Today, I spoke with a woman of African-American culture who has been earning her undergrad degree as an older, ‘non-traditional’ student at a college with a prestigious reputation.
“How has this been for you?” I had to ask.
She replied by telling me about the two classes she had taken that had older Graduate students as members.
“But what about the others?” I asked again. She smiled.
“Oh, they’re interesting. The younger students see things very differently.”
I raised an eyebrow, imagining her younger generation fellow students speaking in some kind of verbal text-messaging code that she then had to translate.
“They take a lot of freedoms for granted,” she explained. “The women, the race issues. No one told them what the struggle was like.”
One thought led to another, and she continued, “This one student, a male (White guy) from some place in the Midwest, said that for the first time he was realizing that some people never have a chance at a decent life. He said that his parents told him that poor people didn’t have anything because they were lazy.”
I nodded, thinking, then saying, “I got that message too. It’s shocking, isn’t it?”
“Well, I just can’t believe that people would lie to their kids about something like that.” She was frustrated, shaking her head.
Now it was my turn to be shocked. “They’re not lying.” I said.
“What?” she looked puzzled.
“Well, I don’t think they know one thing and are telling their kids another. That would be lying. They really believe that — what they’re saying.” I remembered being in that world and had some heavy feelings being its messenger. From her perspective of finally finding a ‘way out’, she could hardly comprehend the oblivion in operation of those blocking the way.
“Well, they are just avoiding knowing.” She made a last ditch effort to assign some conscious effort to ‘White guy’s’ parents.
I shrugged, “Maybe, but I really don’t think they’re losing any sleep over this issue.” I said. I was realizing that the educational point for those who are oppressed is the air tight nature, the solid rationale of White oblivion — witness the talking points of the recent Republican National Convention — ‘everyone who works hard can attain the American Dream’ — what some of us are calling the American Fantasy…’as if’ the playing field is flat.
She was just shaking her head now. “Ten minutes in a Welfare office would do these local high school students a world of good.”
Wow.
When, as a young prince, the Buddha sneaked out of his father’s palace and saw for the first time poverty, suffering, and death — his heart broke, broke open — and he left home to seek, understand why, and find the spiritual principles which would continue to help humans raise our consciousness for, now, 2500 years.
Perhaps Wefare office field trips for well-off teens from the toney Mainline Philadelphia suburbs would create a new wave of post-modern open-hearted seekers, bent on helping society reach a benevolent potential beyond present imagination!
I imagined such a field trip during my high school years in the White professional class suburbs. Still a radical notion. I remember my liberal social studies teacher slipping into our curriculum readings on the history of the Italian Mafia and personal accounts of life behind bars. Maybe as a result, I feel a very strong affinity for helping incarcerated people.
However I am not envisioning my class ’field tripping’ to the local jail. Our parents instructed us, “Lock your door.” when we drove through the poorer sections of town.
Back to the present, I wondered at this instant of mutual learning.
Multiply it by millions
.
People do stay in their comfort zones — Blue states, Red states, groups of similar race and culture, moose hunters, religions, sexual preferences, genders, age groups, liberals, conservatives, sports fans, arugula consumers, professions of all kinds.
“We need to start talking.” Really.
We should all ‘get out more’, and I don’t mean to clubs and restaurants.
Do you know what I mean?
