Friday, January 24, 2014
Once I successfully address the factors unique to my own paternal family of origin that contributed to the development of my PTSD I intend to continue writing in some fashion as a means of acknowledging a different form of trauma that I believe exists. I have alluded to this different type of trauma in other writings. I call it cultural trauma. There is likely a more technical term for that which I mean to describe. Genocide and being uprooted from your culture of origin are two examples of events that could produce what I call cultural trauma.
Though I did not realize it at the time I believe I had my first intensive experience of cultural trauma when I lived among the Lakota Native American people on the Rosebud reservation in the first months of 1997. At the time I was a Jesuit novice and was sent to South Dakota for what the Jesuits call an 'experiment'. I was in my early 20s at the time. I had previously never lived immersed in a culture radically different from the cultures my father and mother grew up in. It was an eye opening experience to say the least.
Many years prior to that time, when I was a very small boy, my parents took photographs of me. They enlarged one particular image; this image was later mounted on a wall in the house I spent most of my years of childhood. I had blonde hair, a cute smile...and I was wearing leather.
Last year, around the time my recovery from PTSD began, I decided to also take the plunge and allow myself to more thoroughly explore my mother's culture of origin. Though I grew up in the United States and am not a dual citizen of the States and Germany I have nonetheless long felt that I belong equally in both places. Making my trip to Germany last May reawakened what I would call my 'Germanic side'. I began to explore that side of my identity more and more. In my mind a common association with German culture is an appreciation for leather.
I am contributing to my recovery process by seeking out my leather brothers (and sisters) this weekend at the Mr. Chicago Leather event in Chicago, Illinois. I will be leaving early tomorrow morning and taking the bus (because it is cheaper). I am looking forward to getting away for the weekend and enjoying the pleasures of another city.
Once I successfully address the factors unique to my own paternal family of origin that contributed to the development of my PTSD I intend to continue writing in some fashion as a means of acknowledging a different form of trauma that I believe exists. I have alluded to this different type of trauma in other writings. I call it cultural trauma. There is likely a more technical term for that which I mean to describe. Genocide and being uprooted from your culture of origin are two examples of events that could produce what I call cultural trauma.
Though I did not realize it at the time I believe I had my first intensive experience of cultural trauma when I lived among the Lakota Native American people on the Rosebud reservation in the first months of 1997. At the time I was a Jesuit novice and was sent to South Dakota for what the Jesuits call an 'experiment'. I was in my early 20s at the time. I had previously never lived immersed in a culture radically different from the cultures my father and mother grew up in. It was an eye opening experience to say the least.
Many years prior to that time, when I was a very small boy, my parents took photographs of me. They enlarged one particular image; this image was later mounted on a wall in the house I spent most of my years of childhood. I had blonde hair, a cute smile...and I was wearing leather.
Last year, around the time my recovery from PTSD began, I decided to also take the plunge and allow myself to more thoroughly explore my mother's culture of origin. Though I grew up in the United States and am not a dual citizen of the States and Germany I have nonetheless long felt that I belong equally in both places. Making my trip to Germany last May reawakened what I would call my 'Germanic side'. I began to explore that side of my identity more and more. In my mind a common association with German culture is an appreciation for leather.
I am contributing to my recovery process by seeking out my leather brothers (and sisters) this weekend at the Mr. Chicago Leather event in Chicago, Illinois. I will be leaving early tomorrow morning and taking the bus (because it is cheaper). I am looking forward to getting away for the weekend and enjoying the pleasures of another city.
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