S1 Ep5: Race, Privilege, Men and Men's Groups

The five men you are about to hear are host Karl Walkinshaw,
Yaron Engler, who brought us together around this subject, Keith
Banwaitt, Simon Crowe and Trevor John. You can find out more
about them and link with them directly using the links below.


https://www.facebook.com/karl33


https://www.facebook.com/simoncrowecoaching/


https://www.facebook.com/trevorblack


https://www.facebook.com/keith.banwaitt


https://www.facebook.com/yaronenglerpersonal


The conversation in this podcast was initially one that was going
to remain private between five friends and members of a mens
group. But it became clear as we spoke that the conversation
should be shared.


In the wake of George Floyd’s death, the protests in the USA and
UK and the explosion of views on social media many of us are
feeling the call to re-examine on our own views on race. As we
sat horrified and watched the graphic murder of George Floyd we
wondered how this was still possible in the world we live in?


And yet we can’t deny the stark truth that not only is it
possible but it is not unusual. In fact it’s commonplace for
black men, women and even children to be either victims or be
victimised by the very institutions that are supposed to protect
them.


For many, the video of George Floyd’s death woke them up to the
fact that we live in a society that is institutionally and
structurally racist and that we can’t pretend, anymore, that this
is not true.


But getting to the point where we see that truth is not easy. It
requires looking deeper at what is actually happening and
allowing the facts to cut through our own more beliefs about what
we thought was true. This is uncomfortable work and it requires
over coming our resistance to being wrong.


We thought we’d cracked racism. We thought we treated people
equally. We thought the world was one way but we were wrong and
we can’t just ignore it anymore.


Ostensibly, the conversation you’re about to hear is about why
it’s hard to talk about race and our own racial bias, why and how
we experience resistance and what work we, as white men, might do
about trying to create a world where we never have to see the
death of another George Floyd. But on another level - this
conversation is about how we change and how we grow, as
individuals and as a society.