“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

I feel like the pandemic made a lot of us try to look past the parts of people that repulse us. Without getting political, the words “privilege’” and “rights” were thrown around by many with no appreciation of their true intent and meaning. In some cases (at least to me), it was surprising. Otherwise intelligent and kind people were showing their hidden prejudice and we all got a big deep look into the ugly thoughts that people usually keep to themselves.

Eleanor Roosevelt brings to mind similar vibes. A brilliant woman in a lot of ways, she was privately anti-Semitic for most of her adult life. I understand this waned later, impacted by a personal relationship with American Financier, Bernard Baruch. But did negatively impact some of her otherwise “good” works.

Can you separate the man from the monster? The art from the artist? The woman from her prejudice?

I feel like I’ve been dealing with versions of this idea for most of my life, having lived most of it with people struggling with addiction. I’m used to people I love hurting me, not because they mean to, but because I was further down the priority list… behind numbing themselves and escaping reality that was too hard to bear.

Can you love someone through the pain they cause you?

Not an easy thing to do… but the sad biproduct of being wounded so deeply by people is that it gives away a lot of power. I can’t help but think my life would be easier if I was harder to offend.