WORK IN A NUT SHELL
Brinton:...And one of the thing that was happened there was, that while we were in the Niagara, we met a young woman, who had this idea, the idea was they wanted to come to United State, and they wanted to give talk to US women of about what happening to women in Guatemala. In hope that US women would pressure the congress stop sending money to the military in their country. Just stop bombing their villages. And since I had been very involved with woman movement in Boston and ….since I knew that I could help organize that tour…..I didn’t think it would necessary …it would work.. I didn’t think that US women were able to be convinced the US government…BUT it was their idea, and I was very drawn into…their idea…Not MY IDEA. And I…..it looked like some way that I could help ….or doing something they felt with political projects. So I agree to do that. And it was through organizing that tour and get to know some of the people, a small group of people in United State, work in solidarity people in Guatemala, And then bringing those women to United State. And the two women that came, had very interesting life stories, and that interface with my dictation church was about and with that connection between their lives and ….I was studying…..something in United State, I was studying the …assumption of ….individualism and western notation of the south and US psychology looking at collectivity and social individuality. You know…. very psychological study. But the stories that they were telling were stories of collectivism. ….stories of being part of culture and community and every time people in US would ask them questions about the ….“I”… they would talk about the family and their communities…….
(1:17:35)Hieu: Yes! Yes!
Brinton: …..and it was observing that …..and ….my own research ….which just suggesting to me that …..working class people in United State …are ...people who grew up in the a large imbedded community center, different way of …..a different notion of individuality …..and I was very interested in that different notion of individually, so ..it was kind of an academic intellecture interests and then an activist social commitment. And that‘s story of my life. I am an Intellecture. I am very drawn by ideas. I think a lot. I ask a lot of questions. And I AM also an activist. I believe strong…ly that I have to do, I can’t just think. And I have to think a bout what I have done, I have to reflect on practices, and…. generate practices; generate dialectic between action and reflection. And that… was be a part….and I ……I back into that…..I didn’t think up on my own. I back into it………..The next summer I went to Mexico, I worked with this group of (Guatemala and Exile..??) . They were interested in developing popular education, manuals for work with for refugees…..I was interested in that …..very academic….question about individually and …collectivity, …..Together we did some interviews, some oral histories, this kind of stories of Mian ‘s women….And I learned a enormous amount about women, about how I was asking questions… and about how they understand that world…..and that ‘s different.
(1:19:10)Hieu: I totally understand…..
Brinton: so it didn’t fit to different trends …and it was through them, I got …….involved in Guatemala and began to go to Guatemala and in those interviews, they said …..you know they were preoccupied the children and …Could I go to Guatemala…..could I …look .for their families….could I come back and bring news …and I go to…Guatemala the next summer and ….got some names for some helpful organizations….and traveled around the country….. looking and talking to people and ….and NOT knowing….I mean…lot of…...still a very difficult period of time…..and there was a lot of things NOT easy about it.