what we see.

the other day, i was helping a client at Polaris with her homework for a business class. she had a writing prompt that included a statistic that the u.s. high school drop out rate is 30%. i commented in surprise, "wow, do you think that's the right statistic?" she responded with equal surprise, "no, that can't be right." i felt myself nodding in agreement, until she continued, "it's gotta be much higher than that. that's what i saw, at least." in that moment, my shock grew even more. i had been thinking that there couldn't possibly be a 30% drop out rate in the u.s., that i can't remember that many people leaving my high school. and then i realized: no matter how many diversity classes i take, anti-racism trainings i attend, books i read about race, class, and other injustices, my experience, which has shaped much of how i view the world, is one of privilege. of course the AP, over-involved, honor roll kids weren't the ones dropping out of high school. i truly have experienced life in a different world than many others in this country. to me, this is why the constant work of self-reflection is crucial. yes, i will always carry the experiences that have shaped me and given me so many opportunities, for which i am grateful - i wouldn't be where and who i am now without them. but as much as i desire to build solidarity with those experiencing injustice, with those of different races, cultures, classes, i must constantly reflect on the ways in which my privilege is constantly informing my interactions, my perspectives, the way i see the world.

last night, i was reminded again of the my limited view of the world. a friend gave me tickets to the woolly mammoth theatre, which was showing a play called "the agony and ecstasy of steve jobs." this incredible one-man show explored the origins of the apple technology company, our culture's obsession with always getting the next best thing in technology. most interestingly, though, the actor had traveled to china to the city of shenzhen where most of the world's technology is manufactured and interviewed workers, clandestinely slipped into the factories, met with secret union members, all in an attempt to see where all our stuff comes from. he met 13 year old girls who worked 14 hour days in factories of 450,000 workers, he met a man who had his hand crushed from the assembly line for the ipad and was not given medical attention, he heard stories and saw people. and this massive economic zone where so many are oppressed is not the result of a communist government, but is the result of multinational corporations, consumerism, capitalism. the point that was most compelling was that we so rarely actually think about where our things come from. we often just assume they are made by robots, by machines. we forget that people, many people, are being paid next to nothing in horrendous conditions to make the things we use every day, the things we depend on. the computer on which i type this blog, the cell phone that i use each day, the clothes i wear are not just things without a past, but they have been assembled by hands of people who i have never seen. i am, we are stuck in a way of living that is covered with the sweat and blood of people, men and women, from around the world. i can't stop using my phone, but i can use the knowledge i have and speak out while i continue to find ways to pursue justice, not just for those who i easily see, but for everyone.