Theories of Difference: Part I

            This week, I tried to read each of the readings and watch each of the TED talks with the following question in mind: “How does this individual decide they are different from others?” It’s kind of funny that there are so many differences we’ve been trained to spot—and decide whether they are “good” differences or “bad” differences—when in reality, like Professor Sepp said, we are generally more alike than different. I was reading the comments on Lee Mokobe’s TED talk, and the general consensus among the commenters was “we are all people.” It seems so simple, but it’s such a difficult concept for people to grasp.

            V.F. Cordova’s “America” contributed to the idea that dominant, privileged groups in society (namely white people) do not like to talk about their privilege. It reminded me of Johnson’s “Privilege, Oppression, and Difference” and the idea that we don’t talk about how some groups have power and some don’t because we don’t want to make the dominant group uncomfortable, and, furthermore, “In American, we ban hostile voices” (Cordova, 45). This is one of the many themes I’m seeing develop throughout the readings.

            In Some’s account of his grandfather’s funeral, Some himself talks about the differences—he described the way in which mourning and grieving was encouraged, whereas in Western societies being openly sad at funerals is looked down upon. I think that prior to this class and even prior to the Cordova reading, I would have read this account and thought that it was “primitive.” Now I get that questioning and prodding at other people’s cultures is condescending, and just because it’s not like mine doesn’t make it inferior.

            I really wish I could have read the rest of “There Lived a Little Boy Who Was Misled”! Though it is about growing up in West Baltimore, it reminded me a lot of some of the kids I mentor in the Dove Springs neighborhood. They’re mostly Hispanic and working class and they are fully aware that that’s their identity, and they have ideas about what it means to be Hispanic and working class based on what society tells them it means—even as sixth grade students.

            The thing that stuck out to me most in “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness” was the idea that not only does our government play a huge role in perpetuating racism and classism, but even policies that are “race-neutral” incentivize being white (such as decreasing minimum wage—it seems like it would have a negative impact on all minimum wage employees, but in reality, due to discrimination, most minimum wage employees are minorities). I think this is why education is so important. I know that it’s going to take a lot of voices—including privileged voices, to bridge the “gap between white perception and minority experience.”

            I’ve seen Mia Birdsong’s TED talk a few times, and it seems like every time I do I get something new out of it. I love that she is speaking out about this idea that hard work always leads to success, and if you aren’t successful, you must have not worked hard enough. The first time I heard this talk, it was a part of the TED radio hour. The episode is called “A Case for Optimism” and it features people who believe that the future is bright. It’s encouraging to know that Mia Birdsong believes that there is hope for our society.

            I think that Lee Mokobe sums up the danger of attaching stigmas to certain identities best when he says that we are “talking people into coffins.” His poem was definitely eye-opening, and I read later that he is the co-founder of Vocal Revolutionaries, an organization that lets youth use art to speak out about issues and lobby for change. How cool is that! Here is the link to the site if anyone is interested: http://vocalrevz.weebly.com.

References:

Cordova, V. F. (2007). America. How it is: The Native American philosophy of V. F. Cordova (40-45). Tuscon, AZ: Tucson University Press.

Some, M. P. Grandfather's funeral. Of water and the spirit: ritual, magic, and initiation in the life of a Shaman (56-73). Penguin Books.

Coates, T. (2008). There lived a little boy who was misled. The beautiful struggle: a memoir. Spiegel & Grau.

Lipsitz, G. (1998). The Possessive Investment in Whiteness. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Birdsong, M. (2015). The story we tell about poverty isn't true [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/mia_birdsong_the_story_we_tell_about_poverty_isn_t_true.

Mokobe, L. A powerful poem about what it feels like to be transgender [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/lee_mokobe_a_powerful_poem_about_what_it_feels_like_to_be_transgender?language=en.