Horses and Elephants

I was visiting a friend who stays at a long term care facility last Sunday morning. She angrily made this comment during our conversation, "Why do they put those crazy stupid people in with us. It's like putting horses with elephants." She was refering to her roommate who suffers from a form of dementia and becomes angry and confused at times. I was somewhat shocked by the distain in her voice but tried to answer comicly by asking, "Are you the horse or the elephant?"

I got to thinking though that it may not really matter which was which becasue no matter how isolated and marginalized people are there is something that makes us all feel more secure if we have the power to marginalize others. Even my friend staying at the care facility, who I would consider to be very marginalized by our culture, was guilty to some degree of marginalizing her roommate.

Let us be ever watchful for these attitudes in ourselves becasue horse or elephant, whichever we are today, will no doubt give way to the other at some point sooner than later.