Wondering through a pathless land…

Worked very hard for today! A report that calls a spade a spade, the theme and the analysis- my sarcasm written all over it- but couldn't say it.. watched others present it and why… I am a minority .. always had been and always be… Others spoke about me and my experience and about my work….. Am I happy that someone spoke about me or am I angry that I can’t speak about me…

What is the legitimate authority to speak for/about “The Other”? What I would like to stress upon is not the intention of Self who is speaking for “The Other” but rather Self taking away the agency of “The Other” speaking for where Self, as a result of the privilege of dominance tend to be often treated as authenticating presences that confer legitimacy and credibility on the demands of subjugated speakers. Then again if Self, the dominant and privileged don’t speak for “The other”, is Self abandoning his/her responsibility of speaking against discrimination which is the result of Self’s own privilege? The reality is when Self is engaged in this s/he is representing “The other's” needs, goals, situation, and in fact, who they are, based on Self’s own situated interpretation. The Self speaking for “The Other” makes “The Other” a victim rather than an agent to speak for there own.

Hence I ask, when” The Other” is navigating through the complex set of identities within the ideological constrains, it- “the Other” , is persuaded to the formation of an ethnical persona based on a set of actions mobilized by the law and/or contaminated historiography to produce a new norm of the to the understanding of Self. This form of mobilization forces “The Other” to consent to the Self’s hegemony. Therefore the interpellation of “subalterness” is reinforced where agency is denied. This leads to “The Other’s” constant encoding and decoding of ethnical- persona. . Here “The Other” goes though the process of de-ethnization in dress, appearance, behavior etc. This disguise is apparent both in the “The’other's” conformity and resistance...

More questioning and another day on my Yathiri..... I rather break than bend...