It's A Privilege
Welcome to "It's a Privilege," the podcast where we dive deep into the subtle and not-so-subtle privileges that shape our lives. Hosted by Jason Browne, inspired by his TEDx talk and forthcoming book "Possibilities of Privilege," this series explores how unearned advantages affect us all — from beauty and mental health to family backgrounds and geographical impacts.
Each episode, featuring a diverse lineup of guests from Rotary leaders to celebrities and activists, unpacks a different aspect of privilege and examines how it can be leveraged for positive change.
Join us for thought-provoking stories, expert insights, and a fresh perspective on the roles we play in a more equitable world. Tune in to challenge your views, discover unseen advantages, and learn how to use what you have for the greater good.
Available on all major podcast platforms and in video on Spotify and YouTube.
It's A Privilege
Privilege of Peace (Part 1 of 2): Shaping Global Peace with Lauren Coffaro
What is the privilege of peace? How does one trip to Egypt change ones perspective on peace around the world?
Welcome to Episode 9 of 'It's a Privilege', where we delve deep into the Privilege of Peace. In this episode, host Jason Browne is joined by Lauren Coffaro, a Rotary Peace Fellow and Interim Executive Director at Peace Jam Foundation, alongside powerful co-hosts Rebecca Force and Maurice Browne. Together, they explore the nuanced intersections of peace and privilege, sharing personal experiences and profound insights on how peace impacts our lives and societies.
From personal anecdotes to global perspectives, this episode challenges us to rethink what peace truly means and how we can foster it both within ourselves and in the wider world. Tune in to uncover the layers of peace and privilege with our thoughtful guests.
For more information about the host, go to www.thejasonbrowne.com
Check out the TEDx talk here: TEDx Possibilities of Privilege
Thanks you for being a part of the conversation.
Welcome to It's a Privilege podcast, where we explore the possibilities of our own privilege. This is Part One on the Privilege of Peace. On today's episode, our special guest is Lauren Coffaro. She's a Rotary Peace Fellow, a person who has managed international cultural diplomacy programs, and she's the interim executive director of the Peace Jam Foundation. we also have some amazing co-hosts. First we have Rebecca force, who was a force to be reckoned with in brand marketing and strategic communications. She's a storyteller and just an overall powerhouse of a human being. and second, we have Maurice Browne, previous radio DJ, TV anchor, actor, photographer, and he's the best dad on the planet. What can you expect on this episode? First, our crew is going to chat and explore the privilege of peace. and then we're going to hop into the privileged perspective with Lauren Coffaro and hear a story about how peace has impacted her life. And you're probably wondering to yourself, why is this background behind Jason? Well, because it's peace. full. Okay. Let's, let's just hop into the podcast. To get us started, let's check in on our own privilege. All right. We start off every show in the same way. what is one privilege that you are feeling today? Let's start with you, Rebecca. One privilege you're feeling
Rebecca Force:I got a haircut today. And, I've lived the life of a starving artist so I felt the privilege of being able to afford this amazing
Jason Browne:haircut. Okay. All right. It looks nice.
Rebecca Force:Thank you. Thank
Jason Browne:I dig it. I dig it, dad. Did you get a hic? Oh, I'm
Maurice Browne:of it. Oh. Uh,
Rebecca Force:did too.
Jason Browne:dad,
Rebecca Force:did. Yeah. Yeah.
Maurice Browne:it. Yeah,
Jason Browne:is one privilege that you're feeling today dad? driving up here, leaving Philadelphia I felt a privilege watching on the way here, people who couldn't afford, say a car, and I'm and I'm driving up there in a nice car and people that couldn't afford it, or had
Maurice Browne:Had less than a nice car traveling from point A to point B. So I feel a privilege to that. I'm able to do this and they're not able to do that.
Jason Browne:All right. that's a really solid privilege dad. so let's just hop into the conversation about peace. P E A C E. Like when I say the word peace, how does that connect to you?
Maurice Browne:does
Rebecca Force:I think about this company, they're called What's Your they have these bracelets that they'll come to your home or if you're having a party and they'll bring their team and they're actually very peaceful, their energy is really calming, but you go and you meet with them and you just talk about what's going on in your life, not too deep, but they ask you, so what's your word? What's that word you want to be reminded of? And if you look down at your wrist and it's there, it will help ground you. And I said in my session with them, I can't pick a word, but that phrase, that riff, that Lauren Hill sings, I got to find peace of mind. I got to find peace of mind. And I said, I love the phrase of like peace of mind. So they, on my bracelet coin, they embossed peace of mind. So when you say to me, peace, P E A C E, I think peace of mind.
