Many people in society take one idea and associate it to everyone with a specific race, gender, disability, etc. One story about a person or a culture is not the only story that is told. People need to remember that there are multiple sides to a story that contribute to the big picture.
The novelist talks mostly about her experiences with only having one side of the story, and how it basically makes you feel guilty for judging a group of people based on one fact that you have learned from either literature or media. It is sad to think that everyone in a specific social group is being judged the exact same way. Everyone is supposed to be equal and able to create their own identity within a society, but if only one story is told, then we are forced to place that story upon everyone that applies to it. The idea behind this Ted talk is to get people's minds flowing about people in society. Everyone is from a different place and background, it is nearly impossible that two people share the exact same background just based on their gender, race, or disabilities.
A specific point made by Chimamanda is that there is no talking about the single story without bringing up power. The single story reflects how certain groups in society would consider themselves greater than another group. Chimamanda refers to this as "nkali". She thinks of this word when thinking about the societal structures of the world. People are constantly fighting over who is more privileged, and hearing only one story associates a whole group as being more privileged or at the bottom of society, just based on one idea that only one person has heard.
There could be two latina women having dinner with some friends, and a conversation comes up about their childhoods and experiences growing up. Their caucasian friends assuming they have the same pasts or maybe even related just because they are both latina. When in reality, one of the women was born in Mexico to a very poor family, who had to make their way to America for a hope of a better life. But the other, born into a rich Latino-American family, who has never had to suffer a day in her life. No relation shared what-so-ever. It is the stories the friends have heard that shape their ideas about these women and associate them both to the one specific story they heard about or read about in a magazine. People should only be reflected upon based on who they are as a person, not their background or culture. http://www.teenink.com/opinion/discrimination/article/353461/To-Judge-and-Be-Judged/
Do people only want to hear one story? Based on the fact that some people only want to know the bad about a group so they can feel superior.
No comments:
Post a Comment