Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.
Interpretation
Solidarity recognizes our differences while uniting us in our shared existence and commitment to each other.
In this quote, Sara Ahmed emphasizes that true solidarity is not merely about feeling the same way or sharing identical struggles. Instead, it highlights the importance of mutual commitment and recognizing our diverse experiences, acknowledging that despite our differences, we can still find common ground and support one another in our journeys.
In practice
Using this quote during a social justice workshop to emphasize the importance of recognizing diverse perspectives.
Let’s take this figure of the feminist killjoy seriously. Does the feminist kill other people’s joy by pointing out moments of sexism? Or does she expose the bad feelings that get hidden, displaced, or negated under public signs of joy? Does bad feeling enter the room when somebody expresses anger about things, or could anger be the moment when the bad feelings that circulate through objects get brought to the surface in a certain way?
Would you require a wretched being, whose life is slowly wasting under a lingering disease, to despatch himself at once by the stroke of a dagger? Does not the very disorder which consumes his strength deprive him of the courage to effect his deliverance?
The gospel of grace nullifies our adulation of televangelists, charismatic superstars, and local church heroes. It obliterates the two-class citizenship theory operative in many American churches. For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is gift. All that is good is ours, not by right, but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God.
I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing.
Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails with salvation on the other side.
What a miserable thing life is: you're in clover; only the clover isn't good enough.
A common danger tends to concord. Communism is the exploitation of the strong by the weak. In Communism, inequality comes from placing mediocrity on a level with excellence.
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