Being Sensitive

I’ve recently been called “sensitive” by a church person because of my understanding about gender equality. What? Me — sensitive? Brooding over this comment, however, made me realize there was something more here than the compliment that was intended.

Could it be that I have some great emotional insight into people’s feelings? Maybe, but my wife tells me that she has to beat on my thick skull or otherwise get very obvious before I get some important hint that I was supposed to figure out by the way things were said (or not said). Or perhaps I have great empathy for people. Are you kidding? I’m an introvert. I’d rather crawl in a hole and kiss my computer.

What I really think it is, though, is that if hierarchicalists can put the whole issue of gender equality in the category of extraordinariness, something that regular people aren’t expected to have to think about or don’t have to recognize, then they’re off the hook. It’s the other guy over there (me) who has the “problem,” some onerous and unfortunate condition that we hope is not catching.

Hmm. Think I’ll go back to my brooding….