From my diary: The Danger of a Single Story

The following is a slightly edited excerpt from one of the few pages of my diary that are public.

Dear Diary,

X is such a bitch. Apparently she did something terrible to Y who is such a sweet person. I mean seriously, she had no right to over react like that.

I remember when Person 1 told me this story at the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder if I would have done any better. If I was in X's body living her life with her personality would I have acted any differently? The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that there is more to her story and maybe just maybe we are all judging her a little bit too harshly.

Today in class we watched a powerful TED talk delivered by Chimamanda Adichie. It was titled 'The Danger of A Single Story' and in it she goes on about how the west has this skewed perception of Africa because they only hear our story from one negative perspective. To sum it up she states that the single story creates stereotypes and these stereotypes are incomplete because they rob people of their dignity.

After watching that video I became even more convinced of how wrong we are to judge X. Whether in literature or in real life it is wrong to limit our understanding to the knowledge gained from considering only one perspective. So what is her story? Why is she the way she is? Underneath the aggression and drama she is associated with is a beautiful story and I will never get to know it unless I shed  that negative stereotype and I find out more. Not so I can use this knowledge to destroy but so that I am able to see the beauty in her.

So I made 3 resolutions today:
1. I will talk to X. The only way I will understand her is by hearing the story from her perspective.
2. I will drop my earphones and instead listen to the beautiful stories around me. I seek not to be an individual who views the world with the knowledge of one story; one perspective.
3. I will read all of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's books. I'll take her advice. She is a great orator. It's time to see her from another angle.

I do hate how I missed her( Chimamanda's) lecture. But the cost of going all the way to the other side of Uhuru Highway and missing my dear Mr.Z's lecture was too great a sacrifice.

Funny thing is how I don't see myself getting an A in Philosophical Anthropology but the tiny nuggets of random wisdom I gain as I listen to those lectures make it totally worthwhile.

Love,Megan.

PS.
Here is the link to that phenomenal TED talk....

http://blog.ted.com/2009/10/07/the_danger_of_a/

December 3rd 2013.