The film, ‘Get Out’ & denigrate to deter

I do my best thinking while mowing my lawn (in my humble opinion). A few days ago was no exception. I was thinking about the film, “Get Out” – a 2017 American horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele. In particular, I was thinking about the auction scene where a white audience was bidding on black bodies to acquire and to exploit (just Google, “Get Out Auction Scene”). Then my mind took me down another corridor to something that a speaker said that explains something I unconsciously do (correction: something that many African American parents unconsciously do). This speaker, Dr. Joy DeGruy, said this while speaking at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) during a Black History Month event: “our ancestors often denigrated their kids in order to deter a white slave master.” What did she mean? When a white slave owner spotted a young vibrant and strong African American male, the mom might quickly say, “He is shiftless, lazy, and irresponsible.” She was publicly denigrating him to deter the white slave master from taking and exploiting her son for his financial benefit/gain. Sometimes this worked; many times it didn’t. When people praise my son, I often quip, “He is a knucklehead.” Although I say this with some humor, this practice, nonetheless, is a form of denigrating him. Again, I thought about the film, “Get Out.” In this film, Black bodies are kidnapped and their brains are swapped for the brains of white folks because the involuntary Black donor possessed some skill or ability.

This film communicates at least two important facts: (1) there has been abuse and exploitation of the Black body for centuries (today it takes the form of police brutality, mass incarceration, etc.); and (2) no one served to denigrate the Black brothers and sisters in this film to deter a white person from taking and abusing their black bodies.  In other words, justice was absent. This film eerily imitates the existential reality of many Blacks today. (This film made an impact on me as you can see and I viewed it in March 2017.)

 

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that’s a fair question

Victoria is a single mother of a precocious 10-year-old little girl, Brandy.  Victoria is an African American professional and a natural leader.  Brandy is a Girl Scout.  And although she is in the minority, she enjoys being a Girl Scout immensely.  As a single mother, money is tight for Victoria.  So, when the Girl Scout Troupe Leaders, who are white, organized a Girl Scout-mother trip out of town, Victoria had some questions about the registration fees.  No matter how calm and collected Victoria was, the troupe leaders seemed to be upset, bothered, and offended that Victoria was asking probing questions about the trip fees that seem a bit excessive.  These questions were first posed in writing, via an email, and then in public, because Victoria’s email went unanswered.  After asking the same probing questions in public, white mothers who looked on and listened in, later approached Victoria and whispered, “We were wondering the same thing about the fees.”  Quickly responding, Victoria, asked her fellow mothers, “Why didn’t you speak up?” Now, that’s a fair question.

Paige is a high profile professional and a bona fide leader.  It is because of her leadership savvy and acumen that she serves as the board chair of a very prominent board in the city.  It is a very prominent board because it is comprised of some influential people.  Like Hilton is a high profile name across the nation, some who serve on this board have high profile names in this particular city too. One such person is Mr. Wright, an elderly white man and a wealthy business owner.  When the topic of immigration, and the border crisis, came up, Mr. Wright perked up and started spouting untrue rhetoric about immigrants such as, “They are rapists. They are criminals. They want to take our jobs.” Paige, who is African American, gently and respectfully, said to Mr. Wright, “I encourage you to do your own research and not believe the sound bites you hear about immigration.” After the meeting adjourned, many of the white board members approached Paige and whispered, “Thank you for saying that to Mr. Wright; I was thinking the same thing.” Paige thought to herself, “Why didn’t you speak up?” Now, that’s a fair question.

These are two instances where whites are afraid to challenge other whites, in public, who have some measure of agency and responsibility.  In both instances, an African American female spoke up.   Thankfully, these African Americans spoke up; however, in both instances, these ladies were left out on a limb by themselves.  I am certain this happens with African American and white males too.

However, the burning question is, why don’t whites speak up and challenge other whites in public? Do whites not speak up because it will be viewed as betraying one’s tribe?

the longing for egalitarianism

Egalitarianism is often pitted against complementarianism. I know this to be true.  However, complementarianism is eschewed by women and egalitarianism is being pushed and is preferred in our culture today. There is an overwhelming longing for egalitarianism. I just wonder; is this because of…

1. men’s abuse of power, authority, or position? I think of the Roman Catholic Church pedophile scandal; and I think of the #metoo and #churchtoo movements, for instance.
2. our church’s outdated traditions that inadvertently oppress, subservient-ize, and belittle women?
3. men’s abdication of their leadership roles in the home and in the church?
4. men’s absence in homes and in churches?
5. male clergy’s poor exegesis, and application, of passages like 1 Timothy 2:8f?
6. men not affirming the gifts and talents of women in the church?
7. men not affirming the inherent dignity and worth of women as imago Dei bearing creatures?
8. men’s failure to repent of abuses, neglect, or abdication?
9. men’s slow development or maturation?

