Bunch(es) of Fun: A Wooden Frog, or something more.

It's been awhile since my last post. As you might have guessed, life has been a little hectic since the arrival of 10 new CIEE students. Since then, I have been engrossed in 20 hr work days, spent planning and facilitating a number of sessions. We've had our good and bad moments, and plenty of learning moments. However, for this entry, I wanted to reflect on something that has been on my mind in recent days.

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Let's start with a wooden frog.

While on a boat going down the river in Bangkok 2.5 months ago, I met a woman who was part of a floating market of sorts. This meant that, in her boat, she had a number of trinkets, both handmade and factory produced. At this point, my Thai was pretty shaky. Despite this, we managed to have a fairly productive little conversation, which ended with me buying a wooden frog from her. This was a product I could have gotten a number of different places, but I chose to buy it from her because I had spoken with her. She was even kind enough to consent to a photo.

Now, what we have here is a direct relationship between buyer and seller. I bought a product from a woman. I, as a human, used my spending power to engage directly with her, another human.

Ok, now let's make this a little bigger.

I can buy the same frog at a place much like WalMart.

I, as a human, can engage with a corporate giant such as WalMart in order to purchase the same product. It is probably easier on me, in the end, because I am also purchase that lovely scarf I've been wanting and some peanut butter.

At WalMart, I also speak with a person. In fact, I can speak with 10 different sellers. However, all of these sellers are separate from the production of the items in my cart. None of them actually made it, and none of them have a vested interest in making sure that I enjoy my experience or products. Their individuality has become a part of something bigger and less human.

When I say a company's name, do you think of a logo or a person? When I say McDonald's, does your mind conjure images of a golden arch or of a person named Ellen?

Presumably, it is the first. Labels are used to obscure individual identity in this case. This seems to be pretty clear, whatever your objections or thoughts on the matter.

Still on the same page? Stick with me.

Now, we're going with a different story-- imagine your childhood. When you were afraid of the monster in the closet, where did you look for comfort? If you were privileged enough to have loving parents like I was, it was your parents. Or perhaps it was some other person.

Regardless, the point is that you looked to a person you knew well to comfort and reassure you.

What if that threat was veiled? What if the threat to your mental security was the dark? All children seem to be scared of the dark in some way. Why?

It is unknown. Much like death, there is no way to make an emotional connection to the dark. It is impossible, because as soon as you try to understand it by turning on the lights, the dark disappears.

Ok! Now let's connect these two streams of thought:
1. Labels obscure the identities of individuals and dehumanize them.
2. The unknown is frightening, and people seek comfort in human relationships.

With these two understandings, we'll move into the practical and out of the theoretical.

If labels dehumanize individuals and people are afraid of that which they can't connect with emotionally, what does this mean for our world today?

One has to look no further than the recent debate about freedom of religion.

The threat, just like darkness to a child: Islam.
The safety, comfort: Nationalism. We are Americans.

And just like that, we have followed the same model of childhood fears and placed ourselves in direct contrast to something. After all, who is "Islam?" Is Islam a person that we can get to know?

No, it is a label that generalizes the experience of millions in order for one person to be able to understand it. Conversely, the label of "American" serves to do much the same. Can you have dinner with "America?" Or is it the sum of many, many parts?

Thus, why are these two labels placed in such opposition to each other? There is fear and discomfort that results from a lack of understanding, a lack of human connection.

But, when we don't analyze our positions and think only in terms of polar opposites, we risk extremism. People are pulled to one label or the other, instead of recognizing the human voices that lie all across the spectrum.

Through this process, reason and good judgement is marginalized. Newspapers like to report good stories, TV reinforces the extremes rather than the moderate middle.

Maybe I lost you at the word "Islam." Ok, let's plug in a number of other words.

Catholics.
Jews.
Irish.
Communists.
African-Americans.
Japanese-Americans.
Mexicans.

It seems to me that, no matter what word you put in, the paradigm remains the same. Why does America, a land that was founded by European immigrants who displaced and decimated the native population, have such an intense fear of the outsider? And why does the same thing keep happening?

Depending on which decade you choose to look at, it is just a different group that is being attacked and marginalized.

Perhaps you say that this is only the work of extremists, that everyday Americans weren't responsible for some of the attacks on immigrant or "other" populations.

By their complacent attitude, I would argue that moderate Americans are just as responsible for the injustices committed around them because they did nothing to stop it.

We don't need to look much farther than our own backyards for examples of labels obscuring the humanity and dignity of an individual.

Xenophobia motivated by fear and insecurity always rises in times in crisis. The economy isn't doing great, we all know this.

But during this time of upheaval and financial insecurity, the real question for us as Americans is: What happened, and keeps happening, to our great capacity for love and empathy?

If I had chosen to buy that wooden frog at WalMart, I would have missed the opportunity to have a conversation with one of my fellow human beings. I may never see her again, but for that one moment, I had a connection that spanned from South Carolina all the way to Thailand. It wasn't shipped across the ocean and packaged in China-- it was a normal, simple, and short conversation centered around a wooden frog.
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After reading through my thoughts and perhaps being disappointed there weren't more photos or Thailand specifics, here are some photos to placate you until I write again.