The ego, in my opinion, is what makes each one of us unique. If you will, entertain the idea that ego is what separates the individual from their surroundings and community. [Buber can explain this much better than I]. The ego is what makes you "you" and me "me."
Certainly, the development of our "ego" or sense of identity comes from and influences our perceptions. We perceive the world through filters of beliefs, ideas, even stereotypes as we process it. For example, what do you think of the foreigner or immigrant to your country? The words themselves hold their own connotations. We view individuals, groups, and situtations through our own perceptions. Good, bad, or indifferent, we cannot avoid our filters of reality. [This is why it is so well respected to "walk a mile in another's shoes" or otherwise bridge gaps between diverse people.]
Why the soapbox speech? I am bothered, worried, angry, etc. about the negative perceptions that people hold about my future home and people there.
Prepare for a dose of negativity. Maybe you should just stop reading (and I writing), but first a story...
In the Peace Corps, I taught in a local senior secondary school (high school) in Ghana. I don't know how we got on the topic in Integrated Science, but we ventured into how my African students thought that Americans viewed them. We made a long list on the board of American perceptions of African attributes, and please note (again) that the list was created by my students and none other. Uncivilized, living in trees, and eating from leaves are a few attributes they listed. The statements came off to me as very negative. The worst was the perception that Africans were "black monkeys." It physically hurts to recall that the majority of students in one of my classes thought that anyone viewed them as monkeys.
Where do people come up with ideas like this one? Negative stereotypes fester in ignorance, and obviously there were not enough people telling these young ladies of Krobo Girls Secondary School's General Arts class that they were beautiful. You can tell me that perceptions are not tied to ego, but I'll have a hard tell separating that from what I heard.
While I never saw it myself, girls at the school spoke about the practice of bleaching. Soaps, lotions, and straight chemicals were applied to the skin to create lighter skin colors. Imagine not being so unpleased with your own skin that you would damage your skin to change it. A small minority of girls took this action because they viewed the color of their skin in a negative light. It seems a few girls held tightly to this definition of beauty, or, more aptly, this perception of beauty. [I am sure I never conveyed this idea to my students (for obvious reasons), but I would come to view the darkest black skin of the Africans as capable of shining in the sun. The phrase "so dark it shines" comes to mind to describe the radiant skin of simple people coming to and from market.]
I don't know why negative views seem to pervade in the absence of knowledge, rather than vice versa; maybe it is a reflection of me (and thus the title of this blog entry). The negative perceptions that now bother me the most are coming from individuals close to me that have difficulty with me traveling to Pakistan.
You can create your own media perception of Pakistan. Most Americans gain the majority of their knowledge of the world (beyond their field of expertise) from the media. In this case, few Americans consciously know Pakistanis even though they work with and around us. It took me months to find a student at my high school who was Pakistani. The media rather than personal contacts and direct observations color our views.
One person close to me was worried that, "There are crazy people there." Now, at least this person did not say "They" or everyone in Pakistan. It is believed that there is geographic roots to Al Quada (although you'll never here me trying to prove it) in Pakistan. It is believed that Pakistani terrorists are responsible for some bombings (which is a huge issue in the paranoia of America). It is known that bombings have repeatly occured in Pakistan and that a journalist was captured there to later meet his fate. I don't think we can say that Pakistan is free from violence, but surely neither is the United States of America.
Maybe my mother's rationalized neutral view of similar chances to be harmed in the USA and Pakistan should stand. It is a welcome view to the otherwise negative views that people have gathered from the news. [Six Pakistanis were recently absolved of responsibilty for a bombing at a Egyptian resort on the Red Sea, but I'm sure the media will not spend long trying to erase the blemish that false advertising causes for average people. Read under Arrests and compare to link.]
However, I wish there were more positive views of the people I will come in touch. Now, to represent the other side at the conclusion of this blog, there are a great number of people that are generally excited for me and my "adventure." I hope through exchange and discourse (and maybe this blog) that people come to find specific reasons to enjoy Pakistan and its people - rather than excitement just for exploration itself.
To end this dark day, I hope that people learn to appreciate Pakistan and its people. Pulling this back to ego, I want people - especially those close to me - to recognize and move beyond negative or neutral perspective they currently hold. These perspectives filter out all the joy and laughter, all the opportunity and chances, and other simple pleasures of this region of the world. Maybe I'll end the restrained shock and the worrying that coincides with my travels, as well as the ugly stereotypes like those of my Krobo Girls students; now that would be rapture.
I can't change people, but I hope I can give them tools that promote understanding, and maybe a walk in another's shoes.
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