Bad “roommates” aren’t the problem.

January 5, 2022 10:23 AM

Olúfémi O. Táíwò writes about the privilege of being-in-the-room for The Philosopher. (Likely related the soon to be published book, Elite Capture.)
posted by eotvos (10 comments total)

Femi is the friend of friends (I'm spoused to a philosopher). I'm really looking forward to reading both Elite Capture and Reconsidering Reparations. Femi is also a musician.
posted by jocelmeow at 12:17 PM on January 5, 2022 [4 favorites]

I have often felt that sense of an invisible trap the author mentions. Thank you for posting.
posted by infini at 12:23 PM on January 5, 2022

This is so good. Thank you.
posted by flamk at 12:55 PM on January 5, 2022

Thanks for posting this, what a great piece.
posted by dusty potato at 1:05 PM on January 5, 2022

Oh wow I was *just* reading his essay on Identity Politics and Elite Capture from 2020 as I had discovered it this week. Great to see more content here as well!
posted by windbox at 1:12 PM on January 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

I loved this essay. I especially loved the understanding that the trap can be set without anyone consciously setting it or wishing it into being (though that also happens).
posted by feckless at 3:00 PM on January 5, 2022

Táíwò was interviewed about this article on an episode of The Dig a while back, also very much recommended.
posted by ropeladder at 3:20 PM on January 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

This is intense and great. Thank you.
posted by lauranesson at 6:33 PM on January 5, 2022

Thanks for posting this, I wasn't previously familiar with Táíwò but I'm definitely putting Elite Capture and Reconsidering Reparations in my queue.
posted by jameaterblues at 9:31 PM on January 5, 2022

From the piece:

When I think about my trauma, I don’t think about grand lessons. I think about the quiet nobility of survival. The very fact that those chapters weren’t the final ones of my story is powerful enough writing all on its own. It is enough to ask of those experiences that I am still here to remember them.

And:

As Nick Estes explains in the context of Indigenous politics: “The cunning of trauma politics is that it turns actual people and struggles, whether racial or Indigenous citizenship and belonging, into matters of injury. It defines an entire people mostly on their trauma and not by their aspirations or sheer humanity”.

This is such a helpful framing for me. I work in the trauma field. I see this happen too often, and I've perpetuated it too often. There is a false prioritization of hurt, less privileged people over less privileged people altogether. Once a person receives a trauma label (through a diagnosis, through a centering of their worst moment or experience, etc.), they are sometimes granted services or care that they should have had anyway. I think this centering of trauma can come from a good place. It can validate a traumatic experience, it can help someone get life-sustaining services--but it really does miss the point. Why should a person's dignity only be affirmed once they share their worst experiences with you?

Táíwò's piece helped me find language for my experiences. Thank you for posting!
posted by Avarith at 6:13 AM on January 6, 2022 [4 favorites]