AL Kennedy discusses the recent theft of her backpack and reflects on identity, privilege, and helping others. She explores the concept of unearned privilege and the role we all have in helping those in need. The podcast also touches on vulnerability, self-naming, the value of art, the rise of authoritarianism, and the power of empathy.
Losing personal belongings can challenge our sense of identity and vulnerability, highlighting the need for empathy.
Recognizing the privileges we possess and the potential for discrimination in society reinforces the importance of self-naming and fostering understanding.
Deep dives
Loss of belongings and identity
The narrator recounts being robbed at a train station and the subsequent loss of her backpack, which contained personal belongings and travel aids that were important for her sense of identity. The experience raises questions about the impact of losing possessions and how it affects our perception of ourselves. The narrator reflects on the vulnerability that comes with losing personal items and the potential for predators to exploit this vulnerability. She also highlights the broader issues of homelessness and food bank use in the UK, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and helping those who are losing their sense of self.
Privilege and identity
The narrator examines how their identity and characteristics, such as their British citizenship, white skin, and heterosexual orientation, provide them with certain privileges in society. However, they acknowledge that these privileges are unearned and based on discriminatory value systems. The narrator contemplates how their appearance and characteristics could potentially subject them to suspicion, prejudice, and mistreatment in different contexts. They emphasize the power of self-naming and the significance of art as a means of asserting identity and fostering understanding. The narrator ultimately urges for empathy, generosity, and the reaffirmation of our shared humanity in the face of rising authoritarianism and societal divisions.
AL Kennedy on the recent theft of her backpack and how misfortune can help us reclaim who we really want to be.
She reflects on how an an accident of birth - being white, able-bodied, heterosexual, being baptised a Christian and having English as a first language - has put her in 'a position of completely unearned privilege' when asking for help.
But 'in a decade when so many people, in so many places, have lost everything,' Alison ponders the role we all have in helping people whose needs aren't being met.
'I believe in helping', she writes. 'I didn't lose that worldview in my backpack.'
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode