Daddy never believed in closure. He said it was a false psychological concept. Something invented by therapists to assuage white Western guilt. In all his years of study and practice, he'd never heard a patient of color talk of needing "closure." They needed revenge. They needed distance. Forgiveness and a good lawyer maybe, but never closure. He said people mistake suicide, murder, lap band surgery, interracial marriage, and overtipping for closure, when in reality what they've achieved is erasure.
The quote reflects a critical perspective on the notion of "closure," suggesting it is a concept more rooted in Western psychology than in the experiences of people of color. The speaker's father dismisses closure as a construct invented to alleviate guilt rather than a genuine need for healing. He emphasizes that individuals from marginalized backgrounds often seek more tangible outcomes like revenge or legal recourse instead of an abstract resolution.
This view challenges the mainstream understanding of emotional recovery, indicating that actions often mistaken for closure, such as drastic life changes or relational decisions, may actually lead to erasure of the problem rather than resolution. The commentary highlights a significant divide in how different cultures perceive and deal with trauma, emphasizing practical needs over psychological constructs.
