American Empathy
A history of weakness
The sun is beating the white folk brown: all those gathered together on Edgar's farm. A young man of no more than twenty climbs onto the back of a truck, adjusts his guitar, and begins to sing.
A bullet from the back of the bush took Medgar Evers’ blood
The crowd squirm at the sound of the name. Not knowing how to react, one man laughs, another leans closer. They know the story well. Medgar Evers, a black civil rights worker, shot dead in his driveway by a white supremesist just a few weeks ago.
The young man continues.
A finger fired the trigger to his name A handle hid out in the dark A hand set the spark Two eyes took the aim Behind a man’s brain But he can’t be blamed He’s only a pawn in their game
It's thrilling to the white middle-class audience, brought up on songs about a dust bowl they never witnessed, to hear a topical folk song sang so immediately. But did the young singer suggest that the man who killed Medgar Evers isn’t to blame?
The song goes on to identify the rich white politicians and standing authorities as the real murderers for misdirecting the anger of the ‘poor white man’ towards black people. And although Medgar Evars name will live on as ‘they lowered him down as a king’ the man who killed him will be forgotten as he’s only a tiny piece in a bigger picture.
It’s astounding, genius — a work of empathy.
The young singer is Bob Dylan; the song is ‘Only a Pawn in Their Game’ and, the crowd, well, they’re not quite ready for it yet.
Empathy is Shocking
Staring at the sun is a quick way to go blind. And yet, many do. In China, a group of ‘sun eaters’ believe that staring at the sun with the naked eye allows them to consume and live on the sun’s solar energy as a food substitute.
Many Yogi’s believe that staring at the sun will lead to a healthy life listing, increased vitality, a boost in serotonin and removal of emotional blocks as potential benefits. Science has a different opinion listing conjunctival disease, cataracts and macular degeneration as eventual side effects. And yet, many scientists stare at the sun, encouraging others to do so too.
There are between two and five solar eclipses each year with a total eclipse taking place every 18 months or so. — RMG
The difference is that scientists recommend wearing eclipse glasses. Why? Because staring at the sun is a quick way of going blind.
Sympathy vs Empathy
Sympathising with the nazis is a quick way to lose your job and the esteem of your peers. In 2017, Tony Hovater agreed to take part in an interview with The New York Times. The article described him as a mild-mannered and unassuming regular guy, the ‘nazi sympathiser next-door’.
At the time of the article Tony was married, working in a restaurant, and a founding member of The Traditionalist Worker Party. He believed that Hitler was misunderstood, a ‘kind of chill guy’ who ‘really believed in his cause. He really believed he was fighting for his people and doing what he thought was right.’
Tony believed in his cause too. The 2017 ‘Unite The Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, became notorious after the cowardly murder of 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring of 19 others. Heather had been part of an anti-rally protest group and died when a nazi-sympathiser ploughed his car into her and a group of fellow peaceful protestors. The Traditionalist Worker Party were one of the many extreme-far right groups there that day.
It was this connection that led to The New York Times piece. The article, widely criticised, resulted in Tony losing his job, home, and the respect of the nation.
Strangely, empathising with the Nazis is also frowned upon. The bulk of the criticism the piece faced being aimed at The New York Times for publishing the article in the first place and towards the writer, Richard Fausset, for writing it.
One reader wrote on Twitter.
‘I’m both shocked and disgusted by this article. Attempting to “ normalize “ white supremacist groups — should Never have been printed!’
Another wrote.
‘Instead of long, glowing profiles of Nazis/White nationalists, why don’t we profile the victims of their ideologies?’
Anton Chekhov, famous for his empathetic short stories and stage plays, faced similar criticism.
‘You abuse me for objectivity, calling it indifference to good and evil, lack of ideas and ideals, and so on. You would have me, when I describe horse thieves, say: ‘Stealing horses is an evil.’ But that has been known for ages without my saying so. Let the jury judge them; it’s my job simply to show what sort of people they are. I write: you are dealing with horse thieves, so let me tell you that they are not beggars but well-fed people, that they are people of a special cult, and that horse stealing is not simply theft but passion’. — Anton Chekhov
Understanding the difference between sympathy and empathy is an important task. Sympathy is a fiery embrace of kinship and fellow feeling. Empathy is a pair of eclipse glasses that allow you to look at the sun. It’s OK. You won’t get hurt.
Mistaken For Weakness
Empathy often is regarded as a weakness by people who see no profit in understanding those around them. In the corporate world, a cutthroat dog eats dog mentality has become celebrated at the expense of kindness and understanding.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Clare Smyth MBE, the chef-patron of Core, had this to say in response to a reader’s question in The Sunday Times.
How can you be empathetic without being seen as weak? — Fiona, 40
Actually, I think the ability to show empathy is a strength. It’s only as I’ve grown more confident in myself that I’ve become more empathetic…When I first became a head chef, I was headstrong and didn’t want to let anyone else affect what I was doing. I wasn’t as empathetic as I should have been. But it bit back, because we couldn’t retain staff, so I didn’t have a team around me. We lost a lot of the best cooks, and I found myself under intense pressure to deliver. It was also very lonely. — Clare Smyth MBE
Empathy Can Be Monstrous
Recent research found that our empathy towards people close to us can be harnessed and turned up to the point of antipathy and aggression towards others.
The researchers took a group of undergraduates and presented them with the following scenario.
In the room, next door is a fellow student who is in the running for a cash prize in a math competition against another competitor. You can administer a dose of hot sauce to this student to distract her enough to lose the contest.
The researchers found that they could manipulate the undergraduates who took part in the study towards aggression by increasing their empathy towards the students opponent. They did this by emphasising her financial difficulties. With this increased empathy, the undergraduates were more likely to give a higher dose of hot sauce to the innocent student in the next room.
The researchers concluded that,
‘Empathy uniquely predicts aggression and may do so by way of aspects of the human caregiving system in the form of oxytocin and vasopressin.’
Politicians and bad actors have used this to hijack our empathy for years to their selfish ends. The nuclear strikes in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are justified, even today, to the American people by declaring it saved the lives of millions of US soldiers. After all, if two bombs in a distant land that you can’t see, hurting people you don’t know, can put an end to war and allow your loved ones to come home, wouldn’t you find that acceptable? But is it moral?
Is Empathy Worth Pursuing?
To follow a path of empathy will put you at odds with an increasingly apathetic society. You may be regarded as weak by those who believe success comes in a Darwinian type survival of the fittest contest. Some may view your willingness to look at the darkness in others as a disturbing character flaw. Misapplied empathy can even leave you feeling drained and burnt out. So, is it worth it? Yes.
Empathy is a superpower. There is no other learned ability that can connect you so effectively to the people around you. It can take you beneath the surface of social conventions and allow you to live many lives. Empathy is Godly and the start of wisdom — joy comes tumbling after.