Role Models for Understanding
I read an interview with a famous literary writer who explained she was reading a famous literary classic on a recent flight. Her seatmate, on the other hand, was playing a video game on her phone. The tone of the quote was condescending.
Now, to be fair, I’m reading the author’s words through the interpretation of a journalist. Still I was bothered at the perceived judgment. Was the author implying that the woman with the phone was not educated or cultured? But what if the woman was a literature professor who read classics every day and wanted a break? Or what if the woman had an invisible learning disability that made reading difficult? Or the woman (gasp!) simply didn’t like to read?
As an individual, I try hard not to judge. But as an author, I think it’s expected of us not to judge. We’re the people who get into the minds of others. We figure out what’s going on behind a smile or a frown—or a game of Candy Crush. We’re inside their heads and in their emotions, and that should remind us not to make assumptions about others in the real world.
I hope I did misread the tone of the author’s quote. But even if I didn’t, it spurs me to be an even better role model as an author. We want the world to know we understand the people in our stories; I’ll make sure the world knows I’m trying to understand the people in it, too.