Tuesday, September 17, 2019

[indefinite arts centre]

screenshot of home page for ourIAC.ca - Our Indefinite Arts Centre. Picture of woman holding up art work.


The Indefinite Arts Centre, based in Calgary, is Canada's oldest and largest disability arts organization. Here's what they say on their site:
We are proud to be Canada’s oldest and largest disability arts organization, founded in 1975 and now serving close to 300 artists per week in our 11,000+ square foot studio and gallery space in southeast Calgary.

Yes, our niche is to serve artists with disabilities, but our vision is to provide them with a platform to stand strong on their merits and their efforts – as artists. Throughout our website, we hope to give you a glimpse into how we provide artistic training, creation and exhibition opportunities for our artists – and at the same time, advocate for more meaningful, inclusive arts policies that shine the light on the creativity of artists living with disabilities.
Read more about them at https://indefinitearts.com/


Thursday, September 12, 2019

[standing up for people being called what they want to be called...]


Here's an interesting clip from a TV show, which nicely shows the challenges of challenging other people when they use derogatory and disrespectful terms for others. Ironic though not surprising that the person doing the challenging is a QPOC (queer person of colour).

Watch how this discussion evolves, and some of the classic responses that those challenged pull out.


If the tweet and embedded video do not show up above, click here.

Read CBC's article "We need to talk about the dinner party scene in the Tales of the City reboot"

Thursday, September 05, 2019

[stranger god: meeting jesus in disguise, by Richard Beck (book)]


"When Richard Beck first led a Bible study at a maximum security prison, he went to meet God. His own faith was flagging, but Beck still believed the promise of Matthew 25, that when we visit the prisoner, we visit Jesus. And sure enough, God met him in prison.

With his signature combination of biblical reflection, theological reasoning, and psychological insight, Beck shows how God always meets us in the marginalized, the oppressed, and the refugee. And stories from Beck's own life illustrate this truth - God comes to him in the poor, the crippled, the smelly.

Psychological experiments show how we are predisposed to like those who are similar to us and avoid those who are unlike us. The call of the gospel, however, is to override those impulses with compassion, to "widen the circle of our affection." In the end, Beck turns to the Little Way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux for guidance in doing even the smallest acts with kindness, and he lays out a path that any of us can follow." (from Amazon)

Read what Richard says about this new book on his blog Experimental Theology.

Read quotes from other things that Richard has written, sometimes with commentary and sometimes with great cartoons (by yours truly), right here on my blog.


Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-God-Meeting-Jesus-Disguise/dp/1506433758

Monday, July 08, 2019

[150 acts of reconciliation]


One of the 150 Acts of Reconciliation posters. Text says, "Understand and acknowledge that Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, was an architect of genocide."

Crystal Fraser and Sara Komarnisky have written 150 Acts of Reconciliation. "Many of these are small, everyday acts that average Canadians can undertake, but others are more provocative that encourage people to think about Indigenous-settler relationships in new ways." 

The act in the above poster would be one of the more provocative ones. I had already previously been disillusioned about Canada being better than our southern neighbour after reading about our own "lack of human rights" record. Now, seeing our first prime minister was key in starting the Indian residential schools sure puts a different perspective on our country. You can read more about that in this article by Sean Carleton, a professor in Calgary.

Get a printable list of the 150 Acts here.

Read more about this project here.

Order posters here.

Thursday, July 04, 2019

update from Rob

You may have noticed that I am posting far less often than before. That's mostly because of other projects I'm involved in:

  • Diversity and Inclusion initiatives at my workplace, including co-leading the development of Employee Resource Groups
  • Part of the Reconciliation Committee at my parish
  • Reading a lot about Indigenization, Reconciliation, Decolonization, etc. (mostly from Indigenous academics) -- plus reading about Two Spirit peoples (mostly articles by Two Spirit academics). When do I read, you ask? Mostly on the bus to and from work.
Not sure how all this will result in blog content, but I am definitely keeping it in mind.


