Walk a mile in their shoes - part II

Walk a mile in their shoes - part II

https://parade.com/930988/amyspencer/mike-rowe-worst-dirty-jobs/

Some of the social experiments in life have been to experience “life is their shoes”.  I used to enjoy “Undercover Boss” -when one of the executives of a company, experienced the life of an average employee.  At the end of an episode, the executive got to meet the lower level managers he/she got to meet and frequently rewarded them for their jobs (or, in a few cases reprimanded them for poor service).

Another example was “Dirty Jobs” with Mike Rowe.  Mike got into some real messy situations - cleaning and shoveling manure, 

In the attached link, Mike lists his five ‘dirtiest jobs” - sewer inspector, cow inseminator, concrete chipper, shark suit tester, and snake researcher.

A quote from the snake researcher dirty job:

“Snake researchers pull large snakes from Lake Erie, squeeze them until they puke, then analyze their vomit to see what they’re eating. It’s as disgusting as it sounds, but on the day in question, to add to the excitement, I was bitten no less than three dozen times. Annoying, bloody, and very dirty.”  (My comment - Yuck!!!)

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Maybe we’d like to try a different job - or a different life for a day.  Sometimes students have “job days” when various people in different areas do presentations on their jobs.  (I’ve done that talking about computing and programming jobs).

What is it like to be the President for a Day?  How is a financial trader’s day like?  What does a nurse or doctor in an emergency room do in a day?

Maybe a student might want to ‘shadow’ a professional for a day.  My son, the TV reporter, has been shadowed in the past.  I’ve known students who were ‘sure’ they were going to be “X” and then shadowed a “X” professional and came to the conclusion that “X” was not a good choice for them.

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A social experiment that was published in 1961 was “Black Like Me”, where a man lived as a black man for a period of time.  The man experienced the despair of broken promises and hopes that had faded into nothing.  He was ‘walking a mile’ in their shoes.

I am on my own social experience.   I had been a white American Male for 68 years - while not intended as a social experiment  - have become a white American Female for most of the past four years.  (No, I am not going back to being a white American Male).

I don’t think I was a bad (aka “toxic”) male.  When I was in management, I think I treated males and females the same.  As an educator, it generally seemed like the majority of my better students were women - but of those I know, the male students I have seemingly were promoted earlier.  

Sexism is really part of the world and has been for centuries.  In Biblical accounts of ancestry, it is always “<man> was the father of <man> who was the father of <man> who was the father of <Man>.  Women were generally treated as second-class citizens.  

I don’t think I”m going to write the “Female Like Me” book - but I do have comments.

In my limited experience, women tend to be friendlier.  Early on (and continuing), other women would comment positively on my clothes or other.  “Oh, I like your top today.  Where did you get it?” (my answer is frequently ‘at a thrift shop’).  “I love you earrings”, “Red is your color - you look so good in red”.

Never have I heard (to me) “You look disgusting today”, “where did you get that ugly top?”.

In my past two years, I have said “I love you” to others that are not my family at least one-hundred times.  I think as a man if I said “I love you” it would be interpreted as “eros” - not “agape” or “phila”.  I have said it mostly to other women, but I also have said it to males.  (There have been a few times I had to explain it was “agape” love - the God-type of love).  

There have been a few negatives - almost always from conservative males.  “Why are you doing this?”, “You know you are wrong!!!”.  (Note, I also have had conservative males be very supportive as well!!!)

Some women have said “You are brave”, “You are courageous”, “I’m proud of you”, and similar encouraging words.  I sometimes can ‘almost’ read behind the eyes “You gave up being a white, well-educated male to be a female - you must be nuts!!!”.

There also is (at least to me) a Godly thing behind this . 2 John 2:11 says,

“Anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”

Online, where hatred flourishes, I read that God HATES gays, lesbians, transgender, bi-sexual, and whatever else.   I might be taking a different path than the world generally accepts, but I sense God within me.  I do read about coveting your neighbor or your neighbor’s wife.  I am not coveting anything but peace and wholeness for me.  

I read of a man who had people spit in his face, who yelled “kill him” as he was displayed to the public - and how he was killed that day - by hate (and somehow we still call that “Good Friday”).

Love wins my friends!!

Love wins!!!

Hugs!!

Karen