Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 20: The Insurrection and the Delusion of White Supremacy
QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW
Though the full impact and effect of the Insurrection that occurred that day won't be known for weeks, months, and years to come, April and Tracie take the time to reflect on the events of January 6, 2021.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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Where were you during the January 6th events? How did these events impact you?
At the beginning of the episode, April references a phrase coined by Sonya Renee Taylor, “white supremacist delusion.” What layer of nuance does this terminology add to what we normatively refer to as “white supremacy?” What does “white supremacist delusion” imply or clarify?
After Tracie compares white supremacy to a virus, April clarifies this point by reminding us how “when a cell becomes diseased, it’s often because it stops working with the other cells and parts of the body around it, that it has this toxic independence.” What can we learn from this, particularly in the context of the States, as April mentions? What is the relationship between white supremacist delusion and toxic independence?
April talks about how we are not independent from the energy that others project. What does April mean by this? Can you think of any example in your life when this was the case?
When concluding the episode, Tracie comments on a commonly-shared phrase - “This isn’t who we are” - from reactions to the insurrection. What’s wrong about this statement? How can we radically imagine and build a better reality so that, like Tracie said, “this isn’t who we have to be?”
INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE
“What we saw on January 6th - besides a number of different things including deeply disturbing images and destruction - is the continual impact of white supremacist delusion continuing to play itself out until we engage in truth and reconciliation and reparations and create a new path for our country.”
“This virus of white supremacy is acting up because it knows its days are numbered.”
“If you’re wondering what impact racism and white supremacy has on America, this is a metaphor of what it is doing. It is messing up our abilities to function in effective, robust ways. It’s affecting us around being able to affect policy for us to all feel safe. When we have racial justice, we will all collectively feel safer in our homes and in our lives.”
“There are folks who keep saying ‘this isn’t who we are.’ I don’t think that’s true. This is exactly who we are, but it’s not who we have to be. We can be better.”
COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?
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