Feb. Blog Post

     The past few weeks of class have been very beneficial for me in being able to better understand how each individual interprets experiences based on personal background.  Hearing other classmates view points in discussions proves to me that we are all trying to understand one another even though we may not share the same experiences.  Because personal experience was such a prominent detail to me in the past few class sessions I chose to focus on a quote from Crooked Room by Harris Perry that says, “Emotions are so closely linked to individual temperament and experience that it is foolish to make sweeping generalizations based on race or gender”.

     Personally, because of situations that I have lived through, certain subjects that are brought up in class and even in regular life are very hard for me to engage in because of my strong emotional response.  Weather it be out of discomfort or fear or what have you, some topics hit on a very personal level. This is why I have an immense amount of respect for those who are able to vocalize their opinions in hopes to educate people who are in opposition or confusion.  It does not matter what identity someone has or what society stereotypes someone as, because no matter how hard you try to “normalize” or “understand”, you can never fully comprehend one persons identity into a group.  In this class we talk about people in groups as if once you understand what one speaker or author says you understand everyone who is like them, however, this too is a way of generalizing. This class has been great in expanding my definition of generalizing people and has been making me really try and acknowledge people as truly unique individuals with vastly unique experiences.