The Disorienting Dilemma

Radicalizing Jake's Dad


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Jake playfully tries to convince his Dad that his conservative and traditional “Canadian” values are under attack and they need defending. Chris worries aloud that he might be oversharing before telling his own story about when he defended his turf. Throughout the episode, they wind their way through a discussion about inclusion that touches on identity politics, intersectionality, critical race theory and so much more.

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Resources/materials:
Traditionalism Under Attack (IOTBW): “It’s okay to be white,” appears to be a literal, or denotative, message, but when we read it in context — against the backdrop of institutionalized Eurocentrism and current anti-racist political movements like Black Lives Matter — we see that it is far from benign. The poster believes that white identities are no longer accepted at the university. He believes a double standard exists in conversations of cultural diversity. This attitude is aligned with the alt-right, a U.S.-based white nationalist movement.”

Meeting at the Crossroads: “Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.” 

Theory of Social Learning – Selective Moral Disconnection: “Advantageous comparison - Mainly, this defensive mechanism involves making comparisons between one's behaviour and one considered much worse, in such a way that by comparison the first does not seem so serious. The typical expression "... but I have not killed anyone" would be a simple example of such a comparison. It is also common to use as an excuse to perform the immoral act the fact that another or others have done something worse. Own locus of behaviour, by reinterpreting the facts based on that comparison.”

Unclean Hands: “The no-touch soap dispenser most likely uses some kind of light sensor to detect when a hand is beneath the contraption. Apparently, a dark-skinned hand wasn’t light enough to register on the sensor. This simple problem would have been avoided if it had been tested on a variety of skin tones. That, of course, requires people working in the industry from a variety of backgrounds. There are plenty more examples of this. Soap dispensers, for one, seem to be particularly bad at dealing with different skin tones. In the past, Flickr and Google were both forced to apologize when their automatic image labeling systems were tagging photos of black people with “ape” and “gorilla". Additional information: 'Coded Bias' Paints a Terrifying Picture of Facial Recognition's Real Impact On Lives.


We Shall Overcome (when it’s good for them too!): “Interest convergence is a theory coined by the late Derrick Bell, law professor and spiritual godfather to the field of study known as critical race theory. Interest convergence stipulates that black people achieve civil rights victories only when white and black interests converge. The signature example is Brown v. Board of Education, which happened because it advanced white interests too, Bell argued. Specifically, desegregation raised the nation's prestige in world politics during the Cold War. Eventually, when interests diverged, the enforcement of civil rights was curtailed: Brown was undercut by later cases that sanctioned segregation for decades.”

BONUS - Fun Fanta Fact-Check: “(He) used his connections in the Third Reich to gain a position overseeing all Coca-Cola plants in Germany and the territories it conquered. This allowed him to spread Fanta across Europe and save other subsidiaries from shutting down. The German branch sold about 3 million cases of the drink before the war was over.” 

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The Disorienting DilemmaBy Podstarter