Naïve Perspectives: Continuous Lessons

I am a caucasian male, who grew up in a predominantly caucasian town, with some minor diversity in a migrant Hispanic (though I don’t know if anyone was from or enslaved by Hispania or Spain) population and few people with darker skin to lend to their perspective to my mental model of the world.

I lived in a town that produced a lot of apples. Every harvest, our town population would swell with migrant workers. After the work was over, the population shrank. As a child and through my adolescence, I heard the slurs and curses for the people that did the work that none of my friends or their families would perform. Harvesting apples is not an easy job and the margin for profit is narrow.

We lived next to an orchard for my early childhood. Mario owned the orchard; he was a citizen who immigrated legally from Mexico. He was a very kind man and always a great neighbor. I know nothing about his workers other than they were salt of the earth people too. They were never mean to us. They always worked in peace. They always welcomed us into their own celebrations.

It never made sense when people said things like ‘the illegals are taking all of the jobs’ or ‘the illegals are taking advantage of welfare’ or ‘the illegals aren’t welcome because they aren’t paying taxes.’ The migrant workers took the low-paying jobs that my classmates refused. The migrant workers didn’t get welfare; they weren’t citizens. The migrant workers paid taxes as their income was taxed before they saw a cent. All that it required to know these things was to have the courage to ask the question in a friendly manner. I was ignorant, so my questions were humbly presented from my ignorance.

I am sure there are accounts to the contrary. But as a child, I was a fly on the wall and sometimes the words said in the company of someone changed when they were not in the room anymore. Cowardice is avoiding the discomfort of understanding and empathy while purposefully holding to unchallenged beliefs. If you don’t understand that last statement– print it out, meditate on it, and take the time to reflect on your past.

From that other perspective: we all need to be willing to not lash out at those that ask us ignorant questions. To have a conversation, both sides have to participate. When an ignorant (uneducated) question is heard, the person of power (knowledge) then teaches. This person provides a lesson and the student must be ready to engage that information, digest it, critically assess it, and provide a mirror of what was just learned. In turn, this allows the teacher to hear, re-engage, digest, assess, and clarify. This process continues until an issue is communicated to shared understanding. Each person’s beliefs may or may not change, but they are that much more powerful (knowledgeable) because they are engaged in an understanding.

Personally, the year that I spent unable to learn was a personal hell. I don’t know how people feel fulfilled having never engaged topics and learning, growing, and evolving their perspective and views.