Eight as Metaphor

At the end of our time in South Africa, we were told by our professor to think of our study abroad group in relation to the sort of reconciliation being attempted in that nation. We were to take what was good with us and leave what was bad, and we were to try to make peace within our group. While this exercise may seem simple in the context of a small group, it truly helps one understand the great challenges involved in the reconciliation process in South Africa.

In our group of eight students, we are queer, and African, and white; we are oppressors and oppressed, and we stand in places very difficult to explain to those who have not stood with us. In watching and being a part of this group, it has been clear that we will never fully understand one another. Even when one’s standpoint is explained over and over again and one is perfectly honest will others, there is still something in the way of complete understanding. Some may relate this to lack of consciousness or awareness or even kindness (and this may be the case), but I believe there are differences that can never be understood by all. I also believe that this is okay.

Reconciliation is about bringing people together, acknowledging past wrongs, and living with one another with less conflict. To reconcile is not to ignore the differences between us but to live with the understanding that we will always be different without tearing each other down because of those differences. I think that we must never cease trying to better understand one another or trying to thoughtfully improve the world around us. However, unless we acknowledge that there are barriers in understanding that may never be broken down completely, either in a group of eight or in the context of a nation with a horrific past, reconciliation will remain impossible.