are plenty more examples of this. Soap dispensers, for one, seem to be particularly bad at dealing with different skin tones. In the past, Flickr and Google were both forced to apologize when their automatic image labeling systems were tagging photos of black people with “ape” and “gorilla". Additional information: 'Coded Bias' Paints a Terrifying Picture of Facial Recognition's Real Impact On Lives.
We Shall Overcome (when it’s good for them too!): “Interest convergence is a theory coined by the late Derrick Bell, law professor and spiritual godfather to the field of study known as critical race theory. Interest convergence stipulates that black people achieve civil rights victories only when white and black interests converge. The signature example is Brown v. Board of Education, which happened because it advanced white interests too, Bell argued. Specifically, desegregation raised the nation's prestige in world politics during the Cold War. Eventually, when interests diverged, the enforcement of civil rights was curtailed: Brown was undercut by later cases that sanctioned segregation for decades.”
BONUS - Fun Fanta Fact-Check: “(He) used his connections in the Third Reich to gain a position overseeing all Coca-Cola plants in Germany and the territories it conquered. This allowed him to spread Fanta across Europe and save other subsidiaries from shutting down. The German branch sold about 3 million cases of the drink before the war was over.”
TW: Within the first 10 minutes of this episode, Chris and Jake reference in passing an incident of institutionalized sexual abuse and despite having permission have beeped the name of their friend throughout. Forward to the 12:25 mark of the episode to skip the reference and discussion.
In this episode, Chris tells the story about misunderstood generosity and the important function it can play in building inclusive community. Jake shares about when he had to choose a Black option or not for a work event. They also discuss how painful it can be to experience exclusion (like actual physical pain) and why companies ought to pay attention to ensuring the conditions for belonging
are in place for employees from historically marginalized communities.
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Resources/materials: Exclusion - A pill for what ails you: “Research has shown that physical pain and social pain are influenced by some of the same biological processes in the brain and body. Based on this research, we thought that acetaminophen, which is commonly used to treat physical pain, might also be able to reduce social pain”. https://neurosciencenews.com/acetaminophen-forgiveness-exclusion-pain-
15704/ & https://academic.oup.com/abm/article/53/12/1045/5485256
Seen, Safe & Supported: “We asked our interviewees what they wished their organizations and
bosses would do differently and what advice they would give their CEOs about DEI efforts.
We learned that these employees feel marginalized, under-appreciated, and poorly understood. In
many cases, they know that their organizations support DEI, but they judge their efforts — for
example, anti-bias training or the creation of affinity groups — to be inadequate. They told us that
they lack strong coaches and mentors and still don’t feel that they can “bring their whole selves to
work.” Asked to name a company that was doing things right, none of them could.”
Generous or Genius – Community Building through Giving: “There is an element of risk in this
game, because if you contribute anything to the shared pot there is no way of knowing, and no
guarantee that anyone else from the group will do the same. So what is surprising is that low status
individuals are willing to take a bigger risk, with fewer resources, than the high status individuals. In
other words, you take a risk by being pro-social because you have no idea if it will be reciprocated.”
Switching It Up: “Based on our research and the work of others, we argue that code-switching is
one of the key dilemmas that black employees face around race at work. While it is frequently seen
as crucial for professional advancement, code-switching often comes at a great psychological cost. If
leaders are truly seeking to promote inclusion and address social inequality, they must begin by
understanding why a segment of their workforce believes that they cannot truly be themselves in the
office. Then they should address what everyone at the company needs to do to change this.”
Why Rejection Hurts: “Though it may seem far-fetched to claim that social rejection can actually
“hurt,” an overlap in the distress associated with physical and social pain makes good sense from an
evolutionary perspective. As a mammalian species, humans are born relatively immature, unable to
feed or fend for themselves. Because of this, infants, in order to survive, must stay close to a
caregiver to get the necessary nourishment and protection. Later on, connection to a social group
becomes critical to survival; its members benefit from shared responsibility for gathering food,
thwarting predators, and caring for offspring.”
In this episode, Jake reminds Chris of the time some well-intentioned soup kitchen volunteers wanted to help “Billy-bob” change his life by sending him off to the church farm to be reformed. While cautioning against living by lists and checkboxes, Chris contemplates the how 12-step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous build group cohesion, overcome labelling stigma, all while embarking on personal growth and reflection journeys. They also explore the concept of the purpose economy and urge leaders to be guided by principles when attempting to instill lasting change to organizational culture and climate.
