Sandi L. Boucher (Red Thunderbolt woman of the Loon clan, Seine River First Nation) presents a short vlog arguing that a particular mindset she calls the "white male enemy"—people (often white men) who assume their perspective is the universal truth—undermines relationships and policy. She uses the "back-to-back" teaching and the medicine wheel metaphor to explain how diverse perspectives, especially Indigenous voices, are needed to "untie the ropes" and build bridges between communities. The piece urges successful white men to recognize their valid but limited viewpoint and to listen to marginalized and Indigenous perspectives.
Chapters
True story. I just let out the biggest sigh when I realized the topic of this blog post and therefore this video. Today we got to talk about the white male enemy. And I'm not just talking about Caucasian men. I'm talking specifically about the group that I call the white male enemy. Let's talk about it, Sam. Hi everybody. I'm Sandy Boucher, Red Thunderbolt woman of the Loon clan. I'm a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario. And today we gotta talk about those problematic people. And in this case they are so often white men. I wanted to say successful white men. But challenged, impoverished white men can be a real issue too. Here's what I'm talking about. You probably heard me, if you follow my work for any length of time, you've heard me talk about the back to back teaching where two people stand back to back and they look around the room and in turn each one acknowledges that they can see so much of that room. But there's one part they're absolutely blind to, absolutely oblivious to them. And that's the part that's directly in front of their partner. That's obvious to the other person. That's the power of diversity. That's why I work so hard to get non indigenous people to talk to indigenous people. Because you literally cannot see things from our perspective. But if we can figure out a way to work together, together that changes and we both benefit. Remember that image of being tied together that's in the opening video on my YouTube channel? Well, that's how we break those ropes that tie us down as a country. By working together and actually hearing from the other one. When someone says there's a threat coming, we can't hear. Well, I don't see it. We know you can't see it. That's why we're telling you. But if you don't believe us, and we're never getting out of this, the white male enemy. And I'm certain there's women that are like this too. I'm just running way more men like this who believe what they see, we all see. They believe their truth is the truth, that their perspective is the same perspective as everyone else. And worse, if we don't see it the same as them, it's because we're not educated enough, not experienced enough, or not smart enough to see what they see. It is very condescending, it is very patronizing and it burns bridges. It doesn't build them. What I need you to understand. And I mean, guess what? If You're a successful white male and you have a perspective based on years of experience. Your. It's valid. It's absolutely valid. And it might apply to all of the successful white men that are like you. But there's a very minimal chance that it's going to be the same perspective I have, or that a woman has, or any marginalized person has, a newcomer has. And that's okay. Your perspective is valid, but so is ours. I don't know if you've ever seen the medicine wheel. It's a symbol, a teaching tool we use. And it's divided into four colors. And the colors represent the colors of man. And the teaching is that it's not until we come together and share our teachings, that's when we bring the world together. You need our perspective and we need yours. Both are valid. Both are needed to untie those ropes and to bring this country together. But as long as there are people out there that believe they know it all and it's our fault if we don't see it that way, we're burning bridges, not building them. The indigenous perspective is needed. I have met the most amazingly powerful wise elders. My mom, who had a grade four education and was dismissed for not having anything valid to say. But I was smart enough to listen. And I'm hoping that you're smart enough to listen too. So there you have it, my friend. A week of hard hitting blog posts and videos. And I hope in true lightning bolt style, I wasn't subtle. I'm Red Thunderbolt Woman. I don't do subtle. But I hope it helped you understand. And I hope you stick around for next week's videos. Until then, I love you. Take care. Bye Bye.
