Corey Mwamba

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Entries for 28th Oct 2013

It's very easy—almost bland, in fact—to be rabble-rousing from a position of privilege.

Within this there is a deception, of course: I'm privileged enough to be able to say it...

...but I'm not privileged enough to be invited onto mass media platforms to express a zeitgeist.

And in that moment, within that opportunity, would I express what life is really like for me?

If I meant what I said, would I allow the perception of that discussion to have a competitive element?

Being the person that I am, my "having a discussion" is perceived very differently.

I have a certain amount of privilege: it would be foolish to deny this. I work in the arts in Britain and Ireland.

I have had other privileges too. I went to a private school—as poor as we were as family. I don't feel part of an elite though.

But—and here is the rub—I am not a celebrity who is constantly observed and polarised...

I am black: and the nature of how I am observed and polarised is entirely different.

Let's try to remember that parties like the BNP blame their lack of success on high voter turnout.

And—and perhaps I am being harsh—let's try to see who is doing the rousing, and where they go home to afterwards.

If we think about the word persona and its roots, we see a world constructed by illusion.

Saying the right words in the right way to make a listener feel a certain way is always great acting; but not always the truth.

Words can create a mask.

It's only when you look at the eyes and lives that you can see a truer face.

But having privilege means you don't have to look at anyone in the eyes: you have no need for such closeness.

The lack of closeness is why people can make terrible decisions that directly affects those in need; or say what they like on TV.

A lack of closeness can also come from disadvantage—from not belonging...

It's important to see the persona, and understand how it was created.

To see past the mask—to observe the person behind the persona—takes time and a love.

I'm writing in the context of going through a "low". I have had mild depression for a few years.

I have the privilege to be able to talk about it. There are many who do not.

Looking at the persona is not the same as looking at the person. We apply this to politicians, but not people.

How much more would we know about each other if we did?