Jason Browne:So, the actual opposite spelling of peace, piece of mind, is it peace of mind? How is it spelled on the wrist?
Rebecca Force:p e a c e
Jason Browne:Oh, it is
Rebecca Force:Yes, because i'm not giving a piece of my mind, it's a settling of thoughts. It is a grounding of energy. It's a calmness
Jason Browne:All right, dad, what do you think? When I say peace, what does that mean to you?
Maurice Browne:Well, I look at it a different way. I'm looking at world peace and all the conflicts, which are going on around the world have to do with privilege. And that's what I think are causing the conflicts. You know, people are having a problem either accepting the fact that they can't have total privilege over others. And that's what causes the conflict. And you have different nationalities, different countries. and when it happens on a global scale to a huge extent is when you have a war, a world war. Otherwise you have little, little wars here and there, but it has to do with privilege. How much someone is able to accept how much privilege somebody else can have. And some people can accept it. Others can't.
Jason Browne:So when you say privilege as it relates to war and conflict, there's a lot of layers to that. privilege of what, money, power, water, resources, French fries. Like, what is it related to that, that
Maurice Browne:Well, it depends on the country and it's usually all the above, you know, people have, you know, privilege as to, we had a place in the city and in the country where, you know, somebody had clear water. The town had clear water. Other parts did not. And there was a privilege there. You have a privilege, whether someone has access to, different resources around the world, whether it's just water is a major one. It could be food could be another one. Whether someone has access to that or not, somebody doesn't want to give it up. I think that's a major problem in the United States. Somebody doesn't want to give up the privilege that they have. You know, people are clawing more for equality and people don't want to give it to them. And so you have a conflict and usually those who have it have power and sometimes military power and that causes problems and it causes death.
Jason Browne:Okay. So we have this idea of conflict and war broadly. And then we also have this idea of this internal reflection of peace. how do you connect those two, especially as you, you might not have it on right now, but how do you connect it, connect those two, when you look down at your wrist.
Rebecca Force:Just listening to what you're saying, I think about the people who have the privilege to make the decisions to start wars, to have the military backing, and this younger generation, I feel like everyone is just aspiring to always do better. And there's always this race for millionaire status or even billionaire status. But sometimes those higher positions come with a persona that lacks peace internally. And because of that, they're not looking to have peace externally. They're not looking to have the war settled. You know, we hear this kind of rhetoric. In government speech with politicians where they say we don't negotiate We will come for you. We will strike back, even that kind of rhetoric comes from a heart that lacks peace. So I do think there is a direct connection to the two
Maurice Browne:I think a major issue as far as equality has to do with education. And the less education you have, the more likely it is that you are in a different status, a different category, different class. And I think in some instances, People don't want you to have an education because they want to maintain the level of superiority that they have. whether it's with the job, whether it's with money. and so that's the kind of privilege that some folks want to have. They want to have the privilege of having a college education, a PhD, or just being a CEO. and don't want Other groups to infringe upon that particular status in class. and that's a problem which we have to solve.
Jason Browne:So in your case, though, like you're saying that other people are for whatever reason, for many reasons, largely negative roots, create situations that prevent others from finding peace. But what I'm hearing from you, Rebecca, is that like, there's an opportunity to still find peace internally, regardless of what is happening on the outside. There's a, there's a chance to at least. Seek after that. So dad, with all of these things that you see happening around the world, how do you find peace for yourself regardless of what's happening? Or can you not find peace regardless of whatever's happening.
Maurice Browne:I think you have to find peace or you'll go insane, You have to find,
Rebecca Force:You have to find a
Maurice Browne:You have to find a way to accept reality. That you cannot be on equal status with everybody. That again, what somebody else considers a privilege you may not and you have to accept, I can't get to this level, but I'm going to move forward. So maybe my siblings can and my children can
Jason Browne:Be more specific dad. Would you give me an example of what you're talking about?
Maurice Browne:in my particular case, most of the things that I've sought after, I've achieved, you know, I wanted to be a TV anchor, I became an anchor, I wanted to be in radio, I did whatever I wanted to do on radio in major cities,
Jason Browne:You wanted to be a dad and you became a dad. That's me. Uh, go ahead.
