We Exoticize, and then Marginalize…
Posted: November 8th, 2009 | Author: Peter | Filed under: church, culture, emerging church, inequality, race, respectful dialogue | 2 Comments »A friend of mine quickly added (via e-mail) to my last post: “don’t forget to add RACIST” to the misogynistic and homophobic undertones of the “dudes” at Deadly Vipers.
He sent me this link, which includes an incredible segment of a lecture on the way we continue to marginalize anyone who is “other”…
Here’s the second. It’s even more shocking. You should watch them both…
Even leaving the Vipers out of the mix, those are eye-opening videos. It is so easy (for me, as a majority culture member) to not recognize how marginalizing my thoughts and actions can be. What I might see as at least an effort on my part to value some aspect of a different culture (rickshaws, geisha girls) actually exoticizes and differentiates myself from that culture. So, thinking "a Korean dance would be a nice touch for our missions night" may well be only a token effort to be inclusive, and more likely establishes my 'white is normal and anything else isn't'.Thanks for shaking up my world again, Peter!!
Thanks for posting this. It's brilliant.