“Put on the Diamonds”, by Vivian Gornick
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“Put on the Diamonds”, by Vivian Gornick
Anton Chekhov once observed that the worst thing life can do to human beings is to inflict humiliation. Nothing, nothing, nothing in the world can destroy the soul as much as outright humiliation. Every other infliction can eventually be withstood or overcome, but not humiliation. Humiliation lingers in the mind, the heart, the veins, the arteries... See more
I’ve been belittled and put down by someone. This left me feeling unworthy of connection and disgusted with myself. This was unfair and I didn’t deserve this. With shame, we believe that we deserve our sense of unworthiness. With humiliation, we don’t feel we deserve it.
Brené Brown • Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
When a society associates your cultural identity and native features with backwardness or violence or death, it becomes a survival strategy and necessity to disassociate & distance yourself from it. Fanon didn’t blame the individual for this impulse; he understood it as a largely unconscious symptom of a greater sickness. I’ve personally seen the... See more
Colonisation is as Much a Psychological Project as it is a Political One
Eventually, they may develop a shame complex, becoming sensitive to rejection, eager to accept blame, and hungry for acceptance and approval At the level of soul they feel unworthy, debased, and unlovable, anxiously anticipating the next shaming moment. At the center of the complex sits an archetypal image: a worm, a termite, a dark spot or glob of
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