I’m reading Ron Chernow’s excellent biography of Mark Twain (or Sam Clemens). I note many ways in which Twain was kind and even generous although he fully expected a rich return - that he would become a wealthy man. At the same time Twain was a vengeful man, taking offense easily and paying back people who he believed had wronged him. Twain also believed in God, but an absent God who didn’t care about humans, evil, or creation. Privately he railed against God wanting him to do something about the evil in the world. My interpretation is that since God didn’t care, Twain had to take it upon himself to right the wrongs. His tendency toward retribution reminds me very much of our current president. In Habakkuk the prophet assures Israel that in the end God will see that justice is done. But there is no promise as to how soon in human time that will be. Kindness takes faith in that promise and patience to wait for God’s fulfillment. - Jack
This is timely for me. I am leading a community of practice at my college this semester on the book Pedagogy of Kindness. I am excited to read the book and discuss it with others.
I would never have guessed “envy” as the opposite of “kindness” but your explanation makes perfect sense. If I am begrudging others of what they have (characteristics or possessions), then I will be disinclined to be kind to them.
I couldn’t fit it all in, but another way to think about the connection between kindness and envy is to return to the root of kind, which is kin. When something good happens to someone in our family we share in their joy. But when something good happens to an enemy, we don’t tend to share in that joy. So again, kindness is connected to treating others like family and envy is treating them as enemies. Now I’m wondering if there is an etymological connection between envy and enemy. I shall have to look it up!
The book was "Strangers in Theor Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right" by Arlie Russell Hochschild. Pre-2016 she spent several years among a community in Louisiana where local industry pollution has caused devastating health effects and environmental degradation the community bemoan, but who vote overwhelmingly for industry-friendly politicians who rail against culture-war social issues and perceived line-cutters. From Wikipedia:
"The core of the book is Hochschild's attempt to distill the worldview of Tea Party supporters, who formed part of the same constituency that heavily backed Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. According to Hochschild, Tea Party supporters . . . perceive a situation where women, immigrants, and racial minorities have been "cutting in line" to achieve the American Dream. They also feel as though some government officials (such as President Barack Obama) have been waving these same groups to the front of the line through affirmative action programs and other kinds of support. As a result of these perceptions, the older, largely white, and disproportionately male supporters of the Tea Party increasingly feel, as Hochschild's title indicates, like strangers in their own land."
Query: who benefits from those folks feeling so aggrieved against women, minorities, & immigrants changing the social and visual landscape of "their" country and workplaces while possibly receiving something "undeserved," that they would rather vote *against* those they perceive to be cutting in line, than vote *for* the long term health, safety, and environmental stability of their own community?
A year or two after the 2016 election, I read a book by a sociologist who had spent time in a deep red, deep south community, trying to understand why people voted the way they did when by many measures, it seemed to be against their interests.
The metaphor that came up time and again was cutting in line. These people were deeply concerned someone else might get something undeserved, and they deeply resented the idea somebody might get to take a shortcut or cut in line.
It reminded me of the saying:
There are the kind of folks who will feed 10 people just so that 1 doesn't starve, and then there are the kind of folks who will starve ten people just to make sure that one undeserving person isn't fed.
Wow. That is a sober and sobering insight. I am going to ponder it for a while. Thank you for sharing this. It really is a perfect picture of how envy works.
I’m reading Ron Chernow’s excellent biography of Mark Twain (or Sam Clemens). I note many ways in which Twain was kind and even generous although he fully expected a rich return - that he would become a wealthy man. At the same time Twain was a vengeful man, taking offense easily and paying back people who he believed had wronged him. Twain also believed in God, but an absent God who didn’t care about humans, evil, or creation. Privately he railed against God wanting him to do something about the evil in the world. My interpretation is that since God didn’t care, Twain had to take it upon himself to right the wrongs. His tendency toward retribution reminds me very much of our current president. In Habakkuk the prophet assures Israel that in the end God will see that justice is done. But there is no promise as to how soon in human time that will be. Kindness takes faith in that promise and patience to wait for God’s fulfillment. - Jack
That is so interesting! And your analysis of Twain rings true. Very insightful. Thank you for sharing!
This is timely for me. I am leading a community of practice at my college this semester on the book Pedagogy of Kindness. I am excited to read the book and discuss it with others.
Oh, that is wonderful! What a timely topic. Such intersting research on it, too!
I would never have guessed “envy” as the opposite of “kindness” but your explanation makes perfect sense. If I am begrudging others of what they have (characteristics or possessions), then I will be disinclined to be kind to them.
I couldn’t fit it all in, but another way to think about the connection between kindness and envy is to return to the root of kind, which is kin. When something good happens to someone in our family we share in their joy. But when something good happens to an enemy, we don’t tend to share in that joy. So again, kindness is connected to treating others like family and envy is treating them as enemies. Now I’m wondering if there is an etymological connection between envy and enemy. I shall have to look it up!
No, apparently not. This is what I found: “Envy is rooted in the concept of seeing (literally "looking upon" with an evil eye).”
“Enemy is rooted in the concept of friendship (or rather, the lack thereof—"not a friend").”
Interesting!
The book was "Strangers in Theor Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right" by Arlie Russell Hochschild. Pre-2016 she spent several years among a community in Louisiana where local industry pollution has caused devastating health effects and environmental degradation the community bemoan, but who vote overwhelmingly for industry-friendly politicians who rail against culture-war social issues and perceived line-cutters. From Wikipedia:
"The core of the book is Hochschild's attempt to distill the worldview of Tea Party supporters, who formed part of the same constituency that heavily backed Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. According to Hochschild, Tea Party supporters . . . perceive a situation where women, immigrants, and racial minorities have been "cutting in line" to achieve the American Dream. They also feel as though some government officials (such as President Barack Obama) have been waving these same groups to the front of the line through affirmative action programs and other kinds of support. As a result of these perceptions, the older, largely white, and disproportionately male supporters of the Tea Party increasingly feel, as Hochschild's title indicates, like strangers in their own land."
Query: who benefits from those folks feeling so aggrieved against women, minorities, & immigrants changing the social and visual landscape of "their" country and workplaces while possibly receiving something "undeserved," that they would rather vote *against* those they perceive to be cutting in line, than vote *for* the long term health, safety, and environmental stability of their own community?
Thank you! Very helpful.
A year or two after the 2016 election, I read a book by a sociologist who had spent time in a deep red, deep south community, trying to understand why people voted the way they did when by many measures, it seemed to be against their interests.
The metaphor that came up time and again was cutting in line. These people were deeply concerned someone else might get something undeserved, and they deeply resented the idea somebody might get to take a shortcut or cut in line.
It reminded me of the saying:
There are the kind of folks who will feed 10 people just so that 1 doesn't starve, and then there are the kind of folks who will starve ten people just to make sure that one undeserving person isn't fed.
Wow. That is a sober and sobering insight. I am going to ponder it for a while. Thank you for sharing this. It really is a perfect picture of how envy works.