If the phrase "object permanence" doesn't mean anything to you, then you probably haven't spent much time lately sprawled on the floor next to an infant.
My granddaughter has, among the phalanx of educational toys vying for her attention, an object permanence box, which is basically a wooden cube, a little smaller than a square Kleenex box, with a hole in the side. Colorful cloths are tucked into the hole and disappear. Then they're pulled out of the box, and reappear. Voila!
Why is this important? Let me pull a few lines from a recent academic paper:
"Knowing that objects continue to exist when they cannot be directly observed or sensed is called 'object permanence.' This fundamental cognitive skill is important for working memory and allows us to form and retain mental representations of objects.
"For example, when a ball rolls under a couch and out of sight, infants who have object permanence understand that the ball exists. They may persist in attaining the ball by moving their body in various ways to look for and reach it even though it is hidden from view."
Wobbly object permanence skills is why peek-a-boo is so entertaining for very young children. The beloved grandma mysteriously vanishes behind a wall of hands and then — peek-a-boo! — she magically appears, out of nowhere! It's great fun.
Once mastered, object permanence stays with a person. Your keys fall into the couch, you retain an idea of where they might be — between the cushions — and look for them. You don't shrug and forget the keys exist.
But object permanence is failing at the highest levels of government, where the current administration seems convinced that if certain narratives, or group of persons, are hidden from view, then they — and the challenges they present to whatever homogeneous white straight society they obviously hope to build — magically vanish.
Does violent racism constitute a significant thread throughout American history? Delete a few web sites, scrap a few plaques and — presto chango! — never happened. Our kids are back to learning about George Washington chopping down the cherry tree.
Do trans people trouble you? So vexing, what shall we do about high school girls swim meets? The Trump administration is vigorously trying to scrub trans people from public life — from passports, from the military. Medical care they need to live their lives is being criminalized.
In July, the Trump administration ordered the LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline shut down, an astoundingly callous act.
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The vile & incompetent minions of the demented, deranged, fat, moronic fascist traitor do those things because they hate those people & they also hate us, anyone that doesn't worship him as being sent by their idea of god to save the USA & the world from all the things they hate!
ReplyDeleteThey are like King Canute beating back the waves, it won't work in the end!
It's working so far. And, God forbid, it may serve as a template for politicians of every stripe on into the future.
Deletetate
Older women have been dealing with this forever. At some specific age we become invisible. Literally .. "oh, I didn't see you there" when bumped into by the guy behind us in line .. or figuratively .. "whatever shall we do about/with mom?"
ReplyDeleteDogs have an interesting perspective. If they can't see you then obviously you can't see them. Cats, OTOH, don't care if you can see them or not, and if they're not inclined, they completely ignore you.
I saw a great play in St Louis about older women realizing the had become invisible. One of them realized they could steal expensive stuff and no one would notice. It was hilarious. Not so much in real life.
DeleteBrilliant insight. My grandkids had the same toy - you making the connection between the toy and the Trump cult is higher order thought. Bravo.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the many reasons they vilify any news outlets except their own. "If I didn't hear it from them, it isn't true", they say, even as reality bangs on their door.
ReplyDeleteOne of my earliest memories is standing outside school, probably in first grade. My older sister pointed to a building across the street and said, "That's where Pat lives." The idea that my father's friend Pat existed outside our home was a revelation to me. It was a lesson I've never forgotten. I'm sorry to say, I can't say the same about most of the lessons I learned inside the school.
ReplyDeleteAs an older woman, I confess I have never in my life felt invisible. Judging by the demographics of the protests, older women are more visible than ever.
ReplyDeleteBoth sexes become more and more invisible as they age. Inevitably, younger people either fail to notice you at all or simply see you as they would see a rock or a tree. There was even a bluegrass song about this unavoidable aspect of geezerhood. Fittingly, it was called: "Old and In the Way."
DeleteThat was also the name of a bluegrass group that included Vassar Clements (fiddler), Jerry Garcia (yes, that Jerry Garcia), and John Hartford (banjo, lyrics, vocals). Their 1975 debut album became one of the best-selling bluegrass albums of all time. The surviving members of the group (minus the late Jerry Garcia), released a reunion album in 2002, called Old and In the Gray.
You can't make this [stuff] up!
While I agree with your perspective and imagine that most of what you say is true I don't know exactly how to put this but I and many millions of Americans just don't give a fuck .
