The social hierarchy

I am sitting in the back of my sister’s shop watching television.  It is my first day at my Serere home stay and miscommunication with my family has led me to this spot.  I can tell that she is trying to please me and puts on strange American shows that I would never watch back home instead.  One of the shows is titled “Fashion Police”, in which a group of celebrities critique the fashion decisions of other celebrities.  It is entertaining to watch but I soon find myself displeased with the fact that we find satisfaction in micro-analyzing every detail of someone’s life, regardless of Hollywood status.  A few days later, I am a visitor at a neighbor’s home.  I am seated in the Ugandan equivalent of a Laz-E Boy and am treated with the highest honor because I am an American guest.  This treatment makes me feel uncomfortable because I know it is simply due to my nationality.  Suddenly, I am taken back to my sister’s shop watching pointless television about the people we idolize.  

It is easy to get frustrated with the way that I am constantly treated on a daily basis because I am a mzungu.  I find myself not even being able to go to the bathroom at my practicum site without a crowd of children seeing me off.  How does my skin color make me so much more important than the everyday Ugandan?  Is it truly necessary to elevate me into such a high position?  I am not a celebrity but an average American citizen, who lives a less-than-spectacular life back in the States.  I cannot imagine that anyone would be interested in following me around like a walking spectacle back home.  Yet, then again, what makes celebrities so much more important than average American citizens?  Their choices in clothing or who they are holding hands with are not that important, but we watch television shows and read magazines filled with the latest information of these “average” peoples’ lives for the sake of entertainment.

The authors of Compassion share how the antithesis of compassion is competition.  “Whether we are more or less intelligent, practical, strong, fast, handy, or handsome depends upon those with whom we are compared or those with whom we compete…This all-pervasive competition, which reaches into the smallest corners of our relationships, prevents us from entering into full solidarity with each other, and stands in the way of our being compassionate.”

The problem that I have with the treatment I have received from Ugandans as a direct result of my American nationality is that this treatment further isolates individuals from one another.  I am not exempt from the way I treat others either as I am guilty of uplifting a few over the majority due to their social status.  Therefore, as much as I want to get upset with Ugandans for the constant stares or comments, I know that I would do the same if I was in their position.  We, as humankind, all have this problem.  There really is no justification other than our own perception that others are better than ourselves and are deserving of the highest position in the social hierarchy.  

This elevation of others directly results in a competitive, not compassionate, life.  We are unable to connect with others when we are elevated in such positions because the divide is too great to cross.  I realize that there will always be a barrier between me and many Ugandans because of the way white skin has been used to socially oppress.  The bridge building is not easy, especially after years of mental conditioning, and this is where I have found many of my struggles.  All is not lost, though, and while it may be more difficult to bridge the gap between American and Ugandan it is possible to be fully compassionate.  Jesus is in the business of reconciling relationships and I have realized that it merely takes more time, energy, and love to do so.  

Enjoy some miscellaneous pictures:

My family loved learning how to make pancakes!

Giraffes on safaris > Giraffes in zoos

 

The view of Murchison Falls from the water

We love craft shoppes

xoxo,

Emilia

My trip was made more financially affordable thanks to the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program)!