 

I just wonder.

men seem to be ‘dropping out the game’: why?

I have been thinking about why it appears men are ‘dropping out the game of life’.  By dropping out, I mean men are checking out, abdicating their roles, and are going missing in action. Here are a few thoughts why I think men seem to be retreating or dropping out the game called life:

1. Hovering parenting.  I wonder if the hovering or helicopter parent is a factor? I remember when my son played middle school football.  I volunteered to move the first down marker chains.  During one time out, the referee said to me, “I have been refereeing for a long time and I have noticed how soft the boys have gotten.” Smothering parents have led to men who are slow to develop/mature and this has given rise to prolonged adolescence.  Now we have many young men addicted to video games instead of transitioning to adulthood.  I remember hearing this phrase, “mothers raise their daughters, but love their sons.” Is that a factor here?
2. Radical feminism. I wonder if radical feminism is a factor? I should be clear here: I am for fair rights for women.  I am for equal pay for women.  I am for equity for women. However, I wonder if the pendulum has swung too radically far to the point where men are now being discriminated against and excluded from the workforce? Has there been an over-compensation to level the playing field in the workforce? The article, The End of Men, reported that, “Earlier this year, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history” (The Atlanta Journal, 2010). Notice the year: 2010.  If women became the majority, that means men became the minority.
3. Joblessness.  Fewer men are going to college, fewer men are encouraged to pursue the trades, and many are finding that blue-collar work (like manufacturing work) has become scarce and this means more men are jobless.  Yet, we were designed to work.  There is dignity in work. Work gives us purpose.  We contribute to the flourishing of ourselves, our families, and our society when we work.  So, imagine the psychic of a man not able to work.  Imagine how purposeless a man might feel if he is not able to provide for his family. A friend who works and lives in a former mining town in West Virginia sees a sad side effect of joblessness: white men are resorting to opioids.  And for many African Americans men, many jobless men are resorting to crime that leads ultimately to jail.
4. Sperm banks.  The bottom-line of the article, The End of Men, is basically this, “If women had their druthers, they would rather get along without men.”  One way women could get on without men is because of sperm banks.  A woman does not need to involve herself in a sometimes good, sometimes messy relationship if she only wanted a child.  She simply needs to visit her local sperm bank, choose her donor, and get artificially inseminated. Do sperm banks message to men, your sperm is all a woman wants?
5. Dim-witted Buffoons. Let’s face it, from TV sitcoms like The Simpsons, Two and A Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and even commercials, men are often portrayed as sex-crazed and dim-witted buffoons. I wonder what cumulative effect this has on men and the sense of their self-worth? In other words, does life imitate art?
6. Breakdown of the family.  With more and more families breaking down, which means young boys are bereft of fathers and in-house “role models,” I wonder if this is contributing to men checking out of the game?  With more and more alternative models for families—a son being raised by two dads or two moms—is this contributing to men checking out the game called life?
7. Government programs.  Welfare has helped millions of people by providing a leg up.  However, there is an unintended consequence of welfare.  Senior Research Fellow, Robert Rector, writes in, How Welfare Undermines Marriage and What to Do About it, “welfare system actively penalizes low-income parents who do marry.” Essentially, if a “low-income single mother marries an employed father, her welfare benefits will generally be substantially reduced. The mother can maximize welfare by remaining unmarried and keeping the father’s income “off the books.”  “For example,” Rector reports, “a single mother with two children who earns $15,000 per year would generally receive around $5,200 per year of food stamp benefits. However, if she marries a father with the same earnings level, her food stamps would be cut to zero.” This program not only de-incentivizes low-income couples to marry but it communicates to men, “I (the mother) am better off (financially) without you.”

What are your theories or speculations why men are dropping out the game called life?

Jetsons, algorithms, and bias

The Jetsons an American animated sitcom that aired in 1962 and featured a futuristic world of flying cars, robotic maids, and other whimsical inventions. We have entered the world of the Jetsons!  I was fascinated by this cartoon series as a kid—it was truly a push-button activated utopia. Today, we are not only a push-button society, but also a voice-activated, swipe-activated, touch-activated, and mind-activated society.

