Titled "The Power of Outrospection," I found this video last semester and I believe it is a great way to think about the ways in which people interact, how this can create social change, and how it can be used to alleviate poverty. The author argues for the need to individually and collectively use empathy as a tool for framing how to revolutionize the way we see the relationships human beings have with one another. As an interactive video, it also reminded me of the GlobalPOV videos that the minor has been creating lately and I believe it has the potential and promise to change how one views relationships to those close to us and those far away. Below are some key notions the video goes over that I enjoyed and was inspired by:
Written by Esther Chung
- Empathy makes you a creative thinker, but it is also a vehicle for social change.
- There is a lot of talk today about empathy, so much so that it is ingrained in us to empathize with others and "step into someone shoes." Yet, how does this relate to poverty and ways to alleviate it? I believe that employing empathy as a "collective force" can create social change and lead to the success of awareness and advocacy.
- Parent's Circle - an organization created as a way for those afflicted by the Israeli and Palestinian war to talk with one another and begin to understand the other side. Their motto is "It Won't Stop Until We Talk."
- I saw this example as the epitome of how empathy can create change greater than the individual level.
- An Empathy Museum: explaining the concept of "collective force," the author of this video envisioned a space where conversations and understanding between different populations could occur.
- An innovative and truly empathetic idea. I really enjoyed the concept of having people visit a "Vietnamese sweatshop exhibit" whereby one would attempt to create a cotton T-shirt with the help of some workers and getting paid the wages they would.
Written by Esther Chung
I think this video not only touches upon many of the topics we have explored so far in GPP105, but also defines the core of our practice experience. The video mentions two types of empathy: effective and cognitive. Effective empathy is a self-reflection of another’s emotions while cognitive empathy is a process of understanding another’s world view. Both are equally important. However, the author argues that while we already exhibit effective empathy, we could further practice cognitive empathy through casting aside our prejudices, seeing others thorough their lens, and using creativity to reshape our human relationships. In class, we recently heard from Chimamanda Adichie’s TEDTalks about the dangers of a single story. Adichie argues that it is important to recognize how our limited stories and experiences can largely influence our perceptions and assumptions of others. We are so restricted by our predetermined image of others that it becomes difficult to view them as any similar to ourselves. However, the author of this video and Adichie ask us to recognize our identities as multifaceted yet embrace our similarities through empathy.
ReplyDeleteOur practice experiences precisely echo this call. For my practice experience with BareAbundance, a nonprofit serving vulnerable populations facing food insecurity in the East Bay through recovering excess food, it is easy to categorize our recipients as homeless, low income, in poverty. Although this may be the case for many recipients, equating hunger with homelessness shrinks our perceptions of recipients and as a result limits our understanding of them and our abilities to help. Empathy then is the first step in changing our relationships with one another.