Sandi L Boucher (Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, Seine River First Nation) explains the idea of a personal/cultural "lens"—the accumulated experiences, teachings, and perceptions that shape how we see others—and uses a back-to-back metaphor to show how any one person only sees part of a situation. She invites viewers to reflect by answering a set of personal questions (What is beautiful to you? What scares you? What frustrates you? What inspires you? What empowers you? What fills you with calm? What makes you feel grateful?) and links Peggy McIntosh’s "Privilege and Power: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" quiz as a tool to imagine another person’s perspective and to explore privilege. She asks viewers to post answers in the comments and provides the quiz link in the video notes.
Chapters
Now, if you've spent any time on my channel, you know I am a huge Ed Mylett fan and he uses this quote. He says, you are hyper addicted to your own lens. I want to discuss that today because to me, your lens is exciting. Let's talk about it. Hi everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario, Canada. And today we're talking about lens. And you've heard me talk about cultural lens. If you've checked out several of my videos, it is the lens we literally look at the world through, which is so much easier for me to explain to people now that I have to wear glasses. Your lens is made up of everything you've seen and heard, the things you've been taught and the things you've experienced. It is often at the root of our stereotypes or even our prejudices and our discriminations. We see someone who reminds us of someone in the background or in our past and that has tinted our lens. Now, that would be the negative way, looking at your cultural lens. But I like thinking of the back to back teaching and you've heard me talk about this one a million times. Two people stand back to back in the middle of the room. You get both of them to look around without moving from their place. They're both going to see so much of the room. But there's one part they're absolutely blind to and that happens to be the part right in front of the person they're standing back to back with. So when we are in a room or in a meeting or in a conversation, it is really helpful to remember we can only see part of the room. And the other people in the room, especially if they have different experiences or different backgrounds, can offer us a perspective not to be difficult and but to allow us to see the entire room. If you serve a diverse population, it really helps to have diverse perspectives in that meeting or planning area. So today I was wondering. I'm curious. It is one of the reasons I do the work I do. I have always been fascinated at hearing other people's stories. When I lived in Toronto and I would meet people they grew up in, in homes, on the streets, in Toronto, coming from a very small northern Ontario town, that is not an experience I had when they were Talking about being 6, 7 and 8 on the subway system. Just amazing. But I love hearing people's stories. So I have some questions for you because I want to learn your perspective. So I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I would really, really love it if you put your answers in the comments. Honestly, got a really good chance of making my day. So here. And there's no way you can get these questions wrong because what I'm asking is your perspective on some pretty neat things. So, first question is, what is beautiful to you? If I asked you to tell me about something you thought was beautiful, something, someone, whatever the case may be, what would you tell me? And why do you think that's beautiful? Okay, so the first question, what is beautiful and why? The second question, what scares you and why? And it's really important to know if you're trying to work with someone or be in a relationship with someone. So what scares you and why? The third question, we might have some fun with the answers here. What frustrates you and why? You know what I mean? It's that first thing that popped into your head. What frustrates you and why? Next. What inspires you and why? What inspires you to try harder, to do more, to reach higher, whatever the case may be. What inspires you and why? Next. What empowers you? It makes you believe in you and your potential. What empowers you and why? Next. What fills you with calm? It helps you just destress. What fills you with calm and why? Next. I think it's the last one. What makes you feel grateful and why? What fills you with just gratitude and why? Now, I would love to hear your answers. And you know what? As I was going through this, it reminded me of Peggy McIntosh's unpacking the invisible Suitcase quiz. That would be a perfect example of trying to see what it would be like for someone else. Hang on, let me get the quiz and I'll explain to you what I mean. Okay, so now I have the quiz. As I mentioned, it's the Privilege and Power Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack quiz by Peggy McIntosh. And normally you do this quiz to help you determine your level of privilege. That's not how we're using it today. Today I want you to imagine that other perspective, that person you're back to back with. So, for example, the first one is, I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. Now, if you're Canadian and you identify as such, then it's really easy to be in the company of Canadians. But if you identify with a marginalized group, it may not be as easy. So imagine what life would be like if you can't be around people that are like you on a regular basis. Now you start to understand the increase in anxiety, the increase in nervousness. Maybe they don't come across as as confident. They might be confident. It's the environment they're reacting to. Do you see my point? So the second one would be if I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or pur housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live. Now, a lot of impoverished people out there. A lot of people that probably can't afford to move, let alone buy a house. And if they could buy a house, questionable if it could be or if it would be in an area where they would want to live. But imagine the comfort, the security you would feel if you could do that. This is not about judgment. This is about understanding that people have different lives and different paths. Often those paths are set before they were born by the people that are their parents. But that doesn't make us good or bad, it just makes us different. It's the judgment that's burning the bridges, not our life paths. So once again, I am going to attach the quiz. I'll put the link into the notes under this video. Check it out and remember, it's not only about determining your privilege, but what would it be like to walk in their shoes until tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed this video. Don't forget to answer the questions I asked in the comments below. I can't wait to hear how things look from your perspective. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye bye.
