The Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person
Empathy – doing one’s best to know what any one mind is thinking and feeling – is my strongest value. It can be called a spiritual practice, or just a way of life. I have never once regretted any attempt toward empathy.
In order to have empathy for another, one must interact with that being as an individual. It is not possible to have empathy for any one while holding on to assumptions about that individual based on their group membership.
For this reason, I am anti-identitarian. While any individual can and should claim group membership, it is not for me to label any person based upon the stereotypes of the groups they belong to or the groups I assume they belong to!
The UUA has embraced identitarianism. It labels people and judges their thoughts, feelings, and value based on certain identity markers like race, sex, and gender identity. This is wrong.
I appreciate this statement. I also note that you have used the phrase “I am not an identitarian” in various settings including candidate forums when asked how you would relate to marginalized groups within the UU movement and society. Beyond claiming group membership, do you believe such groups (for example UUs organized around identities of race, gender, disability, age and more) are labeling and stereotyping others? If so, how?
ReplyDeleteHow do you balance your stated commitment to empathy with your statements about some beliefs - like those labeled by some of your supporters as “critical race theory” - labeling them as “evil” and “immoral”?
I can *always* empathize with just about anyone, whether I agree with them or not, whether they are behaving badly in my own estimation or not. There's nothing to "balance" here. We are all human beings.
ReplyDeleteEmpathy doesn't mean agreeing with someone. It means doing your best to understand their thoughts, feelings, values, and needs.
I would not automatically support a group organized around an identity. I wouldn't rubber-stamp something just because it had a certain label. I would want to understand what the needs were, how those needs could be met, and within what kind of relationship the proposed strategies were taking place.
I like the sentiment of treating people as individuals rather than a collection of labels. I can certainly agree that the UUA often spends too much time focusing on labels, and would prefer them to focus on concrete action. At the same time though, labels hold a purpose. You statements seem to imply a "I just don't see color" line of thinking. Whether we want it to or not, we *are* labeled, by each other and by the world at large. I want to know how you will be supporting and uplift various marginalized communities while limiting 'identity politics'. And please, I'd love to see some concrete examples from your previous work, or even a response to a hypothetical, or a what you would do if you faced certain real situations- not a vague blanket statement that could be applied many different ways.
ReplyDeleteI apologize if this seems a bit pressing/harsh- I struggle with tone sometimes, but your answer to these questions if very important to me, and I think will be very telling. I have a lot of hope that you could be part of big changes in the UUA, but I need to know more about those changes.