"Is it Kennedy's birthday or something?" Volunteer Art asked, pointing to my display of books about JFK.
"He was assassinated on November 22," I said, pointing to the book in the center of the display: The Death of a President: November 1963.
"Oh. I knew you had a reason."
I've said before that Art doesn't seem that smart, but he is my age, race, & class--how did he miss this?
Art and I annoy each other sometimes, but I give him credit: he does a lot of good.
He's retired, and he volunteers a lot at a lot of places.
He successfully hounded Big
Boss into devoting some display space to information about public
assistance in housing, which Art worked hard to gather--connecting with County and City services.
He complains a lot, but
he puts his money (time) where his mouth is, and he's relentless.
Watching Art hound people, I see what a successful strategy that is.
I told him I admired his persistence.
"I like to think I'm persuasive," he said.
Ha. No.
It isn't the strength of his argument that wins. It's the strength of his pursuit. Luckily, he's arguing for good social services.
"It's our mission," he said.
He's right.
Of course he's right. Not because he read the mission statement but because I'd told him the mission statement describes "a network of friends working to create a more just world".
Art's persistence works, but only up to a point. Art retired early because he got fired from his job with the State because he wouldn't drop some crusade of his.
Trump's arc shows this too. Repetition works. But not forever.
whoa! so much to absorb here today (noticed i veered from the "unpack"!). and oddly i've been feeling some sadness also and i'm not sure what is causing it.
ReplyDeletehave much the same feelings about how little anyone knows ME.
one thing that i have noticed lately is despite all of the knowledge available around us, people not only don't seek it out but have no interest in doing so. they want to be fed the info and have no curiousity to even try something on their own.
kirsten
KIRSTEN: Oh, interesting you were feeling similarly. Maybe it's November vibes...
ReplyDeleteNot that it's not always there, some sadness, some loneliness about not being known, and people not pursuing knowledge for the fun of it---but maybe we see it more in the long shadows from the downward tilt of the sun?
P.S. Kirsten: gold star for avoiding "unpacked"!
ReplyDeleterepetition - most effective- It is how we learn and you are correct- nothing is forever. Squeaky wheel also effective- might not make a lot of friends but who needs friends when one has the internet, right? Or facebook, haha. Humans are tribal no doubt, that is how it works-
ReplyDeletethat is why Wyoming is Republican.That is why that sweet mother got stoned to death in The Lottery .Live and let live unless harm is being done. Even that is iffy ( thinking Mormons and patriarchy, and The Lottery, here)
Hawkings felt the same way you do about not being able to share ideas with others because no one was capable of understanding his genius. A most lonely place to be. When he became compromised he was able to slow down (a bit)- It was up to him to make himself , his ideas, understandable for the ordinary Joe. You are doing a solid just by being in the shop doing what you do. Either your co-workers get it or they don't but I am sure some of your knowledge is rubbing off on them- Like glitter! And sticking, you know how difficult it is to get rid of glitter!
Your display is very good! I am impressed at how many books on one subject are donated! Well done you!
LINDA SUE: Rubbing off like glitter! I love that--thank you!
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean to say no one's capable of understanding me though--I hope it didn't sound like that!
I am your run-of-the-mill PK; in this case = Professor's Kid.
We all have our sides that don't see the light, of course... I bet a lot of people feel lonely with that?
Oooh--"The Lottery"--yes, that's a GREAT story about how tribal/group thinking works.
I saved books on JFK for a long time to get enough for a display. It's not a popular topic--I'd noticed they didn't sell one by one, so I wondered if a whole display at the anniversary of his murder would up interest (and sales). We'll see...
I am coming to the conclusion at this point in my life that we are so diverse in both nature and nurture that it is almost impossible to truly understand how other people think, how other people act. This does not mean we shouldn't try. That moment when a common spark rises up between humans is glorious.
ReplyDeleteI've actually been thinking about this a lot, about how this inability to truly walk in another's shoes causes so much judgement. At least for me.
Ms Moon: I appreciate what you say, and I think it's important for the practice of nonjudgement to remember everyone has their own reasons...
ReplyDeleteBut, as I get older, I feel more our commonality.
Though my coworkers and I are from extremely different human backgrounds (different countries--from Eritrea to Hungary to Mexico, classes, races, etc.), we CAN understand one another. Your wounds may have different causes than mine, but I know what it feels like to be in pain, afraid... And what actions those feeling might cause are somewhat predictable.
BUT... every single one of us is different, and we cannot ASSUME we know things
--that's what bothered me so much!
Yes, I'm a precious snowflake and so is everyone else! :)
Surely the more diverse a group of people, the more questions would be asked to find out about each other. And to assume something so important as one's sexuality beggars belief.
ReplyDeleteI know so many men like Art. And it does seem to be men that won't let go and won't properly listen.
Hello, Sparkle:
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting.
Your point about asking questions is just what I've been trying to write about:
figuring out the hidden rules, working with a lot of people who grew up in poor, crime-ridden surroundings. They are sometimes suspicious of people asking too many questions --it seems to be felt as invasive:
"Why do you want to know? How are you going to use this against me?"
So, it's not a question-asking culture.
One of the Hidden Rules of Class is, for people in generational poverty:
"non-verbal communication is much more important than verbal communication."
A good thing about this is people judge you on what you DO, not what you say.
In contrast, Liberals (like me!) spend a lot of time TALKING about the troubles of the world, showing ourselves to be smart and thoughtful in words.
Volunteer Art is a pain, but he breaks that mold--he really did set up an information station for people on the street to connect with housing and other social services.