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What is the BigBook and the 12 Steps of AA?: “One can not simply read the 12 steps and be done with them. In order to have a spiritual awakening, an alcoholic must do the 12 steps with another alcoholic. The alcoholic must learn to be vulnerable with other people again, as most alcoholics that are well into their disease live life in an isolated fashion, based out of fear.”
Does AA work?: “Surprisingly, we found that AA and related 12-step clinical treatments demonstrated the ability to produce higher abstinence and remission rates at a much-reduced health care cost as compared to other well-established clinical treatments.”
No quick fixes:“DEI is not a one-and-done effort. To be most effective, consider implementing an evolving practice that addresses concerns and conversations as they develop. As our awareness grows and changes regarding issues that are important to our team members, so, too, should our DEI training.”
Brain work:“Habits emerge without our permission. We live our lives driven by cues, routines, and rewards that quietly develop over time. The more we do something — eat nuts while watching TV, ride a bike, play an instrument, study a new language — the stronger the neuronal circuit that supports that habit becomes. What this means is that we have the power to grow new neural pathways by practising new habits.”
Purpose Economy: “People don't go to work just to get a paycheck; they want to feel what they are doing matters to the world and that they are growing in the job.”
In this episode, Chris and Jake attempt to dig into what matters most about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Award show. By interrogating what else was happening in that moment, they discuss how traditional responses to incidents of workplace violence often focus to narrowly on the behaviour and miss the broader context. Chris asks Jake what a restorative approach would look like in response to this incident and that has them paying attention to a whole bunch of related and connected topics like – hyper-masculinity, intersectionality, racialized violence, workplace conflict and bystander interventions.
White Outrage: “Most people agree the slap shouldn’t have happened. But there’s something that feels precious at best, and downright racist at worst, about white people’s reaction to the now-infamous smack.”
Toxic Masculinity: One study published in the Journal of School Psychology uses the following definition to explain the term, describing it as: "The constellation of socially regressive [masculine] traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and
wanton violence."
Damsel in Distress: “Although men defending a woman's dignity may appear as an appealing romantic concept, it also assumes certain weaknesses in women. Perceiving women as weaker and more vulnerable is a form of protective paternalism that leads to "benevolent" sexism.”
A Trauma Response: “In 2021, Smith wrote in his self-titled memoir that, in his childhood, he felt guilty for not standing up for his mother when she was being abused by his father. To some extent, I guess his behavior at the Academy Awards can be seen as chivalrous; it’s an example
of a Black man defending his Black wife from an insensitive joke about her hair. But I wouldn’t feel ‘rescued’ by Smith’s actions, and I don’t want my significant other to attack people who disrespect me.”
Bystander Effect: “When I speak to them about violence, most understand their role in leading the change. Some of the young people have home lives riven with trauma and they, more than most, embrace the need to feel safe and violence-free and the tools to do so. There is a saying that the standard you walk by, is the standard you accept. Our young people give me hope of a world where violence is never acceptable.”
In this episode, Jake and Chris explore parallels between an Ebony Magazine’s 1950’s marketing campaign ‘‘The Secret of Selling the Negro” and current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. Estimated to become a $15.4 Billion dollar market by 2026, but showing few positive results as a result of current approaches, Jake and Chris wonder whether this industry is the latest attempt by those who identify as ‘White’ to monetize the Black community.
Is DEI a good or bad thing? And if it is progressive and helpful, how different is what we are doing now from what Ebony Magazine was encouraging white salesmen to do in the 1950’s?
Corrections in episode:
Mark Kramer co-founded FSG with Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter in 1999. During the show, Chris mistakenly referred to this consulting firm as EFG.
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Resources/materials:
Wikipedia entry “The Secret of Selling the Negro”
Video posted by Reel America: ‘The Secret of Selling the Negro’
“This film commissioned by the Chicago-based publisher of Negro Digest, Ebony, and Jet magazines encourages businesses to open their minds to the growing black middle class of the 1950s. The U.S. Commerce secretary uses statistics to make an appeal, and scenes of African Americans shopping and at home are accompanied by a narrator who argues against racial stereotypes.”
