The need for compassionate insight

"To love our enemy is impossible.
The moment we understand our enemy,
we feel compassion towards him or her,
and he or she is no longer our enemy."
Thich Nhat Hanh

Lately I have been pondering this assertion. It resonates with a recent lament that involves our capacity to engage in the Oppression Olympics rather than truly understand one another's suffering. This is especially the case for the oppressed. Sure this oppression exists in varying degrees depending on statuses and how they intersect, but, this should not preclude that their commentary or perceptions on experiences with oppression are not valid, or that our suffering is by default greater than than theirs.

As a black woman however, it is all too easy for me to engage in this mindset, of contextualizing my suffering in a legacy of such, and concluding that my suffering is greater than those who do not have this legacy as part of their status. Such a mindset, however, has not led me to conclude that those who would call me out as being exclusionary in some way shape or form are my enemy. Maybe this is me being naive, but I tend not to see much hostility beyond defensiveness in their demeanor. At the end of the day, no one likes being excluded from respectful, dignifying, equitable treatment nor do they want to be represented as being worthy of such exclusion.

Where our various social-justice oriented endeavors are concerned--of which the oppressed tend to actively engage to varying degrees--our cries for positive forms of treatment and representation are rooted in similar spaces of suffering. What we suffer from is the denial of such positive and therefore humanizing modes of treatment and representation which can be expressed in forms of violence (both physical and psychological) that range from neglect to brutality and death. Truly understanding this commonality brings about the truth that such people, those who share in this space of suffering due to the denial of their humanity, are not our enemy.

Yet refusal to consider such as being the case, which results in refusal to understand, and therefore refusal to exercise compassion (even towards allies), allows for the continuation of the illusion of separateness to be maintained and with it the spirit of divide and conquer that continues our subsequent oppression. This is will be why, when 2042 does come around, members of the dominant group, rich, white, male, heterosexual, etc., etc., etc., will have nothing to worry about while the oppressed wonder why we still haven't gotten our act together.

After thought:
Being open to understanding one another in spite of our differences is also a compassionate act in that it allows for the potential of symbiotic relations. In short, we are able to see how we mutually benefit one another. Notice I am not claiming we could all be friends (although that would be nice) but certainly effective collaborators when it comes to actualizing our respective liberating ideals, endeavors, and so on. Compassionate insight allows us to see with connective eyes; eyes unclouded by the kind of hatred that demands we conclude our differences are irreconcilable.

Compassionate insight and action is something I continue to work toward while acknowledging that my failure to have done so in the past is rooted in witnessing and experiencing modes of suffering at the hands of oppressed oppressors. While I may still rest at the point of belief that they are no different from the oppressors themselves, I am pushed to consider that they too suffer in ways similar to my own and are therefore no different from me, a potential oppressor in my own right. Having a teacher who models these insights effectively and can teach a deeper understanding of such things is what I need....