The World I Want for My Children

Peaceful



Free



Safe



Equal



Healthy



True.



I want a world where my children are not wrong.*

“The world I want for my children” is an effort to support The Joyful Heart Foundation, which was founded by Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay to help victims of sexual assault mend their minds, bodies and spirits and reclaim their lives. Today, the foundation is at the forefront of an effort to end a disheartening backlog of tens of thousands of rape kits in labs across the country, a backlog that contributes to a rapist’s 80 percent chance of getting away with his crime. The backlog and its detrimental effects will be the topic of an SVU episode on September 29^th.

*See June Jordan's "Poem About My Rights"

Feeling Groovy

Dear Germ Czar,

I do NOT have time to be sick. Seriously. I have conference papers to write (which, by the way haven't really been researched yet. And only sort of have a thesis. And are due in, like, 5 minutes). And essays to grade. Billions of them. And more coming next week. And classes to teach. And a workshop to prepare for and present.

So, despite that student who I commanded to sit on the other side of the room and all the coughing and snotting I saw going on, I just can't get sick.

Okay? Please? Can we just ignore this icky feeling in my tummy and the weighted down sensation in the rest of my body? Let's say it's a sign that I should get some sleep and call it a truce. Okay?

Thanks.

Listen Up, White People (Pissed Off Edition)

Seriously, the next time you need to blame your own crazy, illegal, or evil behavior on some anonymous stranger, I'm going to need you be more creative. Can we PLEASE make this the last time you decide to make imaginary black people your obvious scapegoat? I mean, really--the criminal is imaginary. You can make them anything you want. Pick something else!

At least this nutso chick decided to use a woman instead of the standard issue black male . . . .

Cheese and crackers! (Okay, now I'm ready to return to my normal self and being friendly with some white folk. Thanks for indulging me.)

Wow, that didn't take long

The Babydoll just told me that I ruined her life.

I am awesome! Only took five years.

A Few Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

What's wrong with people?

Why is this man in Florida so driven by hate that he insists on burning the Qu'ran even as it presents a threat to American lives? It is a symbolic gesture for which you're willing to risk people's actual lives. Really?!? Not only is it unpatriotic, it is not the love of Jesus.

Why are people going into their former workplaces and shooting up folks? I know you're angry, but everybody didn't fire you. Why must any and everyone die? I get that you are frustrated and mad, but some little kid (who don't even know you and certainly wouldn't hurt you) would like for their mom to come home and read them a bedtime story. When you shoot up your workplace, you take that away from them.

Why do people run and hide from facts like they're the boogieman? I heard on an NPR program this week that once people hear something that may be misinformation, even when you give them facts to correct the errors, they refuse to believe them and even reinforce their belief in the misinformation. For example, the belief that President Obama is a Muslim is a firm erroneous belief in many people's minds. Once, DH reminded a co-worker that he was a member of a Christian church for 20 years. This co-worker asked him if it was one of those Islamic Christian churches. What? Is that even a thing? As an academic, this refusal to accept credible evidence is especially odious to me.

This crazy is really working my nerves.

A Few Things

• In the spirit of lament, I just realized that I'm losing another dream. When I turned 30, I made a list of things I wanted to do in my life. One of them was appear on Oprah. Now that her last season is starting to air (and I assume that they have all been taped already) I seem to have missed the boat. This, despite the fact that I lived in Chicago for a year. I really suck for letting this pass me by.
• I changed my narrative assignment for my classes, partly because I've found it difficult to receive heart-wrenching story after sad, difficult story. I made the assignment much more broad and a little less personal. Still, students want to write about their pain. Maybe the next batch will be a bunch of happy tales about how Pollyanna their lives have been. I won't count on that, though.
• Had a productive day alone, researching and revising. I'm really trying to make publication a priority this year. Let's hope something pans out. Pretty please.
• Autumn is finally rearing its head in the south. The oppressive heat of the summer is being overtaken by the crisp, cool air of the fall. Now we can actually go outside in our new yard. And I can stop sweating out my newly unrelaxed hair. :)