Book I am hearing: White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
I was recommended this book by a fellow Aligned Life’er (Thanks Victoria!) due to my goal of trying to be more aware of what I could do to help improve racial equality in my community. If you, like me, have said, “I don’t see color, I just focus on being a good person” or you consider yourself to be a white progressive individual then WE are at the heart of the race problem in America. It is also our responsibility to get educated, become more aware of ourselves and our environment and to do better for humanity. Through a better understanding of how America was created, defining terms such as “prejudice” and “racist” as well evaluating the systems designed to give someone with white skin an advantage, I have learned a ton about how to discuss this topic in order to encourage improvements. This is a timely must listen for 2021!
Stimulus money ideas I am using:
Did you get a nice chunk of change in your account recently from the government? If so, here are a few things I would encourage you to use the money on besides an impulse buy at Target.
1.) Pay off debt
2.) Invest
3.) Put the money in a rainy day fund (war chest)
4.) Buy a sit/stand desk
5.) Put the money towards a whole house water filtration system
6.) Purchase a package of massages to use once a month
7.) Take a road trip
8.) Buy a bike
9.) Invest in your hobbies
10.) Purchase your chiropractic care for 2021 (I know I am biased…haha!)
Quote I am pondering: “For those of us who work to raise the consciousness of whites, simply getting whites to acknowledge that our race gives us an advantage is a major effort. The defensiveness, denial and resistance run deep.” ~ Robin Diangelo in “White Fragility”
One of the main ideas I discovered while reading Diangelo’s work is how racism persists. It’s sneaky. If nobody can talk about racism without getting extremely mad and emotional because the word is so loaded, then no one, especially people in a position of power, will be willing to talk about it. This means that the system of racism in our country will continue. The more we believe that we ALL are NOT a part of the problem, the less it is acceptable to be part of the public conversation and the more damaging its effects become. Until we can decide on how we define our terms, recognize that this must be discussed at length to include ALL races and make it ok to speak about in public we will continue to have an unjust society.
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Have a kick ass week everyone!
In Health,
Dr. Devin Shea, DC
