Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.
Interpretation
Solidarity recognizes our differences while uniting us in our shared existence and commitment to each other.
In this quote, Sara Ahmed emphasizes that true solidarity is not merely about feeling the same way or sharing identical struggles. Instead, it highlights the importance of mutual commitment and recognizing our diverse experiences, acknowledging that despite our differences, we can still find common ground and support one another in our journeys.
In practice
Using this quote during a social justice workshop to emphasize the importance of recognizing diverse perspectives.
Let’s take this figure of the feminist killjoy seriously. Does the feminist kill other people’s joy by pointing out moments of sexism? Or does she expose the bad feelings that get hidden, displaced, or negated under public signs of joy? Does bad feeling enter the room when somebody expresses anger about things, or could anger be the moment when the bad feelings that circulate through objects get brought to the surface in a certain way?
I don't know. I don't know at all. And that's what's frightening the life out of me. To have no idea.
He will essentially follow the language of the spectacle, for it is the only one he is familiar with.
A large section of the intelligentsia seems wholly devoid of intelligence.
A man is never as big as when he is on his knees to help a child.
The world is a mirror, forever reflecting what you are doing, within yourself.
Metaphysics is a restaurant where they give you a thirty thousand page menu, and no food.
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