Peer Response for Discussion #1
The discussion is about this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BCScklTfs0
Peers
#1
I find it interesting that the context of this was within the confines of the protests
occurring over the summer, and it's sad that those movements had to be the catalyst of this
conversation. However, I agree with almost everything that was said in this video. Right off the
bat, I enjoyed the metaphor of the messy house and racism in the church. I think it frames it
perfectly, where the church just sees its problems as too much to fully clean, and instead, it
sweeps them under the rug in the form of silence. This silence allows the segregation and issues
to go on, just unnoticed and not mentioned. I think a really important part of this was pointing
out that the white church is afraid to lose its power, and I feel as though that relates to
Emmanuel's reiteration of the Good Samaritan at the end. The church is afraid to help those
affected by racism because they are worried about what will happen to them. Rather, by
helping those communities, they may be able to help black people rise to the power of where
the church is today. Power is not a tangible resource; it cannot be lost. Instead, a powerful
system can help the powerless grow in their own power without losing any themselves. The
church can help enrich black communities and diminish injustice, but rather, it sits on the
sidelines rather quietly. The final point that I enjoyed was the discussion of white supremacy. If
there is no true difference in opportunity between races, I agree with Lentz in the idea that I'd
rather live my life as if there were; living in a way where I help those on the bottom instead of
stepping on their necks on my way to the top. I believe that by pretending as if it is not real, you
make it more real.
The only topic that I disagreed with is when Lentz clumped all Christians together and
claimed that all of the Christians that don't go out and protest refrain from it simply due to
money. I think it's very bold to put everybody together into one category since he's putting
financially stable and financially unstable people together. If a financially stable Christian is not
acting out against injustice, I would 100% agree that they aren't doing so because they may lose
money or tarnish their name. However, I believe it's different for those that are not in a good
place financially. Not all Christians can drop everything and protest. They may be in a situation
where they literally can't afford to miss a shift, so they can't abandon that in the hope that God
will provide for them. While yes, it still relates to losing money, it's different in the sense that
they have an actual explanation as to why they can't protest. Therefore, it's hard to generalize
all Christians together. Can anybody relate to the constant journey that Lentz was describing? I
know for me, I grew up in a fairly rural area, so racism and prejudice were prevalent
everywhere you went. I try to constantly remind myself about the dangers of those beliefs, but
I was surrounded by peers that didn't have the same mindset. Can anyone else relate to a
situation like that, where you're in that period of growth and actualization?
#2
This video was very eye opening. I couldn't agree more with their take on the church's
silence when it comes to racism in our country. Shoving these problems into "one room" when
the guests come is a perfect example of how it appears that the church handles racism, and it
honestly reminds me of a few other issues that the Church has swept under the rug, but that's a
different conversation. Another important point made in this video was this fear from white
people about losing their "superiority." I think about this idea very frequently, as it could not be
more true. And quite honestly, I think that could be linked to why some people who have
absolutely no ties to the confederacy wave their flags high and proud. Lentz mentioned a quote
from a minister, "some of y'all white people are worried about us getting power because you
think if we did, we would treat people like you have." This is a very powerful quote because of
the amount of truth and reality that comes with it. It seems some white people are too worried
with being "uncomfortable" when it comes to severe issues such as racism instead of lending a
helping hand. The most important point I believe to be mentioned in this video was the talk of
passing knowledge down to his children. And I will make it a priority to do the same thing with
mine. Some people who have racist parents are able to learn that that way of thinking is wrong,
and I am seeing that this is more apparent in our generation of teens/young adults. These
traditional views that people have are being replaced with more realistic views, as our world is
changing, and it's a new day. I love that he is able to explain to his children what is not
acceptable and should not be tolerated, as teaching them young will have a huge impact on
them later.
They were discussing Jesus and where they think he would be today. I feel that I know exactly
where Jesus would be, but what do you guys think? Would he be protesting?
#3
I will say when I first starting listening to the conversation, I immediately thought of a
church I attended once with my mom. Our church was switching pastors and we decided to go
to this church for Sunday service. The pastor and the congregation believed Barack Obama was
the anti-Christ and African Americans have no place in our communities. My mom and I left the
church service the minute those words came out of the pastors mouth. The Rev is a Methodist
preacher who is making a change to Episcopal. And, as a member of a Methodist church, I have
stopped going to my Sunday services. The divide of the Methodist Church has left my heart
heavy. I now watch the livestream of my brother's church outside of Columbia, SC. This video
really struck me and has restored some of my faith, and I really mean that. I applaud both men
for bringing up the church and their assistance in oppression from the start. King's held an
Ethics Event about Black Catholic History and why it MATTERS! And, how Georgetown just last
year, or two years ago, finally recognized the harm they have done to those who served them
and built the school and assisted the church to where they are today. It's a clear example of the
white church being silent. We push racism to the side, we don't want to discuss it, and it is
pushing the solution further away.
