circasurvive

Creature Cast 005

Added 2020-06-25 16:28:32 +0000 UTC

UPDATE : after a lot of your suggestions to do so we are making this episode public but also now available to all Patrons. Thank you for the input as always, we love you. Feel free to share with anyone you feel would get something from it.

Hey all!

This is a very different episode. We recorded this on June 7th, about 2 weeks after the murder of George Floyd and what transpired was a very honest conversation about police brutality, systemic racism, the Black Lives Matter movement, white nationalism, American History and our personal roles as far as awareness and activism go. ( the conversation gets going around 14 mins in )

Nothing about this conversation is comfortable. It is essentially 5 white dudes awkwardly discussing the challenging process of dismantling privilege, educating ourselves, & unlearning false histories. There are parts of this conversation that will undoubtedly be cringy to some. These topics are not easy to talk about privately let alone in an open & vulnerable way on record. The amount of information we have learned just since this recording has taken place is in itself mind blowing. Our consciousness pertaining these matters is evolving rapidly and it's not possible to change without consistently staying open to the fact that you are probably wrong and that there is more to know.

So why are we even putting this out then you might ask... Good question... there are a few answers to that. We are by no means authorities on any of these matters and we are all individually in various phases of a lifelong process but our greatest hope in sharing this conversation was that it would encourage & empower any of you out there (especially those of you who are white) struggling with facing these issues and discussing them with those closest to you, to do so as well.

Why not have a black person or person of color on the podcast to balance out the conversation? Another good question. All too often people forget that asking someone to be on a podcast is also a form of asking for free labor to some degree. In a time where every white content creator is asking black people to come on and check their diversity box we didn't feel it would be appropriate to ask this of someone right now especially for our private podcast that is part of a for profit system. That said we absolutely would love for this type of conversation to occur & if it did would be interested in making sure that the energy exchange would be fair ( compensation be offered) as well as the conversation, shared publicly.

The other REALLY crucial part is that when we are talking about changing systemic racism against black people these are first and foremost conversations for non black people to be having with each other! It is not about asking a black person to come give their time and their mental, emotional energy to teach us basic things that they have been saying repeatedly for over a century. Besides, black people like all peoples ARE NOT A MONOLITH. You can't ask one black person to speak for all black people and this is not the time to be asking for guidance in that way from individuals. Now (and always really) is the time to read books, watch films, use google and have the hard conversations with your friends and family.

It should go without saying that this conversation extends out to all marginalized communities but we were focused on the Black Lives Matter movement as that is also where most of the collective consciousness is rightfully reflecting upon currently.

If you'd like to skip this episode I will give you the most important lesson that I believe we are all taking with us moving forward :

Don't let your fear of saying the wrong thing or being uninformed paralyze you into silent complacency.

We will not get it right all of the time and in fact most of the time there undoubtedly will be someone who completely disagrees with you and perhaps will set you straight or give you another perspective to consider. This is a good thing! This is a gift. The more open we remain to learning, the easier it is to change upon new & better information.

Some people will be distrusting and want to see your receipts where you donated... others will be critical of you for posting receipts because it seems like you want a cookie for "being good". Some people will tell you to "check in on your black and brown friends right now" while others will see this as a disingenuous expression of guilt looking for reassurance. Some people will criticize you for speaking rather than listening while others will see your listening as inactive indifference. There really is no one correct answer/protocol to any of these scenarios because saying that there is would neglect the concept of nuance and situationality. To every scenario there is a different answer to the question of what is appropriate and even then there is always room for dissent. The point is, this type of confusing discomfort & criticism just comes with the territory. If you're actually concerned about building a better world and being a true accomplice (ally) then it is best to take it all in stride.

Upon listening back to this conversation I found it super interesting that we never talk about what Circa's role is or has been. I think this is actually hugely positive thing in that it shows that we are recognizing the personal level of work that is required of us right now. Social justice has been a foundational part of who Circa Survive is but it's not enough for us to simply write songs, sell tshirts and donate to causes. Those things are important for sure but we are ALL being called to do more and this conversation is an indication of that. There is certainly always more that we can do as artists as well and we are having those conversations both with each other and with all of you. Always feel comfortable to talk to us about things of this nature, some of our most profound lessons have been graciously taught to us through conversations with you all.

Lastly there will not be a 2nd Creature Cast this month but I will be giving you all a previously unreleased podcast that I did with Esao back in October. My patrons are the only folks who have heard it already and I think you'll dig it. That pod, Quarantine Sessions #3 and another Level 4 vid will all be coming before the end of the month too.

Ok that is all. I can't tell you what an honor it is to be a part of this wonderful and mindful community.

We love you. xoxo Colin

Here are some of the resources & media that we have been taking in and some that we have mentioned in the conversation....

Books

How to Be Anti Racist - Ibram X. Kendi

Freedom Is A Constant Struggle - Angela Y. Davis

Just Mercy- Bryan Stevenson

A People's History Of The United States - Howard Zinn

Films/TV/Web

Why We Hate (Discovery series )

13th (click to watch for free on Youtube!)

Do Not Resist