I Never Thought Of It That Way Summary
Applying Empathy in a Divided World
After reading I Never Thought of It That Way by Monica Guzman, I have considered ideas and examples reflecting on the ways that sorting, othering, siloing, and/or making assumptions have created social problems. Using portions from the text and personal experience, I will show how and when we show empathy is a gift, not only for ourselves but for others as well.
Guzman provides examples of what sorting, othering, and siloing are in simpler terms, stating, “We get together into groups. We’ll call this sorting. We push against groups that seem opposed to us. We’ll call this something else. We sink deeper into our groups and our stories, where it’s harder to hear anything else. We’ll call this “siloing” (Guzman 2). The three terms Guzman emphasizes all work together in a cycle to essentially divide us, whether we realize it or not. Although making “friends” or a group sounds harmless, that is where it can get harmful when we can’t be honest with ourselves about how who we hang out with affects so much more than just our social lives, but rather our …show more content…
Empathy in our dialogues, she says, is the key to gaining new perspectives, broadening our horizons, and decreasing that divide that is growing in our country (Guzman 31). Guzman says to approach conversations with an open mind when first approaching, with no preconceived notions, as that can cloud our judgment before we even start a discussion; by doing this, we can have a more productive conversation. Some things Guzman also suggests promoting healthy dialogue are active listening and body language. Conversations are much more than what we say, but how we say it, how we are sitting or standing when we say it, and even how we are listening when we aren’t the ones talking (Guzman 15). By participating in an honest dialogue like Guzman suggests, with these tactics, we can learn more and decrease the gap in
After reading I Never Thought of It That Way by Monica Guzman, I have considered ideas and examples reflecting on the ways that sorting, othering, siloing, and/or making assumptions have created social problems. Using portions from the text and personal experience, I will show how and when we show empathy is a gift, not only for ourselves but for others as well.
Guzman provides examples of what sorting, othering, and siloing are in simpler terms, stating, “We get together into groups. We’ll call this sorting. We push against groups that seem opposed to us. We’ll call this something else. We sink deeper into our groups and our stories, where it’s harder to hear anything else. We’ll call this “siloing” (Guzman 2). The three terms Guzman emphasizes all work together in a cycle to essentially divide us, whether we realize it or not. Although making “friends” or a group sounds harmless, that is where it can get harmful when we can’t be honest with ourselves about how who we hang out with affects so much more than just our social lives, but rather our …show more content…
Empathy in our dialogues, she says, is the key to gaining new perspectives, broadening our horizons, and decreasing that divide that is growing in our country (Guzman 31). Guzman says to approach conversations with an open mind when first approaching, with no preconceived notions, as that can cloud our judgment before we even start a discussion; by doing this, we can have a more productive conversation. Some things Guzman also suggests promoting healthy dialogue are active listening and body language. Conversations are much more than what we say, but how we say it, how we are sitting or standing when we say it, and even how we are listening when we aren’t the ones talking (Guzman 15). By participating in an honest dialogue like Guzman suggests, with these tactics, we can learn more and decrease the gap in