I will say, when Carl put racism in the form of COVID, it was not my favorite example of how to
address and become part of the solution. I understand the rational and logic behind his parallel,
but using the exact context of the covid pandemic did not make the argument hold ground for
me.
Have any of you had similar experiences within your own church? Or, this may be too personal,
but have any of you become agnostic or atheist after witnessing the immoral behaviors and
ideals of your church?
#4
This video was very interesting to watch and there really was not anything that I felt I
disagreed with. Right in the beginning, it was really eye opening to realize and recognize how
every "Sunday morning, America is as segregated as it ever can be." This quote right here
immediately emphasized the systemic problems within institutions our country, and most
importantly, in places where people should feel safe and secure, no matter who is around
them. Unfortunately today, people feel a higher sense of security when they are with people
like them, and that is really sad to see and hear. He then moves into the analogy of the messy
house which really describes racism in general because people tend to realize how much work
is needed to really work to solve something like this, and they decide they will "clean house"
another day. This really struck me because we have always have heard silence is a virtue, but in
this moment, silence is the furthest from what we need to ever begin to work towards ending
racism. Whether it is with the church, or just the world in general, there needs to be this sort of
collective action to come together and work towards finding the right ways to end something
that has plagued our country for as long as we know. This most likely starts with a selfreflection really deciding whether or not we are a part of the solution or a part of the problem.
Like Carl Lentz said in the video "We do not know who is racist," just like we do not know who
has the virus. The only way to find out is to be tested and really see whether the person you are
or thought you were is someone that is fighting for what is right. It is all about really looking at
yourself and recognizing ways to be better and to make an impact that people may need in this
world.
With everything going on and the events that have taken place, what role or action do
you think an everyday individual can take in really making a difference in this world and with
racism? Are there too many people who are a part of the problem who think they are a part of
the solution in our world? After watching this video, where do you feel like you stand in regards
to the problem or solution?
#5
I certainly had mixed feelings throughout this video. The title troubled me because it
was “Race VS Religion.” I know that this was a conversation to find understanding between a
religious figure and a black man, but the title could be misleading. Again, I see what he was
getting at, but that is just a critique I have about it before watching it. One point I happened to
disagree with was the argument that white people are afraid of losing power and that
contributes to racism. I’m not saying that there aren’t white people who see racism as a way to
maintain power, however I do not think it is fair to categorize the majority of white people into
this group. People have a lot of unconscious biases about people who do not look like them.
This is definitely not limited to black people as many have unconscious biases towards those of
Asian descent, Middle Eastern descent, Native American descent, just to name a few. A lot of
this stems from how people are raised and the type of environment they grew up in. I believe
that the majority of the people with “racist” biases fall into this category, rather than that of
the radicals who see oppression as a power tactic. I also disagreed with him when he said
something along the lines of, “people who are supposed to act like Jesus don’t because of
money…” I cannot recall the rest of the statement, but I think a bigger reason why these people
shy away from the conversation is because they are uncomfortable. I don’t think money defines
the treatment of others.
Every human, despite their skin color, should be treated the same by everyone. I think
the people who are supposed to follow in Jesus’ footsteps should guide others to self-reflect so
they can realize where they fall short of being part of the solution. I agree that they need to do
more, but I don’t think money holds them back from guiding others to think about how they
impact the issue. I did agree with him when he said that there are a lot of good people who
want to help but feel overwhelmed. I feel as though this speaks to many Americans. Change
needs to happen, but I think some the methods people have used to seek change have made
people afraid to support the movement. When things became violent in some cases and began
affecting innocent lives, many people were turned off and did not want to participate. They still
wanted justice for the black community, however, the methods of getting justice has been very
controversial, so I think he was very correct when he said that many people who want to be
part of the solution feel too overwhelmed. I also liked the way he went about talking about
white supremacy because instead of pushing his views on the people watching, he said that it
may not in fact exist, but he’d rather be wrong and overly evaluate himself than be ignorant if it
is actually real. This was a very good approach to get people to think about his point. Instead of
debating about the existence of white supremacy, I liked that he made the point to
acknowledge its possible existence and that it is better to be overly aware of your actions than
completely unaware. Keeping in mind the current tensions on the subject of social justice, do
you think there are anyways that social justice advocates can make their movement more
appealing to those who would like to be part of the change but are overwhelmed by the
violence that sometimes arises within them? If so, how? If not, why do you think this is not
realistic?
