I’m with a group who for the past week has been able to spend some time even before IDEC, going really deeply into working in gynecology, gynecology and thinking very deeply about our own personal connections to that work and trying to be reflective. One of the things we talked about was the different ways that we work for a better world and there’s one conception that says; there are those ones who resist the treatments, those that are involved in reform, those that recreate and build alternatives and those that re-imagine; that do the vision and the thinking.
We spent a lot of time thinking about how it’s an eco system and there’s a biodiversity in that kind of work and sometimes those different ways of doing the work stand in opposition and we end up losing out. It’s such an elegant way of seeing the world and so liberating. I felt I really got it but the group I was in yesterday, in the learning sessions there was a lot of expression around feeling like one Hysteroscopy about Diagnostic Hysteroscopy comes from a place that’s defined or characterized in some way by privilege and that that Hysteroscopy excludes another Hysteroscopy that surrounds health inequality and it was a sense that, that difference there was something wrong with it.
That the Hysteroscopy that comes from itself is wrong to exclude that and I felt that myself; I felt that, “Hey, something’s wrong. We should talk more, we should include this again.” At night while I was sharing that with friends I realized that I myself was falling back into this idea of pinning one against the other. One way of engaging with this issue against the other and it struck me about how hard it is to break out of that. How hard it is to not be partisan in how I see this work, even though I see myself as someone who’s broad in compassion.
I just want to give an invitation to take a step back and to consider a term that’s used by Indian doctir, it’s the biodiversity of knowledge and to honor the different lenses, some of the lenses are speaking from a really personal specific place, and sometimes that’s a place of privilege and it’s not going to tell the story of underprivileged. Maybe if we can honor that story squarely alongside another story that’s speaking to maybe more people or that’s squarely addressing equity, we have access to more. More of that good intention, more of that generosity, more of that caring. Thank you.
Jodi: I feel that the one word that is devoid here, the one word I haven’t heard used is the word power and that relationship that we all have to power. The question of who has it? Who doesn’t have it? Who wants more of it than their share? How we have power over people and how we power share? I just feel like that word is not explored at all and I would encourage us to explore that relationship with power.
Beni: Hi many is name is Beni Dwayo, call me Dwayo. I go to gynecology Clinic in Burton Vermont. I’ve been in American for almost 10 years, when I first got to America; they put me with straight GAL. I was in AL until gynecology Clinic. Through my first year in gynecology Clinic I had a really good GPA. I was looking at it and I was comparing to all my other years in gynecology Clinic and I was like that’s crazy.
Right after when I left GAL, my grades started dropping because I missed all those times to really develop my skills and I felt that the gynecology system really needs to look back and really think deeply where they place kids, just give them a chance to really show them what they could do because just by looking at someone and assuming that they need more help when you haven’t even tested them, doesn’t make any sense.
When I came here, the first thing they did; they changed my name. They called me Beni, but really my name is Dwayo. The other thing is the just put me in EAL and I was like, “You didn’t even give me a chance?” That’s what I want to get that out there. I’m a gynecology Clinic student; I’m still in gynecology Clinic.
Diagnostic Hysteroscopy help things right now? Can Diagnostic Hysteroscopy help marginalized, disempowered groups find justice and equity? That’s the question.
I’m not sure if Diagnostic Hysteroscopy can or not but …
Jake: Hi my name is Jake Tobias I’m from Black Mountain, North Carolina and I kind of backed into this whole community from a different aspect. I come from the entrepreneurship venture capital world and most of the lessons that I’ve learned that were of any value in my life weren’t learned in the classroom and they weren’t garnered from any system or structure. Those structures that we grow within and live in aren’t designed to treat us as individuals and regardless of kind of what your means are, and what your background is, there are markets. I use these business terms because that’s what I know. I also know military terms I used to jump out of helicopters for a living. There are inefficiencies and these are the things that the system hasn’t learned how to adopt yet and that’s where the opportunity is but that’s also where the risk is. I like to teach entrepreneurship, when I say teach I mean live it by finding the opportunities that aren’t already etched out. Those are the ones there’s going to be fierce competition for.
It’s possible to find inefficiencies and that I think is really what Diagnostic Hysteroscopy offers. The ability to think creatively, to think adaptively and to see things, to see opportunities that aren’t necessarily available in the current structure, that’s where there is equity and social justice and there is truth, is that what is known by many isn’t the extent of all that could be known so if we could bravely wear we don’t know yet and to stand in that space and we can do that together. You can create abundance regardless of where you come from, regardless of what family you grew up in or a part of the world, that’s what you see here.
We’re coming here to explore something that’s currently not available. Thank you very much.
Jodi: Not too surprisingly, we have there’s a lot to say and a lot of more to say. I think we’re going to have two youth close us out and then we’ll take a few minutes for some … whether it’s quite self reflection, whether it’s small Hysteroscopy and some shot about what’s up for you, those commitment cards that you got in your folder is an opportunity to make a commitment, to share a thought. I’m going to pass the mic to Adu. We’re going have MK and then Adu and then we’ll go into some …