Monday, May 24, 2010

multicultural and diversity...my lack of awareness

People are hated; people hate themselves; people hate others

Each week after reading through the assigned articles for my ethics class I am overwhelmed with the question, “Can I do this work?” I am reminded of the accountability that this profession asks of me. To not only reflect on my own personal experiences but also the core of how I have come to believe certain things of God, humanity, and myself.

Just the other night, my husband and I were having a conversation with a bi-racial couple over the word nigger. Even typing the word is uncomfortable for me. I was beyond grateful that we were able to have a conversation, as I gained insight with my friends. Yet in the moment I realized how I had not embraced and recognized my friend’s black identity. I suppose I could say that I had a sobering moment where our differences were acknowledge. Though I can say that our differences of skin color and all the experiences that come with that has never gotten in the way of our friendship, I see my failure in not recognizing how different we have experienced life because of this truth.

In my attempt to become aware of my own cultural values and biases, I have become more aware of my naivety as well. My husband and I intentionally moved into a diverse neighborhood in Tacoma, only to realize our impact and influence in the process of gentrification. I have so much to learn and I think this may only come from being in relationship with who see the world differently. De La Torre’s writes about this well that “Relationships with each other, and God, become a source for moral guidance, capable of debunking the social structures erected and subsequently normalized by the dominant culture.”

After this week, I am struggling with the realm of the unspeakable around me. As I get in touch with how others hate me, how I hate myself, and how I hate others, I am hopeful for the opportunities that may come about. I am beginning to understand the kinds of hate I am most familiar with and what is beneath that scares the shit out of me. I pray that this reflective work helps to stretch my capacity, as White puts it, to bear witness with others in helping them find a way to survive being hated and hating.

“The very identity of those claiming to be Christian becomes defined by their relationship to their God and to their neighbor.”
http://theblacksentinel.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/gentrification.jpg

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"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."

~Henri Nouwen