Day 80

Xine Way
Xine Way
Jul 22, 2017 · 3 min read

I thought a lot about identity and race today (and ran into a couple of Duke APO people and a friend from middle school while bagging groceries).

I feel like identity politics are slowly becoming more and more of a thing. Marginalized groups attach themselves to labels that may or may not be counterproductive to social progress.

I just keep toying with the idea of no-self that Buddhism talks a lot about. How there’s no consistent “Christine”. Because it’s hard to define exactly who I am beyond using a name to refer to me. Am I simply my physical form? Am I defined by my actions? My character? My moral code, values, and beliefs? Or am I just another Han Chinese East Asian-American girl? And what does being that way entail?

It gets complicated from there, particularly since physically, I probably don’t even have the same biological components (cells and whatnot. I don’t know science, but cut me some slack here) that I did 7 years ago.

I’m not saying that we should be “colorblind” as a society but rather realize that our identities don’t have to divide us. See all the intersections through which we can find a common ground to talk about our experiences, person to person.

What I’m scared when it comes to discourse about marginalized groups is that there’s too much of an us v. them mentality. When, in reality, we don’t differ that much from one another. If you want the physiological or the neurological/psychological explanations to back it up, there’s a wealth of information out there to support the idea that, fundamentally, we’re not all that different from one another.

We can bond over our common humanity — our ability to experience emotions and empathize with the plights of others.

I’m worried that people discriminate against those who are unlike themselves by simply saying things like “He/She/They could never understand our situation by virtue of the color of their skin.” Because while that may be true, it just seems somehow wrong to dismiss an entire group of people and prevent them from understanding whatever experiences you wish to share.

But of course, this gets sketchy because then the “burden of proof,” so to speak, falls upon those who are disadvantaged in some way. And that burden is a heavy one to bear. And rather unfair, too.

But I think regardless of what race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. you are, you have to realize that those labels, while convenient, are not enough to fully describe the human experience.

Clinging to these labels can cause suffering.

Buddhism touts the idea of relinquishing your notions of who you are, destroying your so-called “ego”, and seeing reality without experiencing the delusions that we typically associate with reality. It operates on the basis that we’re fundamentally deluded and unable to see the true nature of reality, due to the way society and experiences have shaped our perceptions of the world.

And so I seek the truth — to see reality for what it is and not merely a sensationalized version of it (as media too often does), nor the highlights reel that social media has inaccurately portrayed our lives.

I watched another TED talk today that proposed the idea that we are nothing more than consciousness. The sensations and perceptions that construct each individual’s reality are learned. And people can be tricked by optical illusions and different frames of reference, simply due to our prior understandings of the world.

I find all this super interesting because I’m just curious about the nature of the human psyche. It’s fascinating to see what drives people to do the things they do.

My thoughts on the matter are still undergoing development, but I’ll share whatever insights I find in my search for answers. I’ve been reading a lot lately, just to see what other people have thought before and whether or not I agree with their arguments.

It’ll be an interesting endeavor, to be sure. It may completely redefine how I see the world, and that prospect excites me to no end.

For now, I think I’ll just rest up before tomorrow’s 10-hour grocery-bagging shift.

Bye!

Xine Way

Written by

Xine Way

Artist who thinks and feels out loud

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