Mary wrote:
>and when i was growing up, there were men who cooked, and they were called
>"chefs" and there were women who cooked, and they were called "mom"! And so
>i would like to retain an analysis of socio-culturally produced difference/s
>where identity does not rigidly determine position, but where "diversity"
>does not either get reduced to a maxim like, "we are all different - vive la
>difference". in my world, difference/s makes a difference, and it is worth
>figuring out how, why, and of what consequence this might be.
>
Hi Mary,
One difference I am thinking about is between understanding and action, with activity aimed at either not garunteed to lead to the other. Developing and applying rules for xmca participation is action directed at facilitating substantive communication -- a recipe stolen from other contexts. I admit the approach is flawed -- the golden rule requires the capacity for empathy. Those folks who live in a prickly universe may be content to send messages that others deem prickly, not realizing that worlds other than prickly ones exist.
Engaging in activity for understanding cooks up something different, and its not garunteed that understanding differences will lead to actions appreciative of them. What I am concerned about is our strategy together -- will we be putting the cart before the horse -- can we get to some substantive discussions without having negotiated our interactions first, or will we continue to engage in a cold war, that itself will deflect us from reaching our goals of understanding ourselves?
When I was growing up, mom worked in a factory, so who ever got home first, mom or dad, began making dinner. They cooked only to sustain, and when they argued they did not cook anything special. We at a lot of boiled potatoes.
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