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COMM 100 Extra Credit

Melissa Gibson

11/06/15

The song What It’s Like by Everlast is a song that reminds me of the concept of empathy. According to our textbook, empathy “is the ability to feel with another person—to feel what he or she feels in a situation” (p. 56). Empathy is often explained as “walking a mile in someone’s shoes.”

The song What It’s Like is about three people who have tragic life situations. In the first example, there’s a man begging for money. He’s dirty and unkempt. The song says “We've all seen the man at the liquor store beggin' for your change/The hair on his face is dirty, dreadlocked and full of mange.” The chorus then says “God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes/'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues/Then you really might know what it's like.”

In the second example, there’s a young woman named Mary. The song says that Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom. A few months into her pregnancy, Tom abandons her. She is alone and torn about her pregnancy: “And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walkin' through the door/They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore.” The song goes on to say “God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes/'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose/Then you really might know what it's like.

The last example is that of a young man named Max. Max’s lifestyle involves drugs and fighting. The song says “Until late one night/There was a big gun fight/Max lost his head/He pulled out his Chrome .45/Talked some shit/And wound up dead.” The song doesn’t apologize for Max’s choices but rather focuses on what his family will feel now that he’s dead: “And now his wife and his kids/Are caught in the midst/Of all of his pain.” Again, the chorus of the song reminds us of empathy: “God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news/'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to lose/Then you really might know what it's like/ To have to lose.”

An important thing I learned about empathy from the book was that no one can ever know exactly what another person is feeling because we are all different and circumstances are different. However, empathy is about suspending judgment of others and trying to understand where they are coming from and how they are feeling.

We never know what we are going to experience in life but when we do, it gives us perspective into how a person might feel who experiences something similar. For example, if your best friend loses his father and you have lost your mother, you can empathize with your friend. You can’t know exactly what your friend is experiencing because each situation is unique, but you’ve experienced something similar.