Obituaries and Biographies

After reading some lately- I don't think I ever want one written- some of them are just so badly written.

Philosophy of Social Science

I lament the fact that people do not see history as a Hegelian procession -like a river- you cannot view the events of the past through the lens of today. You can, however, deconstruct it through a historical lens via an archeology or genealogy (hurray Foucault!) There is a sore lack of appreciation for social science theory and philosophy (alas!)

I write this little brief rant because I read a piece on DailyKos discussing Native American history that devolved into a discussion of how Native Americans had slaves. Well- Duh! Some of them did, as did many ancient and not so ancient civilizations. But, in the time period they were studying, it was mostly as a means for the Cherokee, specifically, to show how "white" they were, in the hopes that they would not be removed off of their lands. In the end, it turned out to merely be a continuation of the "modernization" of the Cherokees so that they appear "civilized" (sadly, I believe that this rhetoric and subsequent actions are still largely the prevalent model for development, as imposed by Western countries on the Third World. But I digress).

So yes, if you are going to produce critical history and comment on it, please please please, try to understand it through a historical lens- not your own.

Thick Skulls

For some reason, it always seems that the lessons that we need to learn the most, and the quickest, are also the same mistakes that we keep making. It is so difficult to learn from mistakes- and not make them again and again. Each time, you feel more worn out and more dense for not learning the first time. The conditioned response does not seem to form, despite numerous trials....successive learning events....and successive negative outcomes when learning is not completed.

And its finally when you hit the bottom that you realize the past mistakes that you have made over and over and it weights like a great rock in your heart- choking you and making it difficult to breath- causing you to be dizzy, as if hit with a great realization that your mind can't make sense of.

I am a human.

Philosophical Ponderings on the (Mis)Treatment of Animals (Humans) and subsequent (Re) Actions (A Poem of Questions)

Do you remain silent, in steely resolve? Or do you raise a hand to block the hand that strikes you? Or do you succumb, and become less human with each act of degradation?

And what if the other person doesn't share your same sense of what respect means? are you at an impasse? do you have but two options to choose from? continue...or.....?

Jesus Christ said turn the other cheek- but how many cheeks can you turn?

New Beginnings

So I'm sitting in the airport in Roanoke, getting ready to head to Syracuse, and I can't hlep but think that this is a new beginning. Technically, the "new start" won't really start until August, but the wheels are already in motion- and there are too many emotions going on to think and process effectively- sadness, happiness, anticipation, sorrow, melancholy, joy, questioning, reluctance, rinse, wash, and repeat.

The one thing you hear over and over is how change can be scary- is it really scary? or is it just we let our emotions and cognitions get the better of ourselves?

I am very excited about the prospects offered by Syracuse, but I still feel immense sadness about the people I'll leave behind and the changes that have occurred in my life since coming to Blacksburg- time will only tell.

Awareness

So the VT police sent out another message (I would say the 3rd or 4th this semester) about another incident involving students. Was this a orblem before? or is this something new?

I would like to think of it more as "awareness." It is not that Blacksburg is "unsafe," if you look at sheer statistics on "violent" crime, but there are those concerns that always happens with a college town. We aren't talking Grand Theft Auto or Murder or Armed Robbery- we are talking about a quick assault and a dash into the dark. Of course, those are the incidents that don't make it into national statistics, so yes, Blacksburg will continue to appear "safe."

I'm not a person to be paranoid, but at the same time, I also don't assume that every place I go is "safe." You have to have a certain degree of comfort and familiarity with a place. I still feel Blacksburg is in my "safety" zone, but at the same time, Washington Heights at 2 am is also still in my safe zone. It's relative.

And of course, it is a college town- the rate of crime is going to underreported and the numbers fudged to represent the quaint college town that mom and dad would not have a problem dropping off their little darling for the first far away from home.

Work, ADD, and other random things I will write about while under the influence of sugar and caffeine!

I don't think I spelled caffeine right...hmm I guess i did...it didn't show up with a red squiggly line.

OK- so I had a rather unproductive day- I did some reorganization of the paper and then basically let everything distract me to no end (and for once, Facebook was NOT the destraction). I have an overwhelming urge to go somewhere...now. I hear South Africa is nice or even Ukraine (is there a the in front of that? is it like THE Netherlands???? These are questions of grave importance I guess I should be trying to answer, being in International Affairs and all...)

Oh and I found a funny word from urban dictionary- collateral misinformation- when someone gets the wrong information from wikipedia because someone has changed it to win an argument. Oh urban dictionary how I love thee.

Ok...enough random thoughts and all that- I have a bus to catch! WEEE SLEEEEEEEEEEEP!