Seeing the World Through the Eyes of Others
Abraham: Imagining a new world
I remember after class one time in graduate school at U of L, two of my female classmates approached me to ask if I were going to the parking garage, and if so, could they walk with me. I said, “Of course.”
The class got out well after dark, and the parking garage was across campus. So we walked together in the dark.
When we got to the parking garage, I walked both my friends to their cars, waiting until they drove off. Nobody made a big deal out of it, but it struck me that there are some things I take for granted about the way the world operates that many other people can’t afford to be so casual about.
After I’d left my friends at their cars, I started walking to mine. On the way, while still reflecting on my female classmates, I noticed another woman walking toward me. And I started thinking, “I’ll bet she has to size me up as a potential threat. She doesn’t know if I am or not, but she can’t afford to take too many chances. I’m a pretty good-sized guy, kind of scruffy looking. I’ve got long hair, a beard, wearing a black leather jacket. She doesn’t know me.”
And then I had a shocking thought: “I bet I look kind of scary in a lonely parking garage at night.” But in my mind…
