I speak off the cuff and openly and honestly about an issue that has been brewing for a while now. I only ask one question in this rambling podcast. I guess I've reached a limit of sorts.
Not knowing the specifics here, I'll venture that "enough" means doing whatever we're able, to make an undesirable situation no longer exist. Privilege means 1.) Having the allowance of choice, and then, 2.) Choosing to be comfortable while others suffer. I've been chastised for saying that I'm not comfortable with putting controversial bumper stickers on my car because I don't want it to get damaged. That stung...because the truth is that I *do* get to have the choice of whether or not to put my opinion out there publicly. Yet, the necks of others *are* already out there simply because of the color of their skin, their religion, their nationality, etc. Those people are fighting battles some of us will never *have* to face...unless we choose to do concrete things (i.e., speaking up and out, marching, writing letters, funding, volunteering, etc.) to help. The phrase, "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" comes to mind. We can choose to be "uncomfortable" by putting ourselves out there...or by living with the uncomfortable truth that we may not be doing as much as we think (or as we *should*)...OR by denying that we have any culpability, responsibility, or ability to change the situation at hand. Now, as far as the arbiter/s, only WE can gauge what we possess-vs-what we can give. Frankly, most of us (myself included) don't do nearly enough about *most* of the injustices out there. No one can tell me if I've done "enough" about anything...but I *do* need to be honest with myself about that question. We can rationalize our inaction as self-care, self-protection, limited time or resources...whatever. But honesty with ourselves, and accurate assessment of our own efforts, is the first step. That in itself may help us identify what (concrete) step/s of support (if any) we've taken, and whether we can, indeed, do "more"... - DT
Not knowing the specifics here, I'll venture that "enough" means doing whatever we're able, to make an undesirable situation no longer exist. Privilege means 1.) Having the allowance of choice, and then, 2.) Choosing to be comfortable while others suffer. I've been chastised for saying that I'm not comfortable with putting controversial bumper stickers on my car because I don't want it to get damaged. That stung...because the truth is that I *do* get to have the choice of whether or not to put my opinion out there publicly. Yet, the necks of others *are* already out there simply because of the color of their skin, their religion, their nationality, etc. Those people are fighting battles some of us will never *have* to face...unless we choose to do concrete things (i.e., speaking up and out, marching, writing letters, funding, volunteering, etc.) to help. The phrase, "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" comes to mind. We can choose to be "uncomfortable" by putting ourselves out there...or by living with the uncomfortable truth that we may not be doing as much as we think (or as we *should*)...OR by denying that we have any culpability, responsibility, or ability to change the situation at hand. Now, as far as the arbiter/s, only WE can gauge what we possess-vs-what we can give. Frankly, most of us (myself included) don't do nearly enough about *most* of the injustices out there. No one can tell me if I've done "enough" about anything...but I *do* need to be honest with myself about that question. We can rationalize our inaction as self-care, self-protection, limited time or resources...whatever. But honesty with ourselves, and accurate assessment of our own efforts, is the first step. That in itself may help us identify what (concrete) step/s of support (if any) we've taken, and whether we can, indeed, do "more"... - DT
ReplyDeleteI thought you were talking about The Fabulous Thunderbirds. They were pretty fabulous, you know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcXT1clXc04
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