Full disclosure: I am no Luddite, I love technology.  I practiced electrical engineering for 15 years at two different companies in Missouri; one, a department of energy (DOE) contractor, the other, a department of defense (DoD) contractor. In my view, technology is a great impression of human imagination and ingenuity. However, technological progress is not neutral.

I was fortunate to attend the Faith at Work Summit in Chicago, IL, October 11-13, 2018.  One session was devoted to the topic “the disruption of work.” Here, the presenters spoke about how artificial intelligence (AI), robots, and algorithms will disrupt work as we know it. That is, some jobs will simply be replaced by AI powered technology like legal work, accounting work, and the work of flipping hamburgers.

What the speakers did not discuss was how algorithms and machines will assist (and are assisting) in the hiring of employees. But algorithms are not neutral.  They are not unbiased. Why? Because algorithms used to hire employees are biased because the designers of these algorithms are biased. A designer’s bias is baked in to these algorithms. We know that companies discriminate based on applicants’ first names.  The famous, or infamous, study conducted by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan at the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?, prove this point.

Will these algorithms, for example, discriminate based on a set formula or coding language? What tests or check and balances will companies employ to minimize the bias of these algorithms?

 

accommodation or assimilation or is it both?

During a two week stretch in Summer 2017, I was privileged, and honored, to teach a Christian worldview/ethics class for Cru in Fort Collins, CO. I was told a few weeks prior that I would have a deaf couple in my class. I was asked to make some accommodations for them. For example, I was asked to send my lecture notes for each day, a day prior to this couple. That was a challenge for me because I tend to tweak my talks until the moment I deliver them. However, I did my best to accommodate this sweet couple. (I say sweet on purpose here.  One time they noticed that I was struggling with how to refer to them in class—”do I say ‘deaf’ or ‘hard of hearing'”? And they approached me during a class break, and through their interpreter, said to me, “We saw that you were struggling; it’s okay to say, ‘deaf.'”)

Workplaces accommodate the physically disabled by building ramps and elevators. Workplaces like mine, Made to Flourish, have gone to an open office configuration. However, they have accommodated introverts, like me, and built conference rooms (with doors) when I need to disengage from people (and where I can go to concentrate).

Spaces are wise to accommodate the other; and the other must also assimilate to some degree, however. Spaces have rules and protocols; those that occupy such spaces must adhere or assimilate to these rules and protocols or social norms. Otherwise, chaos would ensue.

All this has got me thinking about African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and those who govern their lives by different religions in predominantly white church and non-church spaces. To be sure, non-whites must assimilate to some degree; and whites most accommodate non-whites too. For example, those in the majority, in workplaces, should allow a Muslim to honor Ramadan and a Jew, yom kippur (Day of Atonement). A church that is predominantly white, for example, should sing songs that accommodate non-whites in their congregation. Similarly, a predominantly African American church should sing songs that accommodate whites and other non-African Americans in their congregation. A company that is predominantly Hispanic should require some degree of assimilation of non-Hispanic employees but also the same company must accommodate the needs of non-Hispanic employees too. Real inclusion requires spaces to accommodate others who are not in the majority. Such accommodating can help mitigate the isolation many minorities experience in majority spaces.

It is not assimilation or accommodation; it is both.

gang-banger to gainfully employed

On a recent delayed flight from Chicago to Kansas City, I sat next to Mike. Mike, a tall African-American man and Chicagoan, sat at the window seat; and I sat in the aisle seat. We were buckled in, and just minutes before pushing back from the terminal, and he began to have muscle spasms. I asked him if he needed to stand up? He said, “Yes.” I got up and rushed to the back to tell the flight attendant why the two African-American male passengers were now unbuckled and standing. She immediately alerted the captain. Of course, this small commotion got the attention of fellow passengers. I finally sat down and Mike thanked me. One of the flight attendants was kind enough to bring Mike a warm compress for his back discomfort. Mike was appreciative. After a few minutes, Mike began to tell me his life story. He was a former gang-banger. “In certain economically depressed neighborhoods in Chicago, this is just what you did,” Mike explained. His father was absent from the home and his mother worked long hours with the United States Post Office. Mike had an abundance of unsupervised time. He routinely saw African-Americans getting shot or killed since he was ten years old. He was shot at but somehow bullets missed him. He was once shot at while driving his car. His car windows were shattered; his dash board was riddled with bullets but again, he was not shot. He has right leg and left arm have been stabbed. He sold crack. Many of his friends and family members are now incarcerated. Even his father is serving time for selling illegal drugs. Amazingly, Mike never spent time in jail. (His grandpa was a deacon and convinced Mike to get baptized three times; and each time he did.  Mike left the church because no one took his honest questions seriously; rather, they labeled him a blasphemer.  This―not answering Mike’s honest questions―makes me so angry but that’s another article for another time.)

