“Unless we engage in these and other conscious acts of reflection and re-education, we easily repeat the process with our children. We teach what we were taught. The unexamined prejudices of the parents are passed on to the children. It is not our fault, but it is our responsibility to interrupt this cycle” -Tatum Social Justice methods are a tool for reflection, to learn about how we are engaging each other, and to consider how our preconceived notions can lead to uninformed or accidental mistreatment of people. Contrary to this purpose, many have begun to see it as an infringement…
Tag: violence
Healing the Wounds of What it Means to Be a Man
In American culture, as well as other cultures around the world, young boys are taught how to be men. They are taught how to think, act, and behave in a particular way that is seen as manly. As norms are taught and passed on to the next generation, do we consider the outcome? For the past few years, I have been attending a regional conference, the New England Fathering Conference. The focus is on fatherhood as a crucial part of building healthy families. At this conference, there is always so much wisdom and spirit to be found and a sincere…
Violence and Values
The way people act and operate is constantly changing and shifting, forming and growing. What we have seen throughout history is a push and pull in this process. One significant area that is impacted by this is the ratio of violence to peace in any given culture. In the United States, public displays of violence have been on the rise over the past few years. This past week we witnessed the biggest mass shooting in U.S. history with 50 people dead and 400 injured in Las Vegas. Just over a month ago, we saw violence being expressed alongside messages of…