Maurice Browne:But, you know, say I wanted to get a bigger house, there are some things I can't get because I don't have the money to get a mansion. And the reason why you can't get there, I have good education, have my master's degree, et cetera. But, there are certain things that I can't attain. I can't be a CEO, for various reasons. It depends on the category, of course. but you have to have peace accepting what you already have and move forward on that, knowing that you can only get so far. You can try as much as you want. Some people are successful, but you have to look at the possibility that you won't be.
Rebecca Force:I hear, I hear what you're saying, Mr. Browne, about expectations that may not ever be able met, or aspirations that cannot be reached. And so, you must Find a kind of peace or settlement within yourself. But I also would look at not even having that desire to want the mansion. And having a certain level of peace to know, actually when you say, You're spying for a mansion. What you're saying is you really want to pay 3, 000 a month for landscaping. Seriously, those bushes don't cut themselves. They don't get into the squares by themselves. That's a team, right? So you're saying instead of vacationing, I would rather have a pristine lawn or I want to also support a staff with enough incomes that they can support their family. So they only work at my mansion. There are just so many layers to owning. These dreams that many people have, and I challenge myself personally to look deeper into the piece of, I don't even want that because that's not something that I have the bandwidth to handle. I don't have the capacity to manage a household staff or make sure that I even find a landscaper. I probably wouldn't know I need one until the grass is too long. And my neighbors are like texting me, do you know what I mean? So that, that's what I was thinking when he. When you were talking about the mansion, I was thinking, no, nobody wants that. I don't want that . I don't want that. Unless you have a team. I don't, I don't want that.
Maurice Browne:uh, in my particular case, you have to figure what is valuable in life. You know, value in life is family for me first, you know, my wife and have two children. That's the priority. and then you have to say, okay, you have enough income. You have enough resources at least. And I mentioned a mansion, but I don't want a mansion for those reasons you
Rebecca Force:deal out of it, you know
Maurice Browne:cut the lawn enough and I don't want to
Rebecca Force:and
Maurice Browne:I don't like doing that. so I'm happy with having a home. Happy having the family and that's what's important. You know, having a billion dollars, it'd be nice to have it, but That's the new God to me in America is money. I'd like to have it, but I, it's not a necessity, you know, having enough to support the family to have enough to, to live your life comfortably is enough for me. and so I'm at peace with that. And a lot of things that I have, a lot of people do not have, and that's what you call privilege. At least that's my interpretation of privilege. People who don't have the opportunity of taking care of their family because they don't have the income, they don't have the education, who can't have decent shelter, they live in homes on the street, which is now illegal in many states, including California. and so I'm happy with what I have. And a lot of people I think would die for some of the privileges that I do have, and that is inequality. And that's what exists not only in America, not in New York city, but around the world. And that's what causes the problems.
Jason Browne:So we all don't want a mansion. I get it. That, that's, that's clear. Okay. So I'm kind of curious before we hop into the privileged perspective and we hear some of the stories, about peace, what does peace mean to you? What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it feel like?
Rebecca Force:Smells a little bit like Captain Crunch. Ooh. Mm-Hmm.. Mm-Hmm.. Okay.
Jason Browne:Actually, I can get on board
Rebecca Force:Yeah. A little bit like Captain Crunch. Yeah, that's a good one. what does it look like? It looks like contentment. It looks like deep joy that can't be removed, and it looks like positive outlooks no matter what's happening. I saw, an Instagram video today that said, please don't be obnoxiously happy all the time. It's very annoying and no one believes it. And I love that. It's true. It's not happy all the time, but it may be, it, it will still be at peace all the time. peace for me looks like, you know, my father says you can't worry and pray, you know, so peace to me looks like faith, family for sure. Okay. And boundaries, you know, and sometimes boundaries are put up with family and that's, that's tough to do. but that leads to, health, mental health, physical health, spiritual health. So those are the things that peace means for me.
Jason Browne:What does peace mean for you?
Maurice Browne:Peace to me basically means accepting reality and living with it, being comfortable with it, regardless of your status, regardless of your health, being able to accept reality and living with it, and that gives you peace of mind and gives you, my reality, peace.
Jason Browne:The interesting thing about what you just said is that you're bringing up this fine line between acceptance and complacency when it to peace. But before we dive back into that, let's hop into the privileged perspective. With Lauren Cafaro, she works in peace around the world. So let's see what she has to say. And we'll be back.
