September 18, 2015 - 12:04
Slippage is a complicated notion, and it is personal experiences and history, that construct each individual's definition of this term. Dalke says that 'verbal 'slippage' is involuntary, which suggests that in 'slipping' somehow we access our unconscious, or what we 'really mean,'(Dalke) and in doing so we realize that 'there is something on the ground that needs to be picked up'(Dalke). Even though I agree that 'slippage' is almost always unintentional, I believe that individuals themselves cannot always distinguish what they tripped on, and thus need the aid of others to realize what they need to remove from the ground. This is contradictory to a definition we explored in class, which suggested slippage is something which in reflection, we might not have said due to political or emotional reasons. As I perceive these 'slippages' to stem out of ignorance more often than not, I think that by shying away from confronting someone when they slip, we are not fulfilling our moral obligation of bringing the issue to light, which, if ignored by everyone who witnesses it, might remain indefinitely unresolved. Thus, we ourselves slip on our lack of initiative to take action something that offends us or the people around us.
In her essay, 'Report from the Bahamas', June Jordan explores various manifestations of 'slipping', at times verbal, and at others, more ambiguous. Upon relating 'a message from the Ministry of Tourism'(Jordan, 39), she expresses her dissatisfaction with the legitimacy of the text, calling on it for focusing on tracking 'white Mr. Columbus' and not 'saying one word about the Bahamian people, the Black peoples, to whom the only thing new in their island world was this succession of crude intruders'(Jordan, 40). This 'slip' might have been a ramification of the lack of thought the Ministry had given to the message or their lack of consideration for the black community, both equally unbefitting their job title. However, Jordan gives us no clue as to why the 'slip' could have occurred, neither does she make any effort to report it to anyone. It is true that she could not have gone up to the Ministry itself, but maybe by at least informing the hotel's management, she could have played her part. It might not have changed the message, neither the offense generated by it, but it could have prevented her from slipping, which she certainly did by being a silent bystander.
Moreover, we can observe the notion of 'slippage' that Jordan experiences first hand through her students. The first occurs when a Jordan learns that a Jewish student she has bonded with over a certain cause, does 'not care one way or the other about currently jeopardized Federal Student Loan Program' because it did not affect him(Jordan, 43). Jordan, who needs these loans for her own son, is obviously offended by her student's slip. However, instead of sharing her perspective with the student, maybe broadening his horizons and making him aware of his 'slip', Jordan refrains from doing so, seemingly content with the fact that 'for these reasons of differences,' she and the student 'had moved away from each other (Jordan, 43). I might be slipping here too, assuming Jordan does not discuss her issues with her student, however, there is no mention of it in the essay, which has made me reach this conclusion.
Along with this student, Jordan also reports a 'slip' of a white student who tells Jordan her life is purposeful due to issues of 'poverty. Police violence. Discrimination in general'(Joran, 43). What this student does not acknowledge is that, she is indulging in this discrimination by the appalling ignorance in her comments. Maybe, if she contemplated upon her statements, she would have realized how morally repugnant it sounded, and how deeply it could have hurt someone, and did, Jordan. But once again, Jordan kept silent and prevented the student from reflecting upon her 'slip' and subsequently maybe from attempting to more deeply analyze the reasons for his slip and refraining from similar 'slips' in the future. Who knows whether this would have actually happened, but we can ascertain that by not speaking out about the matter, Jordan facilitates the student's 'slip'.
I believe if we are not called out on when we are wrong, we might not always realize that we have slipped. A lot of the times 'slippages' are manifestations of our subconscious mind, of ideas so deeply embedded in our minds, that it is not easy for us to even consciously access them. This is why we needed someone to help pull us up when we slip and fall. Yes, the person we have offended, might not want to aid us, but doing so in this context would enable them to refrain from letting something that could hurt more people remain on the floor. In light of this, Jordan lacks practical effort to eradicate these notions that affront her, and by doing so, herself slips time and again.
Works cited:
•June Jordan, Report from the Bahamas, 1982, Meridians 3, 2 (2003): 6-16.
•Anne Dalke, "Slipping into Something More (Un)Comfortable: Untangling Identity, Unsettling Community." DRAFT chapter for Steal This Classroom: Teaching and Learning Unbound, book manuscript by Anne Dalke and Jody Cohen, forthcoming with punctum press, Summer 2016.