#6
Of this entire conversation, which was pretty intriguing, the part that stuck out to me
was when Emmanuel asked what would Jesus be doing if he were here right now because I was
curious to see what this pastor would say. I loved his response that Jesus would be involved in
the marches and the movements because I believe he would be. However, I don't think it would
be because of the oppression of the black man, it would be because his people are being
oppressed. Jesus wouldn't see skin color or race because we are all his children and to him that
doesn't matter. I think that kind of ties in with the segregation he was talking about in church.
In order to solve that I think we as humans need to adopt a much more inclusive view of each
other like Jesus does with all of us. It's a matter of coming together as one people, an entire
human race, the way Jesus intended it to be. I'll finish off my post with a question about the
segregation in Church I was talking about. How much of it do you guys think stems from
tradition and culture? What I mean is, a lot of the people that I go to church with have been
going there for their entire lives. Before them their parents went there and before them their
grandparents went there. So I guess my question is, do you guys think that segregation in the
church is strictly due to race, or do you think it has more to do with the churches and settings of
where families established tradition and culture?
Peer Response for Discussion #2
The discussion is about this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfo1XJDJKSU
Peers
#1
I really enjoyed this video, and I couldn't find one bit that I disagreed with. I especially
liked Emmanuel's comment at the end, where he said that there's hope for the future since
they are having a meaningful conversation with everybody listening to each other, and I think
that's a great thing to hear. I enjoyed his answer on seeing color vs. being color blind. Seeing
color is necessary, I just think that there needs to be a cultural shift on how color is perceived.
Being color blind leads to ignorance in the form of not appreciating people for who they are.
Seeing color in a negative light leads to what we have now - racism, discrimination, division.
Seeing color in a positive light would lead to acceptable and celebration. Acceptance in the
form of recognizing your differences from somebody else, but not treating them differently
than you would somebody that shares your background. Celebration would be seen through
acknowledgment of cultural and heritage differences and allowing the room to enjoy that. I also
agreed with the discussion of viewing the world from somebody else's point of view. To expand
on that a bit, anybody that plays a sport can relate to somebody else telling them that their
sport isn't that hard. I'm a swimmer, and I can't even begin to count how many times people
have said something like "is that even a real sport?" without looking at it from a different
perspective. I think the same ideology can be applied to discrimination.
Some white people believe racism or inequality doesn't exist since they've never
experienced it themselves. Just because somebody hasn't been outwardly racist to you doesn't
mean that you can't try to learn or understand how it must be from the lens of somebody that
has experienced racism. Stepping into someone else's shoes to experience a different
perspective is imperative for bridging the divide between race. Have you ever caught yourself
not understanding a different point of view because you didn't take the time to actually learn
about or experience the other perspective?
#2
I really enjoyed the conversation that was in this video and the people that were in it
too because I have watched their show with my family a lot. It was crazy to see two people,
who have a television show together about real estate and home renovation and design, bring
their entire family to have this uncomfortable conversation. To me, it shows there really are
people in this world from all different backgrounds and cultures and just ways of life that care
about making a difference in any way that they can. Like they emphasized in the video, "there is
a beauty in seeing color" because "cultures and colors are beautiful." We are all unique and I
feel like it is important for not only children, but all people to understand that being different is
what makes life so special. Unfortunately, we have a history of looking at these differences in a
negative way and holding certain people higher then others just because of exterior features. It
is just a matter of putting our "glasses" on and really looking at the world in a different
perspective and recognizing how blind we can be to certain things, especially racism. I definitely
related to this because I feel blind without my glasses/contacts and as soon as I put them on, I
see an entirely new world. The key here to me though, which was not discussed, is that my
glasses will not make you see better nor will your glasses make me see better. We all have our
own set of "glasses" that we must put on to begin to see the world in our own way, the true
way, without any external forces pushing on us to look through their glasses. We may have
come a long way to an extent, but like they said, we still have a long way to go, but it is in those
conversations that give him hope and that is really important.
Chip and Jo make a living fixing and renovating houses that need that change, and it is
synonymous with them being on this episode. They came to tear down the walls and rebuild a
different kind of house. The house I am referring to is the "messy house" that was discussed in
the last video, and they are ready to truly rebuild and clean that house to really show its true
beauty and make it what it is supposed to be: a house without racism. Do you think there is a
universal pair of "glasses" that we all can look through to see everything that we all are blind to
in this world, or is it up to us to pick the right pair of "glasses" that suit us the best so we can
start to make that difference?
