engaging empire... and inspiration

damn, it's been a while since I've written. sorry! school has been really busy. in fact, I should be studying for a Religious Studies exam tomorrow at 8.00 am, since that's one subject I don't have the ability to fabulously fake. but, that'll come.

anyway, I spent last week at this amazing conference., and I want to get this out for you all.

it was the annual gathering of the PJSA (peace & justice studies association) and the conference theme was entitled Engaging Empire -- In Solidarity. it began with bill & bernadine from the weather underground and ended with rebecca walker (who is not only brilliant, but incredibly charming, georgeous, and has one of the most calming demeanors I've even encountered). rebecca's talk was called "The Radical Possibilities of Openness" and her thesis was that the biggest problem in our culture is divisiveness, which stems from the concept of individualism. she said that politics is the cauldron in which individualism and divisiveness brews, that our habit of judging, picking, and choosing is opposite of openness, which is our most valuable resource. with apologies to Dr. King, she said that "endless negativity anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere."

I asked her a question about what you should do when you encounter people you can't just walk away from (like professors) who just don't get it, who are so deeply ingrained with hierarchy and patriarchy that you can't get to a discussion about openness. her answer was surprising, and was exactly what I've been longing for someone to tell me for years. the usual answer to that sort of question is either (1) just keep smashing your head against that wall and eventually you'll wear them down; or (2) an evasive "figure out what works for you" dodge. but she said that it's perfectly valid to "give up" on certain people. "do not be imprisoned by your identification as an agent of change" which is such a difficult thing to own. we activists tend to believe that if we don't do something, people will suffer. (which may or may not be true.) but the thing is, and what rebecca walker gave me permission to do is, say "hey, that sucks, but it's not something I can take on"

say it with me:

do not be imprisoned by your own identification as an agent of change

that's my new mantra

what a great way to spend four days :~)


btw, that paper I was struggling with? tim emailed me the following:
Thank you for your well written, well thought out, and well supported paper [Grade = 100/100]

(but now that I think about it, did I set the bar too high for myself? I have to write 4 more papers in this class! yikes!)