ReplyDeleteChildren, who have very little agency need protections somebody's got to watch out for them they don't really have rights per se and so children's rights we need to fight for them they're not considered to be able to figure things out on their own so we have to figure things out for them . But of course we're supposed to make an exception for children who want to transition to the other sex because that's something they can figure out on their own? Seriously?
The people you're talking about are adults they're adults whether you're African American, a woman, homosexual as an adult you're responsible for yourself.
Contrary to popular opinion even as a white heterosexual ethnically Christian male nobody gave me shit .
I worked and fought for the things that I have there's no hey your a white guy so you start ahead in the game.
Poor people and handicapped people don't have everything everyone else has .
There should be a social safety net.
The rest of us adults have to fend for ourselves.
I'm sure you think I'm out of my mind I think you are too we probably both are
Indeed, we all have to fend for ourselves. Making some people second class citizens with fewer rights to be who they are diminishes their ability to fend for themselves. We can't legislate fairness and equity, but we surely don't need to legislate unfairness and inequity. I can only speak for myself, but Neil's piece seems honest and compassionate. Your comment seems less so.
DeleteGino. Nobody gave you a shit. Nobody? No one makes it to adulthood without someone, giving a shit. Not what you want, but enough you need to keep you alive, functional. Adults contribute to the world's misery when they use their pain to excuse their don't give a shit beyond their nose.
DeleteI don't know what about my comment seems dishonest
DeleteYes when I was a child my sister and mother and I lived on the second floor of two flat above my grandparents and uncle.
I had a roof over my head and plenty to eat.
We didn't get any money from the government and as I hope you know Italians were not seen as white people.
We didn't get anything from the church either and I went to work when I was 12. 55 years later I haven't stopped.
About to start drawing social security and have Medicare
I'm old and my body is wrecked from doing construction my whole life I raised three kids put them through college. They both work to get scholarships.
They have jobs. I live in my son's basement
I'll say it again nobody gave me anything.
I am not a victim I am not angry I disagree that the government is responsible for everyone.
As adults everyone is responsible for themselves.
Uninformed AND ungrateful. A bad look Gino. First, the country let your grandparents in —it didn't drag your grandma into a van and ship her to Louisiana. But you don't care. How do you know what aid your grandparents got? You don't. They're not going to sit you down and explain they're on the dole —though it might help you if they had. You aren't a victim —you're a beneficiary —and you are angry, because you assume that your people struggled while others —who happen to be a shade darker than you — have everything given to them on a plate. If you truly believe adults should be responsible for themselves, you should stand up and take responsibility for yourself. How many Blacks were on those construction crews you worked on? Any? And you dare gripe about what a bad deal you got.
DeleteGino appears to be just another of those angry red-hats with real and perceived resentments and grievances, Mister S. There are millions more just like him, and they're a prime reason why we are where we are today.
DeleteUnfortunately, he's correct about Italians not being seen as "white people." The slurs and snarks were rampant before WWII. Italian ballplayers were called "garlic-eaters" in print media and mocked for wearing "bear grease" on their hair. Even the greats like DiMaggio were not immune. It was pretty bad...and you can look it up.
But all that began to change after the war, as Italians began to assimilate and thrive and move out of the cities. Gino appears to be a child of the Fifties. The worst of the bigotry was history by the time he came up. Yes, Mister S, he does have a point about what his people endured. But even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Gino neglects to mention how the Italians (and other ethnicities) pulled in the welcome mat behind them. Some of the worst hatreds and prejudices come from the formerly oppressed. I got mine, Jack, and I got it the hard way...but now you can just STFU and GFY. White riots against school integration and busing in Boston and Cleveland (and Chicago). Hey, paisan...do you know what a mulyan is...and what it means?
Gotta wonder how many people of color worked alongside of Gino on those first construction jobs. The building trades and the unions (many of which were Mob-controlled) kept the darker-skinned folks (the Blacks and Hispanics) out of training programs and employment for decades, while the Poles, the Irish, and the Italians, now seen as "white"...prospered and thrived. Truth hurts, pal.
Poor Gino struggled, but those coming up behind him were the beneficiaries of affirmative action programs? Yeah, yeah, yeah...blah blah blah. Heard the same things fifty years ago, when Gino was young and the hard-hats were beating up the hippies. Archie Bunker made bigotry sound amusing and funny. But the reality wasn't so funny, and it's still not very amusing. Trump and his minions have cashed in, big-time, on the millions who think like Gino. And now...here we are. Ain't it grand?