Rob

Thursday, June 27, 2019

[Black Madonna of Czestochowa celebrates Pride...]


Black Madonna of Czestochowa with pride colours in the halos added by Elzbieta Podlesna


... but not everyone is happy.

Elzbieta Podlesna, a human rights activist in Poland who made this poster of the famous Black Madonna of Czestochowa with pride colours in the halos, has been arrested on charges of "offending religious beliefs".

(Read more about it here.)

Personally, I think it's quite beautiful - black and queer together - though I wonder why the Madonna was so sad to begin with...

Thursday, June 20, 2019

ancient and modern

Last Sunday June 16 was Trinity Sunday, and the church bulletin included this picture of The Hospitality of Abraham, painted in 1411 by St. Andrei Rublev. Though showing the three angels who visited Abraham in Genesis 18, it is considered to be the "quintessential icon" of the Holy Trinity.

The point was made that this icon illustrates the mystery of the Trinity, the three-in-one, and of how the Trinity is about relationship -- the three all share the colour blue, they are looking at each other, they are sitting around the table in mutuality, etc.

What I personally really love about it is how it illustrates the timelessness of the Holy Scripture in the way it also reflects the people of today...


The Hospitality of Abraham, painted in 1411 by St. Andrei Rublev. Shows three angels seated around a table.

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

[clarity about church policies]


Church Clarity has a simple goal: make it clear what a church's policy is on things that matter to those who might attend. Here's how they put it on their homepage:
There are millions of churches around the world. They represent a wide spectrum of beliefs, which are translated into actively enforced policies. At the level of the local church, policies are often communicated unclearly, if they are disclosed at all...

Together, we're establishing a new standard for church policy disclosure:  We believe that churches have a responsibility to be clear about their policies on their primary websites. Following a simple, yet consistent method, our crowdsourcers submit churches to be scored on how clearly their website communicates their actively enforced policies. Once the information is verified by Church Clarity, it is published to our database.

Their current focus is on policies related to LGBTQ+. This is critical for LGBTQ+ people, especially if they get involved with a church on the basis of it appearing welcoming, only to find out later that there are policies which prohibit their involvement in leadership, or which prescribe discipline if they get married, etc.

They are currently accepting ratings for Canadian and American churches. Look them up and submit your church, especially if it is LGBTQ+ positive:

https://www.churchclarity.org

You can also sign up to be an advocate or use some of their resources (like the yellow image above) to help promote the site.

Church Clarity logo from www.churchclarity.org


Thursday, April 11, 2019

[gender in the City of Edmonton census]

The City of Edmonton recently sent out their census, and this is what the gender page looks like:


Nice to see that it more inclusive than it used to be, including not only transgender people but also two spirit!

Thursday, March 28, 2019

[Indigenous ally toolkit]


cover of "Indigenous Ally Toolkit" available from the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy NETWORK. Has title and plants in background.

"What does it mean to be a good ally to Indigenous Peoples?

It's something the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network is hoping to clarify with its recently launched Indigenous ally toolkit.

The toolkit provides an overview on terminology, dos and don'ts, with examples of why the term "Canada's Indigenous Peoples," asking "why don't you just get over it?" or saying "you must be an alcoholic" is problematic."

The toolkit is available from the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy NETWORK Resources page.

Read the CBC article about this toolkit.

Thursday, February 28, 2019

treaty acknowledgements and redwashing


Hayden King, an Anishinaabe writer and educator who works at Ryerson University, was involved in the writing of that university's territorial acknowledgement. He now regrets what he wrote, and says:
Photo of Hayden King, supplied by Hayden King (to CBC for article related to interview. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/i-regret-it-hayden-king-on-writing-ryerson-university-s-territorial-acknowledgement-1.4973371
I'd like to move towards a territorial acknowledgement where you provide people with a sort of framework and then let them write it themselves. The really important aspect of a territorial acknowledgement for me, anyway, is this sort of obligation that comes on the back end of it.

