Sunday, June 3, 2012

awkwardness...

There is this young man at work who has always been very friendly in the hallways. One day we happened to be in the elevator alone together, so I took the opportunity to finally ask him where he was from. He told me that he was from Iraq, and without even thinking about it, I said, "I am so sorry about what happened in your country", and then I burst into tears, and then I had to get out of the elevator because it was my floor. He kindly emailed me later in the day to say that he does not blame Americans and that I should not feel bad, and I thanked him for his kindness, and said that I felt that Americans should bear some collective shame for what has happened in Iraq, and that at least I, as an individual, could express my sorrow and regret when I have an opportunity. He didn't email back to me, but the friendliness in the hallways has continued, although perhaps tinged now with some awkwardness. The other other day, I read a recent interview with Dennis Kucinich that I felt compelled to send to this poor chap from the elevator. I had no reservations about sending it to him at the time, it seemed like what I absolutely had to do, but the result has been an intensification of the awkwardness on my side: I had forgotten that I had sent it to him, and then, there he was in the elevator when I left from work that same day, apologizing for not having read it yet, and I felt terrible! I really don't know what possessed me. I have always tried to follow my heart in my life, but sometimes it leads me in strange ways.

3 comments:

Christopher said...

The awkwardness no doubt came out of the age differences.

If you hadn't spoken to the young man about his country nor e-mailed him the link to the Kucinich interview, you would be regretting it, for you were following your heart.

I read the Kucinich interview, and thought he was spot-on in the things he said, which were a lot like the things Barack Obama used to say before becoming President.

But, now he's President, he's acting much like his
*predecessor did*
.

Quel dommage......

I hope all is well with you.

marain said...

So good to see that you are still here, Christopher, and thank you for your words of comfort. Surprise of surprises this morning, the young man had sent me a link to some beautiful Oud music, for which I thanked him. I guess everything is okay with him and his gesture has gone a long way towards eliminating my feelings of awkwardness.

I still wonder if there isn't something in the water at the White House. I am so disappointed about so many things, and yet I am sure that the alternative (in Nov.) would probably be so much worse. A part of me is hoping that he'll pull out all the stops once he has four more years and nothing to lose. I hope someone like Dennis, or Elizabeth Warren could succeed to win the nomination in the future.

I have been well, just distracted by other things in the last year. Maybe there is something moving in me to write again, but it takes time that I don't always find I have. I will retire in only a year and a half, though, and then I will have no excuses!

I hope you are fine, and I wish you all the best, as always.

M

Christopher said...

"......A part of me is hoping that he'll pull out all the stops once he has four more years and nothing to lose........"

Here's to hoping. But, were Obama to change tack in his next four years (and he may not even get them) he might not be able to govern, given the gridlock in the lower house.

You talked of Kucinich or Elizabeth Warren as possible future presidential candidates. However, because of the 2010 Supreme Court decision that corporations are people, and that restricting money they give to political campaigns violates their First Amendment rights, it effectively removes the possibility of the likes of Kucinich and Elizabeth Warren ever being elected President.

By the way, when posting my previous comment I failed to hyper-link to the blog I've recently resumed after not posting in it for five years. I've corrected this oversight when posting this comment. You may find some recent postings there of vestigial interest, or you may not.

Anyway, keep posting on your own blog here.