Unleesh,
I read these words and found them very close to where I have been in life.
I have been around many types of people in my lifetime and am currently
working with a spinal injured man who has spent the last 20+ years in a
wheelchair. Before I met him (and I too have a disability, however I can
walk and run just fine), I never thought twice about simple things such as
turning off a light, scratching my back, driving my car, and many other
things. Now, even the simplest thing I do, even putting on my socks and
shoes, I appreciate the fact that I can do it. I will never know what it is
like to be John or to feel like him, and although we do not share the same
disability, I have come to understand him in a way and I share a part of
his struggle.
I will never know what it is like to be a person of color. Up until I left
home for college, I was not given the opportunity to meet people who were
different than me. Since then, I have lived with people of different color,
shared close friendships with people from diverse backgrounds, different
countries, languages, and religions. I have opened my mind to previously
unimaginable situations and experiences. But saying all this, I cannot say
that I would know what it like to live the lives of these diverse people or
to know what it is like to be considered stupid because you cannot speak
English well or many other things. I had a close friend from undergrad who
was/is African American named Susan. It was through her that I could see
the other side of racism, of discrimination, and glimpse of the person I
partly was before I went to college. I will never know what it is like to
be the victim of racism. And as socially conscious as I have struggled to
become, as well as realistic and objective as possible, I still remember
how upset I was when I witnessed Susan being treated differently. And I
realized I had and still have a long way to go in learning about how the
world works and about reality. She was realistic about it and shrugged her
shoulders, but I was angry. I do not understand what it is like to live her
life or to be her, although I am thankful I was given the opportunity to
know her and become familiar with what she had to deal with on an everyday
basis. My opportunity to learn this was her everyday life.
This did not come out as I wanted it to, but I hope some of the meaning is
expressed. And as Unleesh said so well, "That should never be understood as
an equivalency, but it is nevertheless important".
kimberly
----------
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> To: STUDIES IN WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENT <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: Molotovs and mailing lists
> Date: Monday, March 08, 1999 7:51 PM
>
> "Would people ever say that they knew how it felt to have no ability to
walk,
> if they were not so disabled?"
>
> Strictly speaking, phenomenologically, you are correct : we can never
fully
> know another's experience.
>
> However, I would say that someone who lived with such a disabled person,
was
> their companion, helper, friend, while not knowing precisely what the
struggle
> was like from the inside would nevertheless have a very good idea about
what
> the day-to-day struggle was ...
>
> We may not have a certain experience but we may be friends, lovers,
> companions, relatives with people who do, and depending on our level of
> involvement and empathy may have a rich understanding of the texture of
that
> experience.
>
> That should never be understood as an equivalency, but it is nevertheless
> important.
>
> (un)leash
