#invisibilize

I watched a 10-year old interview by Laura Flanders with Arundathi Roy about her introduction to a new edition of Dr. B. R. Amdedkar's 1936 book The Annihilation of Caste. Arundadathi Roy's book is The Doctor and the Saint… Caste, Race, and Annihilation of Caste: The Debate Between B. R. Ambedkar and M. K. Gandhi.

Roy explained that B.K. Ambedkar is widely revered in India, especially among the Dalits. And while The Annihilation of Caste has been and is a widely read book, "you can't buy it in a normal bookshop." Roy noted that Ambedkar had written the book for the privileged class and that "they have invisibllized it."

I had never heard the word "invisibilized" and looking for it led to an interesting Internet romp. I want to share a few of the links.

Nancy Friedman at Fritinancy posted a good etymology of the word "invisibilize." Friedman helpfully pointed to the use of the word "visibilize" in social science literature.

A link on social media posted by Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon pointed to an essay in Aperture (Spring 2011) by Ulrich Bear, The Less-Settled Space Civil Rights, Hannah Arendt, And Garry Winogrand which thickened the meaning of "visibilize" in a social science context. The word "visiblize" doesn't appear in Baer's essay, but I think its a fair reading of the article to say that "making visible" is political. Conversely how Arundathi Roy uses "invisiblized" is in a political context.

My curiosity about the word "invisibilize" is heightened by the Trump administration disappearing thousand of government Web pages and purging millions of documents of particular words on the pretext of the taint of diversity , equity and inclusion. Clearly the rational for the purges have much less to do with white people's fragile feelings and much more to do with political power.

Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon pointed to the Aperture article to draw attention to Hannah Arendt's essay published in 1957 in Dissent Magazine, Reflections on Little Rock (pdf). A critical excerpt from Seyla Benhabib's book The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt fleshed out why the essay is controversial.

History is complicated, but the complications don't make history unintelligible. Benhabib notes Arednt's sympathy for Black Americans, but also how her own experience as a European Jew occluded her understanding of Black lives. Derecka Purnell's essay, The Courage To Disagree, makes the point that Martin Luther King's "praise of Israel shouldn't impede the global demand for a free Palestine." Mohandas Gandhi's doesn't negate his importance.

Rosa’s always been very mixed when it comes to children. Normally she avoids being around them for prolonged periods– dialing back to communicate with them is draining for her and she doesn’t trust her unstable temper to hold up to the challenge. She has absolutely nothing against kids and wants the best for them, remembering how broken her own childhood was, but she doesn’t think she can provide that and so she actively tries to keep her distance.

What Rosa abides by and values most is loyalty and honesty, even if she’s in the sad habit of not expecting either one from people around her. Having gone long periods of time largely friendless, she knows how much they’re worth even if she doesn’t make them easily. And there are few things she hates more than when others walk on eggshells around her– she appreciates plain speech and she’ll happily remind you.