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| "Priam Pleading with Achilles for the Body of Hector" (1775) by Gavin Hamilton |
Soni gets frustrated when the workers start telling the ambassador about their suffering. As he puts it, "We were here for action, not empathy. We needed to press him to use his authority in clear ways. With each new story, our advantage bled out" (188).
It is commonly believed that if you can get someone to empathize with your pain and suffering, they will be more inclined to help you out, but Soni felt strongly that asking for empathy in this situation would be entirely counterproductive. Why do you think he felt this way? When are pleas for empathy counterproductive?
Answer this question after you've read part four, chapter seven and all of the preceding chapters.
Soni, insofar as I understood his strategy, believed that by barraging the ambassador with their grievances and sufferings, 1) reinforced the negative image of poor, powerless, and supplicant workers seeking salvation from a higher authority, and 2) made it difficult to establish one coherent, well-organized narrative of Signal's wrongdoing. By seeking immediate empathy from the chief representative of their country in America, the workers were giving away any advantage they may have had in presenting a persuasive argument from a position of clarity, strength, and solidarity amongst themselves. By playing the role of supplicant, the workers surrender their power to "the man" at least in part. This is dangerous especially because the ambassador is not really an ally and not particularly interested in sacrificing his diplomatic standing for the sake of a number of low-class workers who became ensnared in an overseas employment scheme. In this case, the pleas of the workers for empathy were not overly productive because, at least in the estimation of Soni, they were out for justice, not for pity. Seeking empathy puts the individual in a position of vulnerability, and that vulnerability, and vulnerability is an easy thing to exploit.
ReplyDelete-Eli Grasso
The ambassador is very charming and is good at getting out of situations. He got out of a news scandal by endearing himself. He is in the middle of a business deal and is currently looking to help himself. He can act, get them comfortable and move on which is precisely what happened. He couldn't help them without postponing his already once canceled deal. If he doesn't get it soon then he may not be able to. Using logic they could have convinced him that it is worth his time and they may be better for his social and business perceptions, so he is inclined to help himself. He can effectively use his power to get maximum benefits. Like it says in the book he is a diplomat with an air of elegance and perfection he wouldn't know what it's like and would think they are being over dramatic even if he put on the listening act. Pleas are empty when someone doesn't understand, thinks it's beneath them, or that they have given enough charity.
ReplyDeleteThe ambassador is very charming and is good at getting out of situations. He got out of a news scandal by endearing himself. He is in the middle of a business deal and is currently looking to help himself. He can act, get them comfortable and move on which is precisely what happened. The ambassador couldn't help them without postponing his already once canceled deal. If he doesn't get it soon then he may not be able to. Using logic they could have convinced him that it is worth his time and will make him look better. He could effectively use his power to get maximum benefits. He is a diplomat with an air of elegance and perfection he wouldn't know what it's like and would think they are being over dramatic even if he put on the listening act. Pleas are empty when someone doesn't understand, it's beneath them, or thinks they have given enough charity.
Delete(Had a few minor corrections)