*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
This alarm is not something that you can simply snooze away a couple of times or something where you only have to wake up once and never have to deal with it again. In the poem "Waking" by W.P., the poet acknowledges a level of self-awareness that the biologist takes up; however, this self-awareness only goes so far when they impose a similar discrimination on the mentioned colleague. This discrimination or prejudice is shown through the lack of action or by taking on a bystander effect of simply seeing without doing anything to change what is being witnessed.
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I believe this reading holds an important narrative that surrounds positionality. When W.P. realizes that "[the biologist is] no longer the same," there is an additional realization in the stark difference in the treatment and power between the mouse and the biologist. I feel like there are similar times when folx think that it is all figured out, but when we bear witness to the disproportionate impacts of systemic oppression, there is a turning point sensation of becoming more "woke." Part of this reminds me that becoming awakened by a revolutionary realization does not stop with a "one and done" learning type, but rather a never-ending process of learning and understanding that does not just stem from the gathering of knowledge. I've come to understand that given information is not the only form of knowledge we can have, but key lived experiences and our bodies are a site of knowledge all on their own that is just as valid as the sciences. Becoming woke at the beeping of the alarm does not mean that we will never have to deal with having to wake up again. "Waking" is as complex and as simple as the start to an endless cycle of having to learn, unlearn and relearn. When it comes down to seeing those actively choosing to be a bystander, despite how knowledgeable they might be as an individual, how can we call-out and call-in those folx into the discussion space to learn without the toxicity of what "call-out culture" might bring?
References
W.P. (2013). Fight the Tower: Asian American Women Scholars' Resistance and Renewal in the Academy: Waking. Rutgers University Press.
Horizny, C. (2019, May 9). "How Animal Model Handling Affects Your Research." Taconic. Retrieved April 5, 2020, https://www.taconic.com/taconic-insights/quality/animal-model-handling.html.
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