Quote: "One of the simplest, most profound, and yet consistently difficult practices that disrupts the automatic entitlement of hegemonic speech is active listening" (Russo Pg.36).
At what point are we allowed to have an opinion on the topic? If we scroll through our social media feeds we would assume that everyone can have an opinion on anything. Even if they really don't grasp the subject. They are allowed to repost and regurgitate what they are exposed to. But is that the way it should be? Something that's stood out to me during the Russo reading what is the importance of active listening. We all feel entitled to an opinion but when can you express that opinion? I feel that you must first become an active listener to gain information about a topic. We have to approach every controversial topic with an understanding of who the in-group is and who the out-group is. It is with this knowledge that we can begin to understand where we are in relation to an issue and when we can begin to contribute.
The best example I can think of to articulate what I am trying to say is based off of and exercise we performed in class. We were placed into groups and then asked to discuss a controversial topic. The group I was a part of had the topic of Black Lives Matters. To be completely honest, I do not know enough about that topic to be an active contributor in the conversation. That is why I took the role of an active listener and simply concentrated and understood what my fellow group members had to say. I synthesize the information they brought to the table. By the end of the exercise I felt like I had information on the topic to contribute a few remarks but unfortunately the exercise ended. Is that role, as an active listener that I believe we all must take in certain situations. I believe that the quote that I chose to reflect upon summarizes these ideas quite well.
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