Blog5: Impressions from M, 23 June 08 Training
The 20/20 segment I watched about young men acting as vandals brought up many disturbing emotions for me. It evoked questions about who is my neighbor? What is there about strangers that causes me (us) to be afraid?
And finally I was left with a movement started in Seattle years ago known as NIMBY. This stands for Not In My Back Yard, originally to keep a planned series of freeways from being constructed. Incidentally, their cause was so successful it eventually resulted in some of the worst traffic jams and gridlock in the US of A. Hooray!
Now visualize this NIMBY attitude as a larger reflection of how our culture treats difference and racism. Not only do many whites not want “those people” to inhabit their space; they do not wish to be
challenged to look inside themselves to examine their own xenophobia (fear of the other). Under that rock of fear lives bias, stereotypes, and prejudice. I wish I could say I am without prejudice. As revealed in previous blogs I have shown my true self to be conflicted and biased.
Thanks to God and an adventurous spirit I have been blessed with living in what I refer to as liminal zones. [One dictionary defines liminal: 1) of or having to do with a limen or threshold, especially of
perception. Psychology or Physiology] Out on borderlines between cultures and social constructs I, and hopefully like-minded folk, can gain insights into ways of respecting, living, and appreciating different ways of existing in this diverse world.
This is fueled by being willing to open up to new ethnicities, races, and groupings of people so as to be transformed by their alternative worldview. Admittedly this requires a leap of faith to allow oneself to be transformed by another person's way of life. However, it is one step on a continuum of needed steps to beginning to break down barriers between ourselves and “the other”. And that is what gives me hope to start my day and do the hard work of diversity education.
Say no to Us vs. Them! Say yes to welcoming with open arms those who are not like me....
Blah, blah, blah, woof, woof,..... DAVID (not present even some times when he is present)