The (Not So) Secret Story Behind “The Secret of Selling the Negro”
An analysis of the marketing campaign ‘The Secret of Selling the Negro’ by Eric Easter, a producer and media executive, and the former head of digital and entertainment for Johnson Publishing. “Whether The Secret of Selling the Negro, was an advertising innovation or some Pandora’s Box that opened the door to black community debt and materialism is up for debate.”
Real Talk with Percy Brown: The Secret to Selling the Negro : Video Blog by Percy Brown
In 2016, Madison365 recognized Percy Brown, Jr. as one of the most influential African- Americans in the state of Wisconsin. Madison365 describes Percy as “one of the great leaders to arise from the south side of Madison.” In 2014 and 2015 respectively, Percy was awarded the Educator of the Year award by the 100 Black Men chapter of Madison, WI. and was the recipient of the Urban League of Greater Madison President’s Rising Star award.
Global Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Market Report 2021: Market is Estimated at $7.5 Billion in 2020, and is Projected to Reach $15.4 Billion by 2026, Growing at a CAGR of 12.6%.
The Diversity and Inclusion Industry Has Lost Its Way
Movements are about reallocating power, but DEI preoccupies itself with reorganizing people. In this article, Kim Tran explores how the industry is at a crossroads and if it could find its roots again. Harper’s Magazine
Diversity Has Become a Booming Business. So Where Are the Results?
People of color–who make up nearly 40% of the U.S. population–remain acutely underrepresented in most influential fields. From 2009 to 2018 the percentage of black law partners inched up from 1.7% to 1.8%. From 1985 to 2016, the proportion of black men in management at U.S. companies with 100 or more employees barely budged–from 3% to 3.2%. People of color held about 16% of Fortune 500 board seats in 2018. A 2018 survey of the 15 largest public fashion and apparel companies found that nonwhites held only 11% of board seats and that nearly three-quarters of company CEOs were white men. And in the top 200 film releases of 2017, minorities accounted for 7.8% of writers, 12.6% of directors and 19.8% of lead roles. Time Magazine
Diversity and Inclusion: A collection of articles
The business case for gender equality, diversity, and inclusion is strong and growing stronger. This collection examines the barriers that prevent companies from addressing gender and racial equality and identifies solutions for building a stronger, more inclusive workforce. McKinsey & Company
Even in the most difficult and trying situations, human beings tend to ‘other’ people who may be experiencing the same trauma and difficulties, because ‘they’ are not ‘us’. We see this playing out in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As of March 18th, an estimated 6.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced, alongside an additional 4 million people who are fleeing neighbouring countries. Yet among those people fleeing Ukraine, people of color are experiencing racism that puts their life at risk. According to a VOX report in March, “Many refugees of colour who’ve succeeded in crossing the border say they did so only after multiple attempts, and after being deprioritized in favor of white Ukrainians. ‘It was just a blanket bias against foreigners to favor Ukrainians and allow them to cross the border and access help first,’ Asya, a Kenyan national who was studying medicine in Ukraine, told Vox.”
Why do human beings do this to each other? Why, when everyone’s life is at risk, do we still empathize with and prioritize other people who we probably don’t know, but somehow they seem like ‘us’?
Are we susceptible to this well-researched bias? And if so, what can we do to ensure that we do not succumb to these tendencies in our own lives, whether at work or play?
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Episode Resources:
- The Brain with David Eagleman - Ep 5: Why Do I Need You?THE BRAIN with David Eagleman “Why Do I Need You?” – Episode 5. Series in which Dr David Eagleman takes viewers on an extraordinary journey that explores how the brain, locked in silence and darkness without direct access to the world, conjures up the rich and beautiful world we all take for granted.
- How many Ukrainians have fled their homes and where have they gone?
- Black Ukraine refugees allege discrimination while trying to escape Russian invasion
- Why it’s more difficult to flee Ukraine if you’re not from Ukraine: Non-Ukrainian refugees are trapped between racism and Cold War geopolitics.
- Ingroup Favoritism and Prejudice
- Social Identity Theory:The central hypothesis of social identity theory is that group members of an in-group will seek to find negative aspects of an out-group, thus enhancing their self-image.
- Biases in Attribution: When we tend to overestimate the role of person factors and overlook the impact of situations, we are making a mistake that social psychologists have termed the fundamental attribution error. This error is very closely related to another attributional tendency, the correspondence bias, which occurs when we attribute behaviors to people’s internal characteristics, even in heavily constrained situations.
