(no subject)
Even though i've hardly written here for a long long time, rest assured friends, i'm very much up-to-date on your lives. Part of why i haven't written is that a couple months back i read something about blogging in a newspaper that set me back a little. It said that ebloggers, i.e. us, are self-indulgent narcissists who can't get enough of themselves. And essentially, if you read yours, mine or anyone else's LJ, that's what our journals are.
Of course, that's not all they're about, lj is also about friends, real or virtual who you keep in touch, and share lives and ideas with. But that's one.
Another reason is the incredibly busy few months i've had since coming back from India. Fell ill for a week or so upon landing, was in two hard seminars this quarter, worked on a long paper for pub., taught a class on US and Canada, went organizing for the grad union once/twice a week, with a friend put together what is now our monthly newsletter, and if this wasn't enough, joined the ISO (www.internationalsocialist.org) and organized a drive against death penalty here at OSU. Now, the last one isn't as simple as it seems. People are extremely indifferent about politics in general here, and about left politics in particular. Its amazing to see the kind of divisions and fragmentation in the latter. Someone vehemently anti-racism can turn out to be the most homophobic guy around, or vice-versa. There's a group for protection of abortion rights on campus, but when we tried to get them to help out with the death penalty stuff, their president thought that 'people who commit horrible crimes must pay for them'. Any understanding of the inherent class-biased and racialized character of the criminal justice system is perhaps too much to expect from someone whose view of this is based on 'law and order' i guess. That's why i joined ISO, even though the $20 dues do hurt my poverty level paycheck significantly. Not to mention the sharp glances I draw from some people, being an 'outsider'. But then there are those who for that same reason, appreciate the work even more.
Next quarter promises to be more of the same. Since I've pretty much decided on researching this topic in Zambia, funding proposals have to be submitted @2 a month, and generals beckon at the end of May. Wish i could get 3000$, no strings attached, for fieldwork...That's why i always say-- there's a reason why dreams are dreams...
Of course, that's not all they're about, lj is also about friends, real or virtual who you keep in touch, and share lives and ideas with. But that's one.
Another reason is the incredibly busy few months i've had since coming back from India. Fell ill for a week or so upon landing, was in two hard seminars this quarter, worked on a long paper for pub., taught a class on US and Canada, went organizing for the grad union once/twice a week, with a friend put together what is now our monthly newsletter, and if this wasn't enough, joined the ISO (www.internationalsocialist.org) and organized a drive against death penalty here at OSU. Now, the last one isn't as simple as it seems. People are extremely indifferent about politics in general here, and about left politics in particular. Its amazing to see the kind of divisions and fragmentation in the latter. Someone vehemently anti-racism can turn out to be the most homophobic guy around, or vice-versa. There's a group for protection of abortion rights on campus, but when we tried to get them to help out with the death penalty stuff, their president thought that 'people who commit horrible crimes must pay for them'. Any understanding of the inherent class-biased and racialized character of the criminal justice system is perhaps too much to expect from someone whose view of this is based on 'law and order' i guess. That's why i joined ISO, even though the $20 dues do hurt my poverty level paycheck significantly. Not to mention the sharp glances I draw from some people, being an 'outsider'. But then there are those who for that same reason, appreciate the work even more.
Next quarter promises to be more of the same. Since I've pretty much decided on researching this topic in Zambia, funding proposals have to be submitted @2 a month, and generals beckon at the end of May. Wish i could get 3000$, no strings attached, for fieldwork...That's why i always say-- there's a reason why dreams are dreams...