Empathy is everything. Skin color is not. I find the ability to connect with another person entirely dependent on the degree to which they embrace empathy as a way to build understanding.
Of note, we recently visited a relative who had spent the Covid time encased in fear and at home. I get fear. It’s scary. But this experience blinded th…
Empathy is everything. Skin color is not. I find the ability to connect with another person entirely dependent on the degree to which they embrace empathy as a way to build understanding.
Of note, we recently visited a relative who had spent the Covid time encased in fear and at home. I get fear. It’s scary. But this experience blinded them to the incredible adverse costs borne by those that couldn’t hide at home - those that had to be out there, in the mix, day after day. So our inputs to the discussion were met with a kind of condescending ‘there, there’ pat on the head and ‘gee, you’re so angry’ but it was all ok because hey, they were safe. Empathy score = 0.
I don’t discount real experience - I just think it’s an over used metric of what matters. Of course what you lived through informs who you are - but how do you live your life? Do you act with integrity toward other people? You don’t get a pass from me because someone crapped in your space - everyone has that experience. What do you do after? That’s what matters - how you stand up and how you go forward.
"Of course what you lived through informs who you are - but how do you live your life?"
Yep, exactly. To what extent does your personality affect your perception of the world, for example? Or your levels of self-esteem? Or blind luck? Experience is, by definition, subjective.
This doesn't mean it's useless, but it does mean we can't use it as the one true path to knowledge.
Empathy is everything. Skin color is not. I find the ability to connect with another person entirely dependent on the degree to which they embrace empathy as a way to build understanding.
Of note, we recently visited a relative who had spent the Covid time encased in fear and at home. I get fear. It’s scary. But this experience blinded them to the incredible adverse costs borne by those that couldn’t hide at home - those that had to be out there, in the mix, day after day. So our inputs to the discussion were met with a kind of condescending ‘there, there’ pat on the head and ‘gee, you’re so angry’ but it was all ok because hey, they were safe. Empathy score = 0.
I don’t discount real experience - I just think it’s an over used metric of what matters. Of course what you lived through informs who you are - but how do you live your life? Do you act with integrity toward other people? You don’t get a pass from me because someone crapped in your space - everyone has that experience. What do you do after? That’s what matters - how you stand up and how you go forward.
"Of course what you lived through informs who you are - but how do you live your life?"
Yep, exactly. To what extent does your personality affect your perception of the world, for example? Or your levels of self-esteem? Or blind luck? Experience is, by definition, subjective.
This doesn't mean it's useless, but it does mean we can't use it as the one true path to knowledge.