Les Hannah, day 19, part 1

All 33 are safely on the surface. Today I am Chilean – well, in spirit at least. I am thankful they all made it. Some may question why I care: I care because they are human beings, and that is all the answer I need give.

I am to be on television today; before I left the school yesterday I was informed that a local television station saw the re-article the newspaper the day before and wanted to send a camera crew to get some film and to do an interview – an original interview. So I dressed up a bit more today. Now those who know me and work with me will recognize that I wear dress slacks and shirt with a tie almost every day to work at NSU. Occasionally I will go a bit more casual. I dressed as I normally do for school during the first week here; after all, I was teaching. However, during this week of informal consultations I was more informal as well. I wore jeans and a Polo style shirt all week. But not today – today I had to represent.

The ride in this morning was cold. Weather is coming; I could see the front in the distance. But of course I had my cap and gloves now, plus I was wearing my large, thick rain coat today, so I was well insulated.

This is the final day of preparation on the 80s projects. Students were busy getting their last bits of information gathered. Several of the groups were compiling their works cited pages for the essay portion. I was asked several questions today about English grammar and how to cite certain sources. Turns out some of the classes must do their report in English rather than Danish – the English classes, duh.  So a good portion of my consulting today was almost like working in the Writing Center.

I ate in the cafeteria today; took an early lunch so I would have time to make ready for the camera crew. They were scheduled for noon. And they arrived right on time. This television station is a bit unique; it is similar to PBS in the United States, but this station is staffed, quite considerably, by handicapped people: people with physical and mental disabilities. I was interviewed by Alex, a young man who is challenged both physically and mentally. He is wheelchair bound, and he has some sort of mental dysfunction, though I am not sure what it is. I did not pry.

There was a difficult point in this interview – the beginning. The crew of four young men (two, the producer and the camera-man, were without disabilities) all knew they were coming to interview an American Indian. They seemed excited; in fact, the producer is an alumnus of Esbjerg Handelsskole, having graduated just last year, and he told me that in his final year at the school the teachers had discussed American Indian cultures, but had taken most of their information from the Internet. I told him be careful what you get from the Internet.

Alex, the young man who conducted the interview, began it badly. He raised his hand, open palm facing me, and said “How.” In that moment I felt the strangest combination of emotions: anger, sorrow, pity, frustration, sympathy/empathy, and I don’t know what all else. Now I must make it clear right now that I was not angry at Alex; first of all he knew no better, and he cannot help the condition that he is in. My emotions were not directed AT him, but I did feel anger in that moment at that same old BS stereotype. I also felt sorrow for Alex, first for his condition. He did not ask for that. My father was wheelchair bound in the final few years of his life. In fact, the only memories I have of him were in that damned thing (he died when I was young, only six). So I have a special place in my heart for handicapped people. But I also felt sorrow for Alex that what he did know about American Indians was so wrong, which is a different kind of sorrow all together. I was frustrated that stereotypes have created a world that sees American Indians as a Hollywood artifact, but that is why I am here – to help correct those mistakes. All of this flooded my soul in the few seconds before the interview actually began. But I continued. For Alex.

I truly hope none of that sounds bad. But saying "How" to an Indian is not good. I will leave it at that. And I wish Alex well. I truly hold no ill will; he knew no better, but I hope he is interested now and will learn.