Okay, so this brought tears to my eyes. It caused me to think about when I’ve used blanket statements, not just with large communities, but sometimes with those I hold dear. The healing that came from simple outreach and turn back hatred with kindness. I want to see each person through eyes of compassion for their humanity, as well as to look into my own heart and remember mine. I wish for the healing of all the hurts that make us forget the humanity of others and in the process, recover our own. Thank you, Kateri, for making this clear in such a beautifully written and touching way.
We can’t be reminded about this too much. In the world of marketing I worked in, “stereotyping” was the name of the game. You simplified information about large groups of people and gave them a label that summarized them so that products or messages could be successfully aimed at them. It’s the same in politics. “Soccer Moms” were a highly sought after group in the 2008 election, for example. But as you point out, there are serious dangers in doing that, too. It’s easy to lose the humanity behind labels like “Gen Z” or “Millennials” or “Boomers,” again, just as you say. So, I taught my students two things: “Never accept a label for a story” and “People make not make sense to you, but they always make sense to themselves—your job is to find the sense they make to themselves.” I encouraged them to respond to every person they didn’t agree with (and therefore tended to dismiss or stereotype like your example of MTG) with the attitude, “fascinating!” like Mr. Spock in the old Star Trek series. It let them react without emotion distorting their search for understanding. I told them that a negative reaction to people was actually good feedback—it was showing them where their understanding of another human being stopped and I encouraged them to get past that edge. Of course we can approve and disapprove of behavior and want to see it change (although disliking the people you’re trying to sell to is a losing proposition) but even doing that requires empathy and understanding. After 12 weeks, my students always made progress and I hope became better marketers after they left the university. But the compliment I treasure most was from a student who said, “Now I can’t be mad at my father anymore because I understand him.” That’s just another example of the story you tell about the Jewish couple and the Klansman. Understanding starts with reaching out and never accepting a label for a story.
Okay, so this brought tears to my eyes. It caused me to think about when I’ve used blanket statements, not just with large communities, but sometimes with those I hold dear. The healing that came from simple outreach and turn back hatred with kindness. I want to see each person through eyes of compassion for their humanity, as well as to look into my own heart and remember mine. I wish for the healing of all the hurts that make us forget the humanity of others and in the process, recover our own. Thank you, Kateri, for making this clear in such a beautifully written and touching way.
I can feel what you are saying. Thank you, Kitty ❤️
Beautifully stated my precious daughter!
Thanks, mom ❤️
Well said. You give me hope.
🙏🏼✨
We can’t be reminded about this too much. In the world of marketing I worked in, “stereotyping” was the name of the game. You simplified information about large groups of people and gave them a label that summarized them so that products or messages could be successfully aimed at them. It’s the same in politics. “Soccer Moms” were a highly sought after group in the 2008 election, for example. But as you point out, there are serious dangers in doing that, too. It’s easy to lose the humanity behind labels like “Gen Z” or “Millennials” or “Boomers,” again, just as you say. So, I taught my students two things: “Never accept a label for a story” and “People make not make sense to you, but they always make sense to themselves—your job is to find the sense they make to themselves.” I encouraged them to respond to every person they didn’t agree with (and therefore tended to dismiss or stereotype like your example of MTG) with the attitude, “fascinating!” like Mr. Spock in the old Star Trek series. It let them react without emotion distorting their search for understanding. I told them that a negative reaction to people was actually good feedback—it was showing them where their understanding of another human being stopped and I encouraged them to get past that edge. Of course we can approve and disapprove of behavior and want to see it change (although disliking the people you’re trying to sell to is a losing proposition) but even doing that requires empathy and understanding. After 12 weeks, my students always made progress and I hope became better marketers after they left the university. But the compliment I treasure most was from a student who said, “Now I can’t be mad at my father anymore because I understand him.” That’s just another example of the story you tell about the Jewish couple and the Klansman. Understanding starts with reaching out and never accepting a label for a story.