Arrogance has not only been an alerting system for my extreme self concept, it has been a safeguard against vulnerability. It keeps me from being seen as incompetent, weak, sad, scared, lonely, wounded, inadequate, offended, embarrassing, and poor. I realize I am all of these in some form. Being perceived as one of these is enough to activate arrogance, creating a shield to conceal my vulnerability. This fear of being seen for who I am is enough to short circuit my genuineness and compassion. My heart is a source of thoughts, not physiologically but metaphorically. My heart holds my most genuine expressions. When my arrogance is alive and functioning it not only protects me from being seen as lessor, but also blocks my hearts expressions. There is a quality to vulnerability that I must investigate further to trust that negative perceptions and interpretations, both external and internal, are not worth deteriorating my dignity with arrogance.
Part 2 The darker aspects of my culture are simply expressions of communal pain. Without diving into excuses or reasons for class structure...
There is a part of the Chicano culture that is ruthless. Even the slightest social struggle creates opportunity for deviance. My family wa...
Part 3 Where did the ability to self abuse originate? If I take a critical look at the people in my barrios that perpetrated on the home...