Knights of Awakening: Jedi Safe Spaces (Charles McBride)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjGENNl7pzk&feature=youtu.be

Listen and think.

Is this the right direction for Jedi to go?

Five minutes in, I skipped to eleven minutes. I heard "Let's focus on creating lines rather than erasing them." I stopped watching.

Pretty sure he was saying (at that moment) that: let's NOT create lines. He was quoting the workshop he is criticizing.

By the way, to be perfectly honest, the workshop he is criticizing does NOT exist.

Connor L. wrote: Pretty sure he was saying (at that moment) that: let's NOT create lines. He was quoting the workshop he is criticizing.

By the way, to be perfectly honest, the workshop he is criticizing does NOT exist.

Ok it seems THIS is what sparked it no? http://californiajedi.org/defend-and-protect-safe-spaces-and-privilege/

The over all tone of the video is one I can get. Though I think a more open and less hostile dialog might serve better. I mean the idea of a safe space in the Jedi community is hilarious in my view. We should always be challenging each other. In fact I have bumped heads with many people here and learned a lot from it. In fact I am very grateful for Snowy causing me to question my stances consistently. I might not often agree with her but if no one ever challenged me how would I grow. So creating divisions and silencing people based on skin color or sexual preference as that article linked suggests is a horrid idea.

What I think is more telling is the response from a so called big wig in the Jedi community to the video. Basically if we cant agree calmly and talk civilly its best not to respond but of course that person as far as I can see talks the talk but does not walk the walk.

Wow..... 20 minutes of eye-rolling and head shaking has left me a little dizzy.

Now, everybody is entitled to their opinions, but if you're asking for mine, I'd say that this is just an angry little man who doesn't understand the current social climate and so, is lashing out at it. He's like that old grandpa who complains about technology and "kids these days" because he's unwilling (or incapable) of evolving his own world views

Calling this kind of workshop (if it exists) ridiculous, appalling, and stupid shows a major lack of respect and empathy. And I couldn't help but think that his own privilege may be what's preventing him from gaining that respect and empathy. Maybe he resents being told he has privilege, or simply refuses to acknowledge it. Either way...no bueno.

Getting belligerent over change won't stop change from happening, because as Bob Dylan said:

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

ADDENDUM: It was kind of hilarious how he considered himself "ancient" when he's only 3 years older than me. I've lived though light-speed technological development, too, but I'm CERTAINLY not ancient.

I watched enough of it to get the gist of it (18 minutes). There are a few things I agree with.
The concept of the "safe space" as popularized by the internet is a double edged sword. I think Jedi should act in such a way that is respectful. People who suffer from things such as clinical depression, general/social anxiety, acute and post-traumatic stress disorders, etc. should be recognized and different approaches should be taken if we know someone suffers from a certain ailment. For example, it might just be good fun to set off fireworks with some friends, but some people I know with PTSD resulting from wartime experiences REALLY don't like being around fireworks. It's my responsibility, as far as I'm concerned, to keep that kind of thing in mind while interacting with specific people. But no one has the right to never be offended, never be challenged. These safe spaces are not real life. They are echo chambers, a place where someone can pat themselves on the back and get patted on the back by others and never see any difference of opinion or face any challenge or experience any growth.
I think we as Jedi should encourage being mindful of our surroundings, including those around us. Certain things we do may or may not be appropriate, given the people we're with. But I don't think we should create echo chambers. I don't think we should jump through hoops during conversations to avoid any instance of possibly offending anyone in the world. I don't agree with the "safe space". I do agree with respecting each other. As a man pretending to be Abraham Lincoln once said, "Be excellent to each other... and PARTY ON, DUDES!"

When we discuss Jedi philosophy, and particularly the Jedi mindset or attitude, the term objective arises often. One ought to be objective or, at least, as objective as one is able.

On the face of it, there's nothing wrong with this.

That said, one can't really operate completely independently of one's culture or language. And, for many, that can present a problem. For many, the objective perspective has become conflated with the white, male, cisgender perspective.

(Being in that group does not make one a racist, sexist, etc. off the bat. But many in that group, as well as those of us who resemble it, have engaged in racist, sexist, etc. praxis, and owning that is a way forward. True of everyone, really.)

This is not an issue unique to Jedi. I think it is an endemic feature of our culture. The trick is that when a Jedi decides that he or she has achieved objectivity, it may only be that they have taken on this flawed and, frankly, destructive perspective. My sense is that the path to objectivity leads through intersectional thought, note in avoidance of it.

The value of discussing these real difference (real in the sense that they help decide who get life and who gets the chair, who has been allowed to own property, who was chosen to be property, etc.) is that it provides a broader perspective. One does not achieve objectivity simply be discounting variables with which one does not agree. Instead, one must seek to understand. Often, that conversation can be difficult.

And I get it. If you are a white dude, you may feel that there is an accusation on your head the moment you step out of your door. And yes, some of the rhetoric is not helpful.

And yes, some times the idea of safe space can get out of hand. No concept is immune to that. In this case, a few other concepts have gotten out of hand, which makes the conversation necessary. And we are still learning to have these conversations, even among those of us that really want to. We're all learning.

Sometimes when we say that we should ignore our differences, what some of us hear is, "I'm going to be me, and you be just the part of who you are that overlaps with with me, we'll both ignore the rest of you, and we'll all get along."

You might be saying this without meaning to. This is the difference between being a racist and engaging in racist praxis. Some of our societal norms are inherently racist and/or sexist, but we act them out without realizing that because it does not affect us adversely.

How do we heal all this? We have to talk about it, talk about everybody, and make sure everyone is heard. Yes, it's not the way we are used to dealing with these issues, but we need to try it.

Dealing with things the way we are used to is what got us here in the first place. We've been making the same error for a very long time. It's time to try a different way.

TheDude wrote: I watched enough of it to get the gist of it (18 minutes). There are a few things I agree with.
The concept of the "safe space" as popularized by the internet is a double edged sword. I think Jedi should act in such a way that is respectful. People who suffer from things such as clinical depression, general/social anxiety, acute and post-traumatic stress disorders, etc. should be recognized and different approaches should be taken if we know someone suffers from a certain ailment. For example, it might just be good fun to set off fireworks with some friends, but some people I know with PTSD resulting from wartime experiences REALLY don't like being around fireworks. It's my responsibility, as far as I'm concerned, to keep that kind of thing in mind while interacting with specific people. But no one has the right to never be offended, never be challenged. These safe spaces are not real life. They are echo chambers, a place where someone can pat themselves on the back and get patted on the back by others and never see any difference of opinion or face any challenge or experience any growth.
I think we as Jedi should encourage being mindful of our surroundings, including those around us. Certain things we do may or may not be appropriate, given the people we're with. But I don't think we should create echo chambers. I don't think we should jump through hoops during conversations to avoid any instance of possibly offending anyone in the world. I don't agree with the "safe space". I do agree with respecting each other. As a man pretending to be Abraham Lincoln once said, "Be excellent to each other... and PARTY ON, DUDES!"

I think that's the point of "Safe Spaces" if they're done properly. To help people be more aware of those around them and then act/react appropriately.

I disagree with the assertion that we shouldn't offend or challenge anyone, but I do think that generally speaking, the more privilege someone naturally has, the less aware they tend to be about the disadvantages that others have. And teaching people to have the recognition can only be good.

I think that the term "safe space" has gotten a bad reputation and it's dismissed before understanding the meaning behind it.

Also, I reject the kind of all-or-nothing thinking that says that when we speak or meet it must always or never be challenging. One would hope that we could be intelligent enough to monitor our behavior and tailor it to the needs of a particular moment.