Is it ever possible to view the world 'purely'?

"In order to construct self; we rely on narrative" (Van Luyn, 2013), which in turn, helps us to make sense of the world we live in.  Narrative is a core concept throughout blog posts on Between the Bars (BTB) as prisoners struggle to confer meaning from their unnatural and nonsensical physical environment of unrelenting violence and confinement, and attempt to etch out an identity amongst the chaos.

Figure 1. Clark, Ronald W (2012).

BTB embraces equality and diversity as many American minority groups from the US prison population are represented on this site, and anyone throughout the world with internet access, has the ability to leave comments and interact directly with prisoners.  It is not uncommon to find prisoners commenting on, or questioning other religious groups in an attempt to understand and create rational order.  It appears throughout this process, there is an ebb and flow where power is concentrated amongst inmates, and each of these concepts are illustrated within the following single post:  http://betweenthebars.org/blogs/615/jeremy-pinson

Van Luyn stated what within our own life narratives, we make assumptions that privilege some stories as more authentic or true than others (2013).  In line with this argument, I have found myself mentally apportioning levels of credibility to bloggers at BTB and those that I purport to have more credibility, I am inclined to follow more closely.  Although I journey through this virtual meeting place with an open mind and no understanding of an actual prison experience, it is difficult to remain impartial and non-judgmental and I am now aware that I use my own intellectual history to make judgments (Stanner, 1979) on participant's submissions.  Perhaps if I honored the view of Stanner, I would view blog posts more purely, observing different cultures with their own distinct way of viewing the world (2013), and I would be free to enjoy a more authentic experience within this space. But I question if that is at all possible, as I rely upon my own narrative to process this space.

                                                                                               Figure 2. Garcia, Richard (2013).

References:

Clark, Ronald W. (Artist). (2012).  Welcome to My World. [Image of Drawing]. Raiford, Florida;
Between the Bars.  Retrieved from http://betweenthebars.org/posts/4924/welcome-to-my-world

Garcia, Richard (Artist). (2013). Easie's Rantings. [Image of Drawing]. San Bernardino, CA; Between the Bars. Retrieved from http://betweenthebars.org/posts/13230/monarch-butterfly

Stanner, W.E. (1979). White man got no dreaming: Essays, 1938-1973. Canberra: Australian National University Press.

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place, week 4. [Audio Recording]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au