How to care for the people who take care of us (w/ Ai-jen Poo)
How to Be a Better Human
TED
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2023
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Activist, and MacArthur Genius, Ai-jen Poo believes that caring for others is one of the fundamental acts that make us human. But from nannies to elder-care workers, house cleaners to living assistants, single parents and beyond, globally, caretakers do not earn fair wages or recognition for their essential, life-giving labor. The President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Ai-jen explains how society undervalues domestic work, and provides a framework on how we can start a conversation about the future of care for our loved ones – and ourselves. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ted Audio Collective. |
| 0:02.0 | Audio Collective. |
| 0:04.0 | You're listening to how to be a |
| 0:08.0 | you're listening to how to be a better human. |
| 0:11.0 | I'm your host Chris Duffy. |
| 0:17.0 | Several years ago my wife Molly was dealing with chronic pain and all of a sudden |
| 0:22.0 | she was unable to do so many of the things that she used to be able to do for herself. |
| 0:26.0 | It was a huge adjustment in both of our lives, emotionally, physically, socially, |
| 0:30.0 | it honestly made my head spin how quickly normal got upended for us. I was trying to help her navigate her job and her doctor's appointments while also taking care of the shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, and everything else that needed to get done in both of our lives every day. And if I'm being honest it was very humbling to realize that I couldn't take care of her of us all on my own. |
| 0:49.0 | It's also a weird emotional space to occupy because I wasn't the one who was injured right |
| 0:54.3 | like I felt guilty and selfish for feeling overwhelmed or for not being able to |
| 0:58.8 | handle it all because why was I making this about me it's's not about me. Caregiving, it can be this intimate act of love. |
| 1:06.4 | It can also be a swirling flood of emergencies and responsibilities that you are struggling with all your |
| 1:11.3 | might to stay afloat in. |
| 1:12.8 | Whether it's for a child, a parent, a spouse, or a friend, |
| 1:16.4 | what does it look like to show up for someone who needs you and you love? |
| 1:20.6 | The actual mechanics, the logistics of day-to-day care, what does that look like? |
| 1:24.0 | When we're in these moments of need, whether they're dramatic or mundane, and we know we can't do it by ourselves, |
| 1:30.0 | we look for help. For millions of families, that help takes the form of professional caregivers of one kind or another. |
| 1:36.5 | The people who choose to enter our homes and meet our families and assist in some of our most private moments with some of our most important needs. |
| 1:44.0 | Today's guest, Igen Pooh, is a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and activist. |
| 1:48.5 | She's the president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, |
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