Shame. Its something mob know intimately.
Shame can be self-deprecating, it can be second-hand embarrassment, in Wiradjuri our word for it is guwiindha. But there's a much more sinister side to it. The type of shame that tells you're undeserving, you're less than. It stops you;
Shame can be self-deprecating, it can be second-hand embarrassment, in Wiradjuri our word for it is guwiindha. But there's a much more sinister side to it. The type of shame that tells you're undeserving, you're less than. It stops you;
from seeking help. In much of the literature, shame is seen as a deficiency in us. We need to be empowered. Point taken. But the bigger question is the genesis of shame. That doesn't sit with us. It sits with mainstream society, still unwilling to reckon with its true history
There are ways to address this through structural law reform & curriculums etc. And these are important. But shame manifests in daily microaggressions, compounded over years & inherited through communities & families. How do we confront this reality?
Some posit education or the concept of social mobility as an answer. It's a violent paradox as the education system for many mob is the place where they first begin to put a name to racism. Formal education can be protective but is not an elixir to shame.