Lauren Coffaro:you know, my journey with peace really started when I was a child and I grew up with a brother who has very severe special needs and so I grew up in the disability community and really my fundamental. Identity as I was raised was as a mediator because I saw so many people in our daily life and interactions in the community in public places where they were scared of my brother, or they really didn't understand, disability or people who are different from them. And that kind of became this driver, in my life.
Jason Browne:even if it's brief, Do you actually have a moment? Do you recall that you had to be the mediator? can you speak to, like, a moment where you were just, like, I had to be the one to find I had to find peace in this situation.
Lauren Coffaro:I'll give you a light hearted one. so my brother had very severe special needs and when we would go out into the community, we would navigate as a family, the dynamic of how people, interacted with him or were fearful of him. And I was the oldest daughter, so I often felt a lot of responsibility for helping to diffuse the situations. There's one specific moment that I remember that's actually looking back kind of comical, but we went to the grocery store and I think my dad was running down an aisle to grab something. my brother just took off sprinting and we basically turned around and he's disappeared in the grocery store and we're all kind of freaking out. We split up, we're running around like, where could he have gone? He couldn't have gone so far. And so, run down an aisle and I find him in an empty checkout aisle, absolutely like pounding chocolate bars, like ripping open. Hershey's chocolate bars as quickly as he can and shoving into his mouth. I mean he was gone for like 30 seconds and he probably ate 10 chocolate bars and not only that that he ripped up all these things that we hadn't purchased but he was covered in chocolate and so I just have this memory of having to like get him up off the ground grab all the chocolate bars and then like go through the grocery store and navigate like Finishing shopping and checking out and explaining to, you know, the person at the checkout or the people we were passing, waiting in line, like that, he, you know, why, why this person would act like this, you know, why, he is the way he is and kind of diffusing the situation, right. To make light of it, even something that was really stressful or potentially embarrassing. so that was really kind of what formed my feeling as. A mediator and somebody who really wanted people to understand my brother and in general, like people to be understood And I had a very like suburban upbringing, but when I went to university. I got the opportunity to go to Egypt and it was my freshman year and I think I was really floored because at that time there were a lot of conversations, happening about the Middle East and there was conflict, war happening at that time and I got to see A very human side of young people who were in my position, who are from all across this region and from Egypt. And I also, started to see this parallel between conflicts that were going on, and just a lack of understanding of others. I started to see you can put yourself in someone else's shoes and really understand where they're coming from their culture, their background, how does that shift how you act, how you interact?
Jason Browne:So when you said when you went to the Middle East, you said there was a very human side. Can you dig into that a little bit?
Lauren Coffaro:So one of the, one of the moments that really stands out, to me from that trip to Egypt is that I got to stay in the home of a family in Giza and I spent three days with this family and cooked with them and, you know, shared a room with them and a life and a routine. And one day the daughter who was my age, she took me to the local mall and this is not just a normal mall. This is a very. Fancy mall. I mean, you imagine the fanciest, high end shopping experience that you've been to in the U S and you multiply that by 10 and going to this mall is just an experience. and yes, like seeing that mall and the grandeur, there was a side of Egypt I hadn't yet seen. But what really struck me is when we got to the mall, We walked up to the entrance and we didn't go inside and we started walking around the side of the mall and I said to my host sister, why can't we go into the mall at this entrance? This is the closest one to your house. And she said, no, we're not allowed to go in this entrance because this entrance is just for, Saudis and like international folks who are basically being pulled up in black cars and dropped off. It's a VIP entrance to the mall. So she is a local person and she doesn't even really have access to these spaces. I think it just really, turned all my preconceptions about the Middle East on their head. I started to see a lot of the, Subtleties and differences in all of the countries and cultures, the way that they also have different kind of power dynamics between them. and that inspired me actually to go on to study Arabic and to learn more about that region of the world. something that was really unique about this exchange is that it wasn't just a group of Americans going to Egypt, there actually were young adults from 14 different countries in the Middle East and North Africa. And so I got to spend two weeks alongside peers who are my age, who are coming from so many different countries across the region. And something that really surprised me is also the way that they had a lot of preconceptions about each other. both positive Stereotypes and negative ones that they held against different countries and, you know, what that meant about their. Kind of status or the careers they would pursue or their personalities or the way they spoke the language and seeing this level of subtlety in the differences between all these people who are my peers from different countries when. From the U. S. This region was just painted as a monolith and also