#3
I think it is important to teach children to be colorblind because the justice that we seek
is to be seen as equal by all and treated the same. If we are colorblind, this is a possibility. I
mostly agreed with what was said. What stuck out to me was the response the children had to
their father’s question. The question was, “If you saw a white man and a black man at the gas
station would you be more afraid of one or the other?” The children’s immediate responses
were, “no, why?” This supports the idea that racism is not engrained in everyone’s minds, and it
has a lot to do with how people are raised. If those children continue to be raised colorblind,
they would respond like this all the time because they were never taught that black people
were different, they were just taught we are all human and everyone has unique appearances,
so someone who is colorblind could see skin color being the equivalent to the color of
someone’s eyes. People don’t discriminate eye color, and I think that if children are raised to be
color blind, they won’t discriminate skin color either. I understood his point when he said he
thinks seeing color is important, but I slightly disagree with that because I feel like the goal of
the movement is to see everyone as equal, not differently. I think being colorblind isn’t
plausible in people who have been raised in the older world, but if children are raised to not see
a difference in skin color, black children probably wouldn’t feel as uncomfortable being the
minority because if we were colorblind, they wouldn’t be seen as any different than we are.
That’s not saying they are not unique in their own special ways, but people shouldn’t
necessarily be defined by skin color, as that has clearly been a problem. Colorblindness again,
would hopefully make it so the difference in skin color is no different than eye color.
Again, I understand why he believes color is important, but I disagree because there are
other ways of sharing your culture without basing it on skin color, as there are countless
different cultures that have predominantly white skin and many cultures that have
predominantly black skin, so skin color shouldn’t be a defining component of any given culture.
In addition to that, using skin color as a cultural aspect excludes people who aren’t of the same
color from that culture, which only furthers the problem. I think seeing color has greatened the
divide between people who don’t look like each other, so that is why I think raising children
colorblind is a plausible way to start weeding racism out of America, because if children are
never taught to see a difference, most probably won’t see one. Other than the argument that
color is important to teach children to see culture, are there any reasons why colorblindness
could contribute to the issue more than the solution? If so, how? Additionally, if you agree with
his argument that it is important to see color, how can seeing color contribute to the solution
rather than causing a greater divide?
#4
I think that the importance of being color blind or seeing color can be kind of
contradictive, because in the video Chip stated that he believed that his kids were color blind
and Emmanuel stated that he believes that growing up colorblind is okay, but it is also
important to see color as well because of the culture and the beauty of color. I agree with this,
I think all children should be able to be exposed to different colors and cultures. The fact of the
matter is that they should be raised to understand that people are people no matter the color.
Just like Chip said it is okay to highlight our differences and point out how unique we are but
understanding that being black or being white does not make you more or less than a human
than anybody else. Another thing stated in the video that I believe was very important was the
conversation about attacking the problems in our community that deal with racism that the
community does not even understand that we have. I believe it is very important for people
that do not see the problem to look at it through another person’s perspective that may not
agree with them and try to wear their shoes so that they can see the issue at hand. It is very
hard to fix a problem if the person that does not see the problem did not go through it
themselves which is something we will always face.
The comparison Emmanuel made with water and electricity and him being cautious with
white people is very important and it is something that I believe many black people can relate
to. Having that negative interaction between both people can be very dangerous to all parties
involved. Therefore, I believe that having a sit down and having these conversations with one
another is so important. There are so many disagreements and arguments between Black
people and white people because of the way they go about having these conversations and
they quickly turn into arguments and screaming matches. If we are not cautious with another,
not only physically but mentally as well, things can get lethal quickly. My question is, do you
guys think that you can be raised colorblind, but later develop a tendency to see color or act
differently towards a person of color vs someone white?
#5
I think that color blind is not the right term to use. I think open minded or love thy
neighbor would be a better phrase. It was said that we should see color because there is a
beauty in color and culture. I agree with this because color and culture are what create
diversity. Without diversity, the world would be super boring. I think the glasses analogy was a
really good way of explaining this situation. The Nigerian lady refused to have glasses but once
she put them on she was able to see all life and the depths of everything that was going on and
see the beauty of the world. The man then says that we need to do the same with color and put
our glasses on to see the beauty and culture in every individual person and see how this
contributes to the beauty of the world overall. I do not like that Chip brought up the Cancer
thing. I understood what he was saying about how he was blind to Cancer and then once he
learned about it he was more aware and was trying to connect this to the video but at the same
time Chip could never know what the lady with Cancer or Emmanuel goes through on a daily
basis with this type of stuff.
You can start the conversations, you can be there for them and support them and be an
advocate but at the end of the day you never understand the struggles that the person actually
goes through. I think it could have been a good analogy if it was worded a little different but to
me it just felt like he was saying that to say that he wanted to have this conversation to
understand but in reality you cannot really understand you can only listen, support, and make
the changes to make the suffering a little less on the person. I agree with the fact that we have
made it a long way but still have a long way to go. I think that this movement and these
conversations were a good step in the right direction. Lastly I think that listening is a key part of
making a difference and this will be the only way to make progress. Do you think that Chip and
Joanna Gaines were the right people to have in this video? Do you think that they used their
fame in a right way and people will be more likely to listen because they are there?
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