Our member, Barbara VanHorssen, presented the program on Friday.  She started by outlining her background.  She grew up in Fruitport.  Her description of her life’s work has been working with marginalized populations.  Initially, she started working with women victimized by abuse.  From there she became the first director of Habitat for Humanity in Muskegon County.

 

                Next, she went to work in the Lutheran Church in a variety of areas including mission work.  The church association evolved into work with the LGBT community but loss of funding forced her to move on.  Ultimately, Barb has become the founder and current director of the Momentum Center and its focus on persons with physical, mental or emotional challenges.  Her focus is to empower persons with those challenges so that they can have a say in the communities in which they reside.  Much of her work has been with non-profits, where she finds her organizational skills and vision best utilized.

 

                Recently, she was a keynote speaker in a forum of Ottawa County leaders concerning diversity and inclusion, and it was her presentation from that forum which she offered to our club.

 

                Barb and many others believe there is a problem in this world with privilege, some people having it and others not.  While her view of privilege is not overt, it is a source of power through which people exert their biases and deemed superiority over others in forms such as racism, sexism, homophobism, etc.  Barb indicated that her approach to these issues was not political and those holding privilege in its many forms often do not recognize it because it is part of their life experiences starting at an early age.

 

                We were advised to listen to others, to try and understand life from their prospective; which is always sound advice.  Certainly, being judgmental is something to avoid.  The crux of the issue is the haves and have nots.  It is sometimes a goal of the have nots to effectuate change.  Unfortunately, to separate this from politics seems to be impossible.  Victimhood appears in society to sometimes be easily claimed and politically coopted and exploited, especially if a self-serving or sympathetic group claims their right to voice their own view of unfairness and exploitation.  

 

                There are no easy solutions to the perceived unfairness of society.  The list of things that comprise “privilege” probably is much longer than suggested to the extent that perspective might equally apply.  It is noted that “respect” and “opportunity” were not the topic of discussion.  Opportunity exists for many within and without privilege.  Respect is earned and is easily forfeited.  Perhaps the road to privilege is paved by what one does with his or her opportunities and whether those efforts generate the respect of others; while at the same time protecting the truly incapable who are challenged.  Efforts to expand the opportunities for those willing to respond to challenges appear to be a promising approach to bring people together.  The efforts of the Momentum Center help facilitate people with challenges.  Barb encourages all people, both privileged and challenged, to help our society be inclusive of all.