Dr. Martin Luther King once said, "we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools". It is, like so many wise things that he taught, true. What would he think of the state of black and white people today? Everyone thinks they know. Everyone thinks they know who or what is to blame if that relationship is less than what Dr. King envisioned. But does anyone ever catch a glimpse in their everyday life of what they think that Dr. King's vision might have been?
Well, there may be a small one. This is they story of women. Women who work together. The women work with some men too. Don't get 'em wrong, they love the guys, but this is their story. Yes, the interaction between women who are thrown together in a work environment can be well, complicated. This is not about that. It is about similarity in a time that society and the media insists on telling us how different we are.
The place and the job are not important. What is important are the conversations. The place consists of roughly forty women, roughly half of them black, half of them white. They are different ages, different generations, different backgrounds, different life experiences, different opinions and worldviews. All those ingredients in some way, shape the people they are. What may go largely unnoticed however, is how all of those differences bring about a sameness that even those in the story might not have realized was there.
At the heart of the story, as stated before, are the conversations. As women in a group are prone to do, they talk. They talk a lot. They talk about husbands, they talk about boyfriends, they talk about children, they talk about work, which might be a bit more saltier than other topics, but who doesn't complain about the job? They talk about school. So many people with so many dreams and goals can only be a healthy environment. They talk about things that go on in their lives apart and outside from the eight hours their lives intersect. They talk about each other too, After all, we are talking about women here. But the one thing that can be taken away from this story is despite being different in so many ways, the lives of these women mirror each other more than not.
While Americans have watched as places like Ferguson and Baltimore go up in flames, could it be that there are more places like the one described here than anyone thinks? Yes there are. Granted people will get along with who they have to in order to keep their job. No one is saying that none of that goes on here, but could it really be more than that? Surely the idealist in all of us wants to believe that. But if it can happen among people who not even really trying to make a statement on society, just merely trying to come to work, what would happen if there were people who did try?
I happen to be one of this group of women. I like to think I learn something from all of them. One thing is for sure, from the younger ones I have learned how tragically un-hip I have become. But that is OK. Maybe something this Blogger considers a ton of fun happens too.
With very little effort, we can prove society wrong a little bit more every day.
Well done ladies. Well done.
Well, there may be a small one. This is they story of women. Women who work together. The women work with some men too. Don't get 'em wrong, they love the guys, but this is their story. Yes, the interaction between women who are thrown together in a work environment can be well, complicated. This is not about that. It is about similarity in a time that society and the media insists on telling us how different we are.
The place and the job are not important. What is important are the conversations. The place consists of roughly forty women, roughly half of them black, half of them white. They are different ages, different generations, different backgrounds, different life experiences, different opinions and worldviews. All those ingredients in some way, shape the people they are. What may go largely unnoticed however, is how all of those differences bring about a sameness that even those in the story might not have realized was there.
At the heart of the story, as stated before, are the conversations. As women in a group are prone to do, they talk. They talk a lot. They talk about husbands, they talk about boyfriends, they talk about children, they talk about work, which might be a bit more saltier than other topics, but who doesn't complain about the job? They talk about school. So many people with so many dreams and goals can only be a healthy environment. They talk about things that go on in their lives apart and outside from the eight hours their lives intersect. They talk about each other too, After all, we are talking about women here. But the one thing that can be taken away from this story is despite being different in so many ways, the lives of these women mirror each other more than not.
While Americans have watched as places like Ferguson and Baltimore go up in flames, could it be that there are more places like the one described here than anyone thinks? Yes there are. Granted people will get along with who they have to in order to keep their job. No one is saying that none of that goes on here, but could it really be more than that? Surely the idealist in all of us wants to believe that. But if it can happen among people who not even really trying to make a statement on society, just merely trying to come to work, what would happen if there were people who did try?
I happen to be one of this group of women. I like to think I learn something from all of them. One thing is for sure, from the younger ones I have learned how tragically un-hip I have become. But that is OK. Maybe something this Blogger considers a ton of fun happens too.
With very little effort, we can prove society wrong a little bit more every day.
Well done ladies. Well done.
