Assignment for Thursday, Nov. 2
So we'll re-read, with great care, 110-127.
I learned from our discussion today, and I am grateful to you all for that.
There is no simple solution to these things.
(As in the example: If I insist on "Dr. Campolo," I help prop up several forms of harmful power, and I benefit from them. If I insist on "Chris," I help prop up several forms of harmful power, and I benefit from them.)
If in some ways our "domains" are so intertwined that any move in mine shapes the possible moves in yours, and vice versa, then we may constantly be fighting for what we each think of as the domain-respect due us. (I think that that was Anna's point.) And if that's possible, then it may be that there is a constant anger, often submerged, but always there, and justified.
I got nothing for that. I very strongly feel the pull of the idea that I can ultimately only reduce the pain I cause by going away. Even such a (wholesome) separatism is an exercise of power. So is doing nothing.
Gloomy. But there are conversations that can illuminate small parts of the jam we're in, and they can get us in the habit of being more self-aware. And more insistent on goodness.
Just my thoughts. I feel like there were so many good thoughts today that only got touched upon. I would be really glad to see any elaborations of them, or new thoughts, here.
I learned from our discussion today, and I am grateful to you all for that.
There is no simple solution to these things.
(As in the example: If I insist on "Dr. Campolo," I help prop up several forms of harmful power, and I benefit from them. If I insist on "Chris," I help prop up several forms of harmful power, and I benefit from them.)
If in some ways our "domains" are so intertwined that any move in mine shapes the possible moves in yours, and vice versa, then we may constantly be fighting for what we each think of as the domain-respect due us. (I think that that was Anna's point.) And if that's possible, then it may be that there is a constant anger, often submerged, but always there, and justified.
I got nothing for that. I very strongly feel the pull of the idea that I can ultimately only reduce the pain I cause by going away. Even such a (wholesome) separatism is an exercise of power. So is doing nothing.
Gloomy. But there are conversations that can illuminate small parts of the jam we're in, and they can get us in the habit of being more self-aware. And more insistent on goodness.
Just my thoughts. I feel like there were so many good thoughts today that only got touched upon. I would be really glad to see any elaborations of them, or new thoughts, here.
It's just hard to talk about this stuff in the way I want to talk about it. If I had to guess, I would say my brain works very analytically and does not approach discourse from an emotional perspective. This isn't to say I am incapable of empathy because I choose to discuss things in the purview of logical understanding. This also isn't to say that this way of thinking is superior to another. I want to be clear in that the things I say in class are to exercise and perturb my own philosophical understanding and do not necessarily reflect my currently held beliefs. I will do better to approach subjects with a more open mind and I hope others will do so as well.
ReplyDeleteIn some sense, the ability to approach discourse from an analytical perspective is an act of privilege. Not everyone has the ability to do that as discourse is so heavily rooted in the emotion and impact that years of oppression, sexism, racism, etc. have on people. That's not your fault that you don't necessarily have an emotional attachment to the discourse, but not everyone is able to do that and I think that's important to recognize.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts. I keep thinking about Amy's point, which I took to be: If anger calls up several tasks and issues to be dealt with, it very much matters which order we take them in--and who gets to say which order we take them in. Perhaps someone wants to deal with the transgression claim first, and someone else wants first to deal with the pain and injury first. Etc. The choice of how to proceed is gendered.
DeleteI also take the point discussed by Katie and Reed and Erika: empathy is both invoked and necessarily limited. You understanding my pain to some degree is important--you really feeling my pain may be impossible. It's complicated.