"Everybody Has a Heartache: A Blues"
Invisible Diversity
This poem by Joy Harjo talks about how everyone has their own problems. In the poem Harjo describes just what is everywhere in an airport alone. This poem could be rewritten to describe the heartaches of those in a local grocery store, the bank, those sitting in traffic after work. Harjo's descriptions of the people they interact with or see in the poem are more in depth than a person could tell just by looking at any of the people. This could be referred to as invisible diversity. The struggles each individual faces are not often superficial. Those in the poem has unseen problems, like the loss of a mother, money problems, possible abuse, health problems or even alcoholism.
"Nobody knows, nobody sees"
The poem points out that most only notice diversity when it fits their own stereotypes, when it's right in front of them, loud and different. Our world is and always has been incredibly diverse, both visibly and not. Usually, ethnic background is visible through skin color, as is disability, personal expression, and culture, but not always. Not everyone's background can be told by their appearance, many disabilities do not appear in the form of visible, physical handicaps, gender and sexuality are not discernible to a stranger. Religion, socio-economic status, mental health, physical health, and so much more are not visible to us. Not all diversity is noticeable, and it's still there. Each person that we pass in the hallways, see on the street, and interact with on a daily basis have a complexity to them that one cannot understand by simply looking. Diversity does not manifest itself in the form of a stereotype.
I have never heard the phrase “invisible diversity” before. I love it. I feel that too often when speaking of diversity people only discuss color. There is much more to diversity than that and I am really glad your post introduced me to that phrase. I also really liked your point that we cannot always see diversity, however that does not mean it does not exist. I think that it is important to always keep in mind that everyone we meet is more diverse than we can imagine. The books we have read this semester really help to highlight this concept. Many of the characters we have met are more complex than we may have realized if we met them in person. I think that this is the beauty of books, they help us too see how complex and diverse people actually are.
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