This blog is a message in a bottle, from a far away, stranded soul on a remote island, seen from above by those in jets, from a distance by those with telescopes, located precisely by those with satellites, but inwardly, terrifically alone and without power.
As a member of a marginalized group, I am "stranded" in a sense, on this island, which it is difficult to leave. The world of possibilities for me as a minority is blocked on all sides by the ocean (cultural gap) separating me from my peers. Conceptual, but apt.
"The Stranded" highlights my status as a minority. I was partly inspired by the name Dalit for the so-called "untouchables" in the Hindu caste system. Gandhi called the untouchables Harijan, or "children of God," to fabricate a more joyful identity for them. They refused this name; Gandhi, as a vaishya, could not comprehend their need to remember (and flaunt) the suffering they experience as a low-status group. They choose "Dalit," which means trod upon, because it expresses their place in the system: below the feet, the very dirt which is stepped on. They wanted to make clear their marginalized status. In a similar way, "multiracial feminism" uses the term "multiracial" not "multiethnic" or "multicultural" because it spotlights that negative stigma on race which permeates irrevocably any discussion on feminism itself.
I see this blog as a message in a bottle, and the actions I take (which I will blog about) as my raft, my sailboat, my vessel to the infinite All.
Emma
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