PrivateStarAntelope167
comment about this write up. The danger of a single story/The…
comment about this write up.
The danger of a single story/The blind men and the elephant
Summary of What I Learned:
Our theory and our own personal beliefs of what we think we know is often a misinterpretation, this is what I learned most after watching both videos. We creat sense of personal “knowledge” of people’s lives, religion, culture and being, through what we hear and see. In the poem- as the blind men tried to gather their description of the elephant, they were gathering an image based on parts, small sections and not the whole. What stood out most after watching these videos comes back to the good old saying, “Never judge a book by its cover”, a saying we have been taught since the fifth grade. Though, this saying doesn’t fully capture the message of both the poem and the story- it’s important non the less.
Our society lives off snippets- parts of a story and never the whole, it is one of our greatest down falls as humans, however- we live in a world where this is the norm. A single day of “worthy” Instagram pictures creates a reality for others, it makes them think that the person in the photo has it all. However, it’s never the norm to look deeper- what is their life without the interpretation of the person looking at the picture. This is the same when it comes to cultural misunderstandings, we assume what a culture or religion is like because of what we’ve heard but never really seen. I learned that there are many things in life that we don’t open our eyes to or choose not to see and perhaps, this is the most important lesson. Open your eyes, choose to see the whole picture, never base your interpretation off one scenario or story- take the good with the bad, acknowledge that poor doesn’t mean unhappy, or that rich doesn’t mean a fulfilled life. We should never live in a bubble where you fail to open your mind to different wonders of people’s lives, and culture-you’ll end up missing a significant part of all the lessons in life were meant to learn.
Personal Example:
After watching the Ted Talk on cultural misunderstanding, it brought me back to the 7th grade. I was in my science class, right after lunch when our teacher turned on the T.V and we found out there was a terrorist attack on the twin towers. Though, we were old enough to know this was bad- I couldn’t wrap my head around what a “Terrorist attack” was. 9/11 changed the lives of many people and I never thought it would change mine.
I was the only Middle Eastern family in our small “white town” on Cape Cod. My father was born in Palestine and my mother was born in Jordan. I have 5 siblings- an older sister, a twin brother and a younger set of siblings who are also twins. We are all close in age and were either in the same grade or school, so we were well known by our teachers and classmates. Most people were in awe of my mom having 2 sets of twins and a lot of people were interested in our Middle Eastern culture, so it was cool to be known for being different. Morning bus rides were a little weird as a kid, American kids were eating pop-tarts for a breakfast that we were rushed out of the house for, while I sat there eating my Shawarma sandwich- a middle eastern food that’s meant to be eaten for lunch or dinner. Kids would ask what Hummus was and I didn’t really care if they thought it was weird- it tasted good to me. I knew I lived a different life and that I would never grow up eating pop-tarts and gushers like all the kids around me, but it didn’t make me feel embarrassed or that different, I was happy to share my culture with others- until 9/11.
I knew some parents didn’t want their kids hanging out with us because members of our family were “Terrorists”, some teachers questioned why I wasn’t wearing a Hijab or why I wore a cross necklace if I was Muslim. What they didn’t know is that I was baptized Catholic, I was born in California and raised as an American. The attack on the Twin Towers created this snapshot image that all Middle Easterns were terrorists. It was a weird and difficult thing to adjust to, but we did. I wouldn’t have made it without my siblings being so close in age and going through the same things I was going through. We used to lie to people we didn’t know when they asked what our nationality was and we would say we were Hispanic or from Greece, it’s funny and sad all at the same time to look back on those days- All the lies we told to not feel left out, or the pretend background stories of our families so we could go to kids’ parties. Once we all got into high school things changed a little, it was a bigger school with more diversity, so we weren’t singled out as much. However, it’s quite weird to live in a society where were meant to feel so different because of who we are. The whole experience made me wish that people wouldn’t be so judgmental of others, but it’s part of our nature to always judge.
Practice Intentions:
I work in a major city hospital, and we are built on diversity- our staff and patients come from all kinds of backgrounds. There is never a sense of cultural bias or difference that change patient care, which makes me proud to work there. Many of the people who come to our hospital for care often fly in from other countries, and most of them don’t speak English and have different views and cultural differences in life. As a nurse, with a different cultural background, I have made sure to practice with different cultural beliefs in mind. Helping patients maintain a sense of who they are culturally while getting care and feeling respected is one of the most important things I can do for them. Asking patients if they want a chaplain or need time to practice prayer is something we often forget, but it means the world to them. Though, sometimes I forget certain things or lack knowledge in different cultures- I always ask patients what makes them comfortable. I would like to say I never judge, and sometimes find myself being a little close minded or questioning why a patient prefers something that I don’t quite understand- This lesson has given me great insight on maintaining an open mind while caring for my patients and I hope those in a healthcare setting and beyond are able to find themselves open enough to maintain a person’s sense of cultural integrity.
References:
YouTube. (2009). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | ted. Youtube. Retrieved March 17, 2023, fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zegLinks to an external site.
YouTube. (2010). “The blind men and the elephant” by John G. Saxe (read by Tom O’Bedlam). YouTube. Retrieved March 17, 2023, fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJVBQefNXIwLinks to an external site.
