Nov 23, 2006 3
inspired by arundhati roy
every class in ever society has protective nuclei; collectivist entities that sort of define the rules of the game, creating filters through which our perceptions are framed. a suburban life is the most obvious example of that, that when you’re in it and a part of it everything you do and think is formed in that context. it’s not until you really experience what it’s like to be cast out of that protection and understand what it’s like to be unsafe in the world, and when you realize that you’re not the first, that yours and other’s family’s entire history has been a lifetime of precariousness do you fully realize that however you end up and whatever nucleus you end up within the protective confines of, you can never forget. you’re forever left with an honest apprehension that at any moment the gates will again open up and you will be kicked out, violently or otherwise. you’re forever aware of your own insignificance. you’re always aware that behind those walls lies a violence and disparity you can’t turn away from, though it may be hidden from view. all you can really do is try to understand and love and be loved.
