You're last post had me thinking a lot about people and categories. And, I feel like many times categories only serve to distance us from each other. For instance, we categorize friends as liberals or conservatives and then extrapolate from that their opinions on a constellation of topics. Perhaps, it would be better to have a conversation about how you and I feel about government aid for teen moms, regulation of environmental threats, and foreign policy in North Korea specifically rather than having a conversation where you and I represent the stances of our political affiliations to each other. A conversation where I don't assume I know what you're going to say before you say it.
Categories make for assumptions.
It's human nature to want to categorize people. And we often don't get the opportunity to know many people on a deep level, but we also don't need to insist on knowing people shallowly. I've been having a lot of conversations on gun control lately, and regrettably I got preemptively angry about a position I thought the other person would take. And that's just not the way to be a considerate human being.
I know everyone and their dog has ragged on the song "Accidental Racist" lately, so I'll keep it brief. The song is weird to me, because it represents two very large groups narrowly. It carries too many assumptions, cowboys and gangsters have many things in addition to race that complicate their relationship--rural vs. city life, economics, religion, family structure, education, pop culture. You can't categorize white and black people into categories that small.
And honestly, LL Cool J, do-rags and gold chains are frightening. They're also race neutral. They're not necessarily the paraphernalia of gang violence, domestic abuse, and drug dealing, but they certainly don't conjure images of involved fathers, the value of education, or compassionate service. Truthfully, no one I admire wears a do-rag. And truthfully, I've also never had a conversation with someone who wears one. So I guess that's my ironic admission that some categories are really hard to overcome.
And honestly, I feel justified in that category. I feel like it wouldn't be smart not to be wary of someone dressed like a thug. (Please, tell me I'm being close-minded in the comments if you feel like that's the case. Or that do-rags aren't the same as thug culture. I grew up in suburbia, so I'll be the first to admit I don't really know what I'm talking about.)
I dunno, Amanda. I don't know how to treat people. I try to treat them like myself, which is the Elementary School answer, but that's obviously pretty terrible advice when you go around thinking everyone should think and believe as you do.
The Other:n. a remarkably difficult concept to embrace with grace and compassion, acknowledging differences in preference and custom without derision or vilification.
Have a great weekend,
Steph
Ever have a time when your preconceptions made you act like an idiot?
No comments:
Post a Comment