One day someone took a chance and offered Mike a job removing asbestos from old homes. He was making nearly $1,000 a week. His eyes lit up when he recounted doing something purposeful, and good with his head and hands. Eventually, that job ended and he said that work experience caused him to be quite reflective. He soon enrolled in DeVry University, graduated with a bachelors degree, and now travels the country troubleshooting cell towers as a part time gig. Mike admitted that his former gang life aged him and makes him “look rough” (his words), but today he is grateful for his gray beard because he did not think he would live to see a gray beard.

May we take a chance with the other and go a step further and help the other find gainful employment because we were made to work.

traveling to come close

I attended a Kansas City CreativeMornings event on Friday, August 17, 2018 and the speaker was Katie van Dieren. Katie is a champion for community and the maker movement. She is the owner and curator of one of the world’s top indie craft fairs, The Strawberry Swing, and the co-founder of Troost Market Collective.

During her talk she mentioned this quote by Mark Twain, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Twain and Katie, I believe, meant international travel.

While not of us can travel abroad, we all can leave our little corner of the earth and travel locally and come close to others who are different than us. I believe if we travel and come close, we can collectively, shed prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, learned this lesson from his grandmother, “You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance, Bryan. You have to get close” (p. 14). I love grandma wisdom!

I think by traveling to come close to the other, we can not only put to death prejudice, bigotry, and narrowmindedness, but we just might discover that people we thought were monsters are actually human beings who are creative and pregnant with possibilities and dreams. This has certainly been my experience. Might it be so!

what I learned on my Facebook/Twitter/Instagram 30-day Sabbatical

My daughter, Briana, convinced my wife and I to take a 30-day break or Sabbatical from Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Here are few things I learned:

(1) I was still drawn to those colorful app tiles on my iPhone screen.  But without active Twitter and Facebook accounts, I was less preoccupied or obsessed with my phone.

(2) I was less distracted.  How did I measure this? I read or finished more books. I completed and/or resumed reading four books: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (Bryan Stevenson), No One Ever Asked (Katie Ganshert), I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness (Austin Channing Brown), and Brothas Be, You Like George: Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You? (A Memoir by George Clinton).  I also wrote a 5,500+ word draft of an essay in less than eight hours.  I suppose what I am saying is I was more productive.

(3) I can get along okay just fine without Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  In fact, I deleted my Instagram account.

(4) At times, I thought I was missing out on what was happening.  But I found other things to do: pittle in the garage, visit the driving range, imagine, journal, and rest. I feared missing important announcements.  But those announcements came via other channels (e.g., my personal email).

(5) A break from social media is a healthy move; a healthy move I highly recommend.

After this sabbatical, I hope not to be enamored or captivated by “likes” and I hope to take more frequent and shorter social media sabbaticals.

naming and renaming

Someone asked “what is in a name?” Apparently, a lot. I met a new brother recently, his birth name is Ebenezer but he insisted we call him Ebi. This got me thinking, why? I asked him why via email to explain.  No reply thus far.  I suspect Ebi was thinking about others—he likely figured that Ebi is much easier to pronounce than Ebenezer? I remember a report that found hiring companies in cities like Boston and Chicago were less likely to call in a person for an interview if he or she had a black sounding first name (see Shankil Choudhury, Deep Diversity: Overcoming Us vs. Them, 2015, p. 59).  The odds are greater that Shannon would be invited in for an interview; Sharniqua has less odds. I remember reading about a brown brother named Jose who changed his name to Joe.  Before this renaming, he was not getting frequent phone calls about jobs; however, after he changed his name to Joe on his resume, he started receiving more calls. A colleague, from a country in Southeast Asia, is an immigrant to the United States. Instead of using their given native names at birth, her dad let his fingers do the walking up and down the columns in a white pages phone book in search of American sounding names for his three kids. He renamed his kids; he selected Vanessa for her.  He wanted them to have a better chance of making it in America. A friend named his daughter Courtney—a gender-neutral name—because he did not want her to be discriminated against as a female. A colleague is reading “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness,” by Austin Channing Brown. Brown’s parents named her Austin after her grandmother’s maiden name, but also so she could get job interviews someday. Now everyone assumes she’s a white male. (Brown’s book title reminds me of the Scene on Radio “Seeing White” 14-part series podcast that I highly recommend.)

What’s in a name? By the likes of it, much is in a name.