It's one thing to say, "Hey, we're on the territory of the Mississaugas or the Anishinaabek and the Haudenosaunee." It's another thing to say, "We're on the territory of the Anishinaabek and the Haudenosaunee and here's what that compels me to do."

[Treaty acknowledgement] effectively excuses them and offers them an alibi for doing the hard work of learning about their neighbours and learning about the treaties of the territory and learning about those nations that should have jurisdiction.


Wednesday, February 06, 2019

employee resource groups for the flourishing of employees


As diversity and inclusion initiatives increase, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are becoming more common. In fact, your workplace might have some.

"Employee Resource Groups for the Flourishing of Employees" is a resource that I've been working on over the past year, and which I hope will be of use to some of you.

It introduces ERGs, presents seven key principles, discusses their evolution over time and includes steps for starting a new Employee Resource Group, with a particular focus on their purpose being the flourishing of employees.

What's unique about this resource? At least two things:
  1. The focus on the flourishing of employees. For the record, the flourishing of employees is not always the reason that ERGs are started. Particularly in the for-profit sector, corporations use ERGs as a way of increasing innovation, attracting new employees, connecting with potential markets, etc. Few in the world of ERGs are emphasizing the flourishing of employees.
  2. The seven key principles. There are many resources available online yet I have not seen any that have anything close to these key principles. These principles help ensure that ERGs increase diversity and inclusion overall and focus on the flourishing of employees without becoming introverted.

Access the PDF here and comment below.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

minority and minoritized


Minotaur with tie - in the minority but not minoritized. Cartoon by rob g. Image shows five minotaurs. One of the bigger minotaurs is wearing a tie.

Minotaur with tie
in the minority but
not minoritized

I came across a fascinating article discussing the terms minority and minoritized.

I'll introduce the idea this way: It suggests that we change our usage of terms so that minority has to do with numbers (namely, the opposite of majority, or less than half) and minoritized has to do with how people treat other people -- specifically, treating them as if they are less than.

For example, in university, less than half the students wear glasses, so they are in the minority. While the occasional post-secondary student with glasses might be made fun of, overall, they are not treated badly or oppressed because of wearing glasses. Thus, though in the minority, they are not minoritized.

Or to give a more pertinent example, white slave owners and their families were in the minority on the plantations, but it was the slaves who were minoritized. The slave owners had the power and control; the slaves were oppressed and without power.

Here are new definitions proposed by I.E. Smith:
Definition: Minority

1: a group of less than half of the total, a group that is sufficiently smaller in number

2: of or relating to quantities that are comparatively less

3: a relatively small group

Definition: Minoritized

1: groups that are different in race, religious creed, nation of origin, sexuality, and gender and as a result of social constructs have less power or representation compared to other members or groups in society

2. To be a person forced into a group that is mistreated or faces prejudices such as albeism, racism, homophobia, and islamaphobia

3. To be in a small group of people that is discriminated against because of situations outside of personal control

Read the whole article at: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/minority-vs-minoritize



A similar term that I've come across recently is "invisibilized" in contrast to "invisible". It suggests that some groups of people are made invisible...

Tuesday, January 08, 2019

(in)authentic ethic of inclusion


authentic ethic of inclusion cartoon by rob goetze. Image shows two men wearing identical hats talking to each other. First person says, "Do you have an authentic ethic of inclusion?" Second replies, "Sure do! Everyone's welcome here." First person: "What about them?" (referring to three people in same panel of cartoon, all wearing different hats from the initial two men. Second replies, "Them who? I don't see anyone..."

This cartoon was inspired by Yvette Flunder in Where the Edge Gathers: Building a Community of Radical Inclusion:
An authentic ethic of inclusion must reach from the center to the farthest margin and work its way back. When we reach for the ones who are the least accepted, we give a clear message of welcome to everyone. Jesus modeled this type of radical inclusivity when he openly received those most despised by society and the religious establishment.

Read more about this, and see another original cartoon:
https://exclusionandembrace.blogspot.com/2015/10/an-authentic-ethic-of-inclusion.html