The Mountain
BY DANIEL MONTGOMERY
Roland had been staring at the ceiling for hours . He had long since given up the hope of getting any more sleep . The sun had roused him when it shone through the drapes in the early hours of the morning , and he ’ d tossed and turned since , trying to drift back into the recesses of his dreams . He could find comfort there , or at least a respite from the screaming cogs of his consciousness .
In unison they grated , “ Today is the day we climb the mountain .”
FEMINIST POV
Stereotypes exist for a reason . That reason is that many people are too quick to lump people of the same group into readymade sets of “ pros and cons .” Ignorance for the sake of commendation is the same as ignorance for the sake of ... anything else . “ Positive stereotype ” is an oxymoron .
“ I don ’ t … I ’ m not very good at climbing ,” Roland would say to them .
“ You ’ re from West Village , aren ’ t you ? All you kids can climb ! You ’ re like mountain goats ! Come on , let ’ s see what you ’ ve got ,” they would fire back .
“ No , really , I ’ m … I ’ m more of a gardener .” “ A gardener ? Are you sure you ’ re from West Village ?”
As his dry eyes focused on the slats of the ceiling , he remembered past summers on the mountain . Other children leapt and bound across crags and up sheer cliffs , while Roland scrambled to make it over the foothills . In retrospect , more children were scrambling than soaring , but at the time Roland felt totally alone and worthless . Mountain-scaling was what his village was famous for , and he was utterly awful at it .
Roland was good at other things . He was an avid gardener ; he found comfort among the dirt and the insects and the leaves . When the other children would drag him off to play on the mountain , his mind would remain with his plants . Plants never asked him how high he ’ d climbed ; if he ’ d ever gotten to the summit ; how fast he can scale a wall . Plants wouldn ’ t even mention that he was from West Village , where the best mountain climbers were raised .
These pleasant thoughts of gardening were interrupted every time footsteps passed by Roland ’ s door . Each footfall sent his heart into his throat and made his stomach twist . He knew that soon , the footsteps would stop in front of his room and he would hear a knock on his door . He knew his mother would pop her head in and cheerily say , “ Roland ! It ’ s time to get up ! We ’ ve got to get ready to head to the summit !” And off they would go , the whole village , to the mountain in the center of the region . Crowds of people from surrounding kingdoms would gather on the foothills to watch the children from West Village display their climbing prowess . These gatherings were a great boon for the village ; denizens of the other kingdoms would cheer and whoop as the summiteers would spring up the sheer stone of the mountain .
However , inevitably , the gatherings were a blow to Roland ’ s confidence . More than that ; a blow to his identity . Those who had met to see the climbers would come to him and say , “ Hey kid ! How fast can you get to the top ?”
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“ Of course , I —“ “ Then why can ’ t you climb ? All you people are great climbers !”
Each time , begrudgingly , Roland would start up the mountain , stumbling and slipping , scraping his knees . Eventually the crowd ’ s cheering and encouragement turned to boos and jeers , and disbelief that Roland was even from West Village . How could he be ? Everyone from West Village is a great climber , and he was not . Painful memories were once again interrupted by footfall outside his door . The footsteps stopped , as did Roland ’ s heart . There was a rapping at the door , and the cycle would begin again . Obviously , Roland ’ s West Village isn ’ t real . Places where there is an expectation on people of a certain heritage to be superhuman mountain climbers don ’ t exist .
However , there are expectations on people of certain backgrounds to be great at math and science , or to be fantastic athletes . Some people are assumed to have great fashion sense , or be good homemakers , or be technically inclined , all based on preconceived generalisations .
Roland is fictional , but the effects of so-called “ positive ” stereotypes are not . By assuming a person will be proficient in a certain area or naturally gifted in a certain way , merely based on a broad assumption on a group of people they belong to , you are destroying the individuality of that person . That person is no longer unique ; their skillsets and traits are determined by the group they are a part of .
Stereotypes are never positive . Making assumptions based on sweeping generalisation leads to ignorance and division . Judge peoples ’ aptitudes based on their actions , not on stereotyped suppositions . Don ’ t create unrealistic mountains for people to climb .
Issue 20 | Missy Ink