A conversation elsewhere reminded me of one of those things I hate to hear: Pretty much any variation on the theme of "My race/economic class/heritage is unique and can only be understood by those who've been there... No outsider could ever really understand what it's like to be _______!"

I totally agree that every heritage is special and worth revering and has something valuable to contribute and say about the human experience; I think it is important to celebrate what gives each culture its unique identity.  But where I get off the bus is the idea that there is some magic in it that makes it impossible for others to understand.  It seems to me like people who say this sort of thing are somehow claiming a perversion of the No True Scotsman argument.  I personally believe that this kind of superstitious thinking is a big part of reason racism and prejudice are still alive and well here in the Glorious Future of Mankind.  In my opinion, with the right amount of research, open communication and genuine empathy, anyone could come to understand another's life well enough to communicate it and pass it on.

And today I realized the recent fake memoir scandals (see links last entry) have provided some pretty solid peripheral evidence for what I've believed all along.  We have a woman who is not a Jew writing a story which convinced a lot of people that she survived the Holocaust and persecution...until she was found out.  (Let's not talk about the whole raised by wolves part here, cuz, I mean, Jeez.)  That rich half-white girl sat in a cozy Starbucks writing an utterly false book about her experiences as a Crip or Blood or whatever.  And yet in these cases (and to a lesser degree even in James Frey's) the books convinced a whole lot of people before the truth came to light.  The memoirs fooled people with the right "magic" traits into believing they were written by someone else who knew the secret handshake, just as they fooled the outsiders.  Very few questioned whether the books revealed what it was really like to be _______ and they were praised for their gritty realistic portrayals.  (well, except for raised-by-wolves lady.  heh.)

So, me?  I'm kind of glad these fake memoirs were published, despite whatever dirt might have got on the faces of their dupes. Because these memoirs show, to one degree or another, that with enough effort, very different kinds of people CAN come to understand each other.  Who'd have thunk it?  From a pack of scammers: a message of hope.