The truth of the matter

For the privileged few, diversity is not a direct concern. Money, status and power lift the privileged above the ground of the mixed population. I recall people on corporate balconies toasting the crowd below of Occupy Wall Street. On the ground, as the camera scanned the participants, were amazing differences from age to culture. Indeed, diversity is within the 99 percent, and in order to survive, we must know that diversity matters.

The truth of the matter is, for the 99 percent, there is no way around it. The privileged do not need to be concerned about issues of race, class, gender or equity surrounding them. They do not need communication skills or to know how to empathize with fellow citizens. The bourgeoisie's status, money and power buffer and isolate them from the people on the ground.

The ones on the ground, people like you and me, must communicate in order to rebuild what the 1 percent has destroyed. We must learn how to get along with diverse people who are or will be our neighbors. The majority of us will not be able to live the life of the rich and the famous. We must reconstruct our way of thinking about race, class and gender. The systems of inequality cannot strive if they do not receive our support.

When you think about the ones who are benefiting from institutionalized inequalities, more than likely, you will not be among those pictured. Well, maybe you benefit on a small scale, but the grandeur scale is what we do not see from our "ground" view. Somehow, the privileged have destroyed community pride and instituted individual pride. What a shame, since all 99 percent of us will share these spaces. The privileged way of thinking, as we witness every day from media, appears to say it is all normal, but within our souls we know that is a myth. What is normal about any injustice? What is normal about racism, sexism, abelism and the other -isms?

So where should we start, we the 99 percent who want to live and work together to change the power of the 1 percent over us? What does it look like in our everyday lives? Most importantly, how can we make it the norm, replacing the stereotypes the privileged have institutionalized and we over time have internalized? We start by having courage to see the need for change. We continue with patience for our transformation and the change of others.

I will use Ana Louise Keating's formula (parts of it) from "Listening with Raw Openness" to explain. Realize that blame is not useful, but accountability is. Complaining about an unjust system and who benefits from it is useless, but once the truth is known there need to be unity to combat the system of injustice. Categories and labels shape our perception. To look at a person with contempt, instead of empathy or to use labels like "other, illegal aliens, fag, etc.," continues the division. We may not have created the division, but we have tailored it. With such a wonderful, diverse population, we need to be open and flexible enough to change. We do not think one body of people has all the answers; this is how the 1 percent operates.

As a diverse community we allow conversation, and voices from everyone's experiences. We use our differences, and our diversity of race and gender as a powerful force. Let us carefully challenge ourselves in areas of misinformation through the Eurocentric educational systems, and our own prejudices and/or biases. By remaining open-minded, speaking honestly within conversation circles, and sincerely being empathetic with each other, we will become the powerful 99 percent. We will be the Americans who will see change in our generation, because we made it happen. The truth of the matter is that for the 99 percent, there is no other option if we are to survive with honor.

To read Keating's "Listening with Raw Openness," visit http://www.womensfundingnetwork.org/sites/wfnet.org/files/Conference2010Denver/Conference2010-Inclusion and Social Change.pdf.