The biggest thing I have noticed
this week is how different I am than when I first landed down in Cape Town.
This is an exhilarating feeling, yet confusing at times, because although I
have obviously changed over my lifetime I have never had a change so drastic
that I actually noticed it happen to me.
I think the biggest thing is that I now realize how much humanity and how much emotion is inextricably linked with
the political issues I have cared about so deeply. Working with people from
across townships and the city, who were arrested, kidnapped, and organizers in
the struggle has opened my eyes to what the liberation movement really is.
Before, I learned about these fights as if it was a Marvel movie (with a lot
more diversity and less patriotism). There was an obvious hero, an obvious
villain, a couple plot points, a climax with the main players and then freedom.
This is such a simplified way to look at these struggles; these were real
people who were giving up their severely limited time, energy and resources to
fight for an ideal. They might have been unemployed, they might have lived in
an informal settlement, they might have seen their children lost to gang
violence, and they still got up in the morning to march and challenge an
unthinkably powerful regime. In my opinion, the feats of the famous lawyers,
politicians and other leaders are still incredible, however to value those
leaders over the thousands and thousands of everyday activists is missing the
big picture. Before I arrived in Cape Town, I highly valued the leaders and
organizers (not that I don’t value them in a different way now). I have had
some experience in political organizing, and in those instances I was the one
putting in much of the effort. However, I had projected my small experiences
with political organizing (for candidates, not issues), and assumed that’s the
way it must have worked in struggles. I underestimated what a profound and
worthy idea does to rally people to fight. After observing the
dissenting organizations, meeting activists, and having the honor of helping
them in their work, I realized that the power and organization came from the
majority, not minority of large-scale organizers. Their power was not only in
their numbers, but rather in their commitment, passion, and true belief in
their cause. It is incredibly admirable, and has altered the way I view every
political issue I have studied thus far.
In addition, I have realized how
much we treat everyone as strangers in America after being here for 3 months.
Every time I meet someone at my internship, or activist project, or anywhere
really, they treat me as if they’ve known me forever. They ask me about my
life, how my day is been, why I came to Cape Town, what I think of their
country and my own, etc. The conversation they incite is a lot deeper than the
conversations we have at home with people we just meet. Although I am not
against individualism totally, I do think that is an unintended symptom of it.
We somehow think we have to scope other people out from a distance before we
can engage with them meaningfully. After experiencing this difference in how
Capetonians (generally) treat people, I have found myself trying to emulate
them more. I am not great at it, considering I have lived my whole life
somewhere where the social norm is skepticism, however I am trying to open up
to people a lot more. I have found that this adds a lot of interest and light
to my life, and allows me to engage with people I probably would have never
spoken to before.
There are probably a hundred more
things that I have noticed changed in my thinking and behavior, and it would be
impossible to explain it all in one blog post. However, I am so grateful for
this trip and everything I have been able to experience and learn, and I am
interested to see what I notice about my own country when I return home,
changed in many ways.
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