What did you do during this past Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Did you have a Sunday-Funday Part Two? Did you get mad at your WAZE app for not redirecting you around that parade on the way to your destination? Did you use the time off from work to catch up on some shopping, sleeping, gym-time, cleaning?
For five days, I had friends visiting me in sunny Florida for the long holiday weekend. On Monday, we did some shopping, eating, napping, and then I took them to the airport so they could return to their frozen New England homes. With them gone, I was able to have some me time and let my brain relax.
When I did finally relax my synapses, I thought, did I do anything today to signify this national/bank/mail holiday? I was given the day off from work for what reason? TBH, I don't know if I have ever celebrated or did anything to acknowledge the day for what it was legally defined to be.
Something came across my YouTube video list that made me really think about the whole topic a little deeper. In a post from a couple of years back, Psychotherapist Matthew J. Dempsey does some self reflection on being gay and if that means we know everything about discrimination. His video is called I'm Gay, White, & Racist
See what Dempsey has to say. Does he speak to you?
Did this resonate with you?
Do we think we have a better understanding about discrimination because of our LGBT status?
How often do you do self-reflection on how you are with others?
I’ll have to admit I am
I'll have to admit I am prejudiced. Anytime I see a white person who makes it look like he is so enlightened makes me think he really has nothing to say. Usually they are straight and begin by saying something stupid like "I know I am a privileged white man" but they do very little for people of color or LGBTQ folks. You don't remove prejudices by recognizing them, you go out and meet people, listen to their stories, and interact. It's not a cause do you can say "l'm standing up against hate in Trump's America" you do something. By the way, your friend's friends were offended by your hood comment, they did not think you were cool because you were with your friend. They were raised well and too polite to act differently.
I start from the premise that
I start from the premise that absolutely no one can know about all the various forms of oppression and "-ism"s that permeate our everyday lives. Two reasons for this claim are that: (a) we are always discovering/inventing new forms and (b) no single person can experience everything that it is possible for a human to experience.
It’s a good thing this guy is
It's a good thing this guy is cute because he is about as deep as a puddle.
What is the negative beliefs
What is the negative beliefs are not 'irrational', but pretty much spot on ?