- Their pain gives us pleasure: How intergroup dynamics shape empathic failures and counter-empathic responses:Despite its early origins and adaptive functions, empathy is not inevitable; people routinely fail to empathize with others, especially members of different social or cultural groups. In five experiments, we systematically explore how social identity, functional relations between groups, competitive threat, and perceived entitativity contribute to intergroup empathy bias: the tendency not only to empathize less with out-group relative to in-group members, but also feel pleasure in response to their pain (and pain in response to their pleasure).
In this episode, Jake shares a personal story where doing the right thing left him feeling terrible for weeks. Together, we explore why doing the right thing sometimes makes us feel bad. Why do we have these bad feelings? What does it mean when we find ourselves in a similar situation. Should we do things differently to avoid feeling bad? Or is there something else happening that we should pay attention to?
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Episode Resources:
- Article - Neuroplasticity: Learning Physically Changes the Brain
- Article - How to Train Yourself to Think Differently and Permanently Rewire Your Brain, According to ScienceIt's not about thinking positively. It's about learning how to think realistically
- Video - Beautiful 3-D Brain Scans Show Every Synapse | National Geographic
- Article - A Short History of Empathy: The term’s only been around for about a century—but over the course of its existence, its meaning has continually changed.
- Article - Why Empathy Is Your Most Important Skill (and How to Practice It)
- Video - Your Brain is You: Learning and Memory (Part 5 of 6)
- Video - Experiences Build Brain Architecture
- Video - Neural pathway
Chris and Jake are excited to return for a second season to explore the disorienting dilemmas we face as we try to answer the question: How do I think, believe and act in an inclusive world?
Stay tuned!
Disorienting Dilemma on YouTube
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No longer the 5th grader shoving you into a locker for your lunch money, the bully's tactics have changed, especially in the workplace. Jake and Chris discuss.
Click here for more.
Heart Politics by Fran Peavey
What does Bitcoin and Beanie Babies have in common? Not a lot, it turns out, but leave it up to Chris and Jake to connect those dots, which somehow leads to a highly engaging conversation on the importance of framing the volunteer experience.
Links and resources.
In a strikingly personal episode, Chris opens up about his experience with Tourette's Syndrome, to which Jake has had a front row seat since its onset. Along the way they cover microaggressions, neurodiversity in and out of the workplace, and – this may be a new one for some of you – microinterventions. The only problem? When a Tourette's sufferer discusses the syndrome, it shows up in a big way.
More info here.
Giving back has a colonialism problem. However in the right place their heart is, the "helper" is often the gatekeeper, delegating resources from a position of power, and in effect othering the "lesser."
What if instead they wrote a really terrible Christmas song?
Read more on the episode here.
Chris and Jake continue their conversation on restorative justice.
David Eagleman - Livewired
A woman's dog is taken. Police respond and charges are pressed, but she still doesn't have her dog. What good is a justice system that benefits "the people," but not victims?
"If we delete it, maybe it didn't happen."
Despite the producer's best efforts to, ahem, cancel this episode, Jake and Chris open wide the can of worms known as cancel culture.
More resources and links.
Brandi Carlile - That Wasn't Me
Jake and Chris reminisce on how they met (though their accounts of the experience vary), leading to a discussion on what may surprise some to be among the most ancient of human behaviors: helping.
Corporations are skilled at presenting comforting statistics that demonstrate their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion – and sometimes, they even take a small stand. But are they just virtue signaling? Experts in the field of CSR and Restorative Justice, Chris and Jake dissect the good, the bad, and the ugly that results from companies (and individuals!) patting themselves on the back for doing good.
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Jake thinks it's theft, Chris is curious about how cultural appropriation is different from assimilation.
Visit The Disorienting Dilemma's website for show notes and more info.
Chris and Jake discuss the April 2018 incident where two black men were asked to leave a Philadelphia Starbucks and then arrested for ... being black. What should a corporate response to racism look like? And is one-and-done diversity training even effective?
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Chris experiences a disorienting dilemma upon learning that his aggressive, straightforward approach in work meetings does not always translate well.
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Chris and Jake dive in the deep end as they question their decision to start a podcast, reflect on the relevance of two male voices in the world of inclusivity, and encounter an unexpected disorienting dilemma in the process.
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