The term “radical care” is familiar to me, but while reading this chapter, I realized I didn’t actually understand it. Radical care isn’t just deep care, but also critical. In Victoria’s words, radical care is confrontational and seeks liberation. I’m eager to learn more about the concept, as I have lots of questions. Questions that float to the top are: Who can enact radical care, and who can receive it? What does radical recipiency look like? Is it simply passive beneficence, or active mutual action? Does enacting radical care require extensive knowledge and/or experience with structures of oppression and how our identities fit or do not fit within these systems?
The other thing that this chapter raised for me is the role of metrics in upholding systems of oppression. Specifically, the Kathleen Lynch quote Victoria referred to, “metrics do not just represent the world, they create it,” (pg. 16). It made me think back to our conversations on qualitative and quantitative, and I realized that I need to be proficient (if not fluent) in quantitative methods because of their capacity to create and maintain realities by influencing public policy, public opinion, etc. Proficiency in quantitative methods would give me the capacity to interrogate potentially misrepresentative metrics that perpetuate “care-harming ideologies” (16).
Finally, what do I do that cannot be measured?
My partner and I have different cultural backgrounds, and different cuisine traditions. We tend to cook delicious, easy, and filling meals together/for each other. But there are times when our bodies mysteriously yearn for food from home. Like today. I woke up with an intense craving for an Iraqi breakfast dish, and my partner yearned for a Gujarati dish. I made breakfast, and she made dinner–and we both enjoyed each other’s food, but I really enjoyed the dish I made, and she really enjoyed the dish she made. The comfort and satisfaction that culturally relevant food brings us cannot be measured, and neither can the sudden intense yearning for it.
Beautiful... your food example made me smile. And I find myself thinking a lot about the space around one of the key questions you ask: does radical care have to be mutually beneficial. Or can it be? Hope we have tie to talk about this in class.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing a bit of your thoughts and experiences, Ibrahim! Your questions surrounding the giving and the getting of radical care (as well as your story of immeasurable food traditions and the intense cravings for it) really resonated.
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