painted as a region that was deeply affected by war, which in some areas it was and still continues to be, but there's so much diversity and I rose. There's so little understanding of all of these, very different, rich and deep backgrounds and belief systems in this region. And it was that, that really inspired me to personally learn more and understand more, but also have this spark of realization that, so much conflict has come from just a real lack of understanding of others and a lack of respect for difference. this led me to this idea of diplomacy, of cultural diplomacy, of if you can live another life to put yourself in someone else's shoes, like how could the world transform and how could we prevent conflict? and that was kind of the basis of My journey as a peace builder, I was really lucky to find Rotary and you and I are both in the Rotary world, and get to connect with other people from other countries who had, a very shared and similar interest, and was really fortunate that Rotary invested. In me as a, to get my master's in peace education and peace and conflict resolution. I think that's when everything shifted, like everything fell into place. for me as a Rotary Peace Fellow, I got to study what is at the heart of conflict. What is peace? I don't know if you're familiar with this concept of positive peace. So, positive peace is the idea that peace is holistic. Often when we're talking about peace, we talk about negative peace. So how do we end this war? How do we have a ceasefire? How do we get people to put down arms? And obviously that's critically important, but peace is so much more than that. When you talk about positive peace, you're talking about the presence of social justice. You're talking about the conditions in a society, in a country so that people can live with dignity. And so really understanding what does that look like? What does it look like to have a peaceful society? What does it look like to have peace within myself, within my home, within my country? That's the basis of peace education. And I believe it's so critically important because we have to learn and study what peace is or envision what peace would look like to us in our homes and our community in order to have any chance of creating it, building towards it. And I think what's interesting about it is it's hard to convince people that it's urgent and it's also, very difficult to measure because how can you, account for all of the conflicts that didn't happen? Or how can you account for, if you train somebody in how to be peaceful in their interactions, in their life, how can you account for all the times that they diffused a situation or navigated a conflict in a way that didn't result in violence? But I believe it's like really the only way that we can secure a more peaceful future for our world is teaching the next generation, what peace is. And so now that's my whole life day in and day out. I live peace education. I work for a nonprofit that trains young people as peace builders, all around the world. And I have the great privilege of getting to work with some young people who are fired up because they know the world needs to change. And they just need the tools and the support and the confidence to make the change happen.
Jason Browne:do you have a recent? situation or moments when you had to still be the mediator and then you had to put on, put all of this to work.
Lauren Coffaro:there's so many, but it's like, like, what's mine to share. That's always the, you know, with our young people, we say like, what's said here, stays here, what's learned here, leaves here. And I'm in a lot of spaces with people where there's real, You know, real heart wrenching moments and the real hardships and vulnerability and so thinking about what's mine to share.
Jason Browne:I deeply appreciate the fact you're being sensitive to that. this is again, from your perspective and you honoring and respecting where the people that you work with, which is related to peace and of itself is, is only super appropriate. So like, thank you for doing that. So yeah, that's all good.
Lauren Coffaro:So in my work now, I work with young people who want to change the world and they're looking for the tools, the space, and the communities to help them be ready to be a change maker to make a lasting impact on the lives of those around them. One of the most meaningful events I've gotten to organize in my work is a summit for youth survivors of gun violence, and we brought them together in Costa Rica and something that was really central to the space that We tried to create was that we were treating these young people as whole people, and we weren't coming in with an agenda, like you suffered through, devastating experience Now we're not trying to, you know, make you into like a picture for the cause because they were getting a lot of that in their lives. and don't get me wrong. These are people who really want to make a change and they're already actively engaged in activism. But what I realized that we could create that no one else could was, like this safe and brave space to. Where they can show up as whole people and just support each other and be supported in the way that they need. And I think that goes back to this idea, of recognizing the fundamental value of every human being. And that peace building is a whole person process. It starts with the inner peace that moves to the outer piece. And so that's now my approach. Whenever I work with young people, whenever they say, I want to make a difference in the world in this way, we start with, how are we creating space for you first to be whole and sustained coming into this work.
Jason Browne:And that's where we're going to end it for part one on the privilege of peace. While you're waiting for part two, go to our social media at privilege pod on all platforms. And let us know some of your thoughts on how privilege of peace impacts your life. Thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing. And of course, it's a privilege.
