tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post4978437531437920905..comments2024-01-26T10:20:37.836+00:00Comments on Diary of a Goldfish: How much empathy do we need anyway?The Goldfishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-6651250319345624502012-06-06T17:55:36.613+01:002012-06-06T17:55:36.613+01:00Thank you both (I thought I'd replied to these...Thank you both (I thought I'd replied to these comments, but evidently not)<br /><br />I guess we all come to things in different ways, and I think in this post I have muddled a bit the difference between general empathy - and the realisation that there is one small difference between having an identity or not, like skin colour or a physical injury - and thinking you have to (or indeed ever could) know exactly what it's like - which tends to draw you towards sympathy, when you realise how lucky you are.<br /><br />I don't think I've got to the bottom of my own thoughts in this post, so thanks for the feedback. Still working this one out. :-)The Goldfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-69276454090134566332012-05-31T23:11:12.678+01:002012-05-31T23:11:12.678+01:00I love this post- so interesting to think about. I...I love this post- so interesting to think about. I am one of those who tend to believe in the idea that truly we ALL have our stuff that limits us, that anything can happen to anyone at any time and that keeps me in a more open perspective about abled vs disabled. It's not that I fear it, it's that I can imagine easily that it could be me at any moment - he who casts the first stone kind of thing. It's all so relative to what one considers ablebodied or different and the underlying values of worth based on function. So much to weigh and consider. Empathy vs pity is what I'm hearing. Pity is denial and fear masked. Empathy is looking at the whole pic and staying open to all ways of being.starrlifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10109817790942031827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-66388424320703977122012-05-29T22:31:49.896+01:002012-05-29T22:31:49.896+01:00"I don't object to racism because I have ..."I don't object to racism because I have sat down and imagined what it would be like not to be white."<br /><br />Actually to a certain extent I did exactly that. Not specifically as in one day I put aside an hour to do so. But after witnessing a racist attitude from my teacher of all people, I thought about what it would be like always to be judged not on what you had done but pre-judged simply on who or what you were. This struck me as absolutely terrible and I became a very vocal opponent not only of racism but homophobia.<br /><br />Did I also think myself lucky to be white and not have to deal with racism? I really don't remember. Of course I then later became disabled and have encountered plenty of prejudice there so it would have been a bit premature anyway!Spoonydochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05530660179706960529noreply@blogger.com