Today the fourth part of my series “Outside Higher Ed” appeared in Inside Higher Ed. This piece shares three common responses to my news of leaving academia: “Good for you. I wish I could leave.” “You’re so brave.” “That’s a really big decision. Will you be ok?” I also share my emotional reactions and processing around these responses, which truly surprised me. More than anything else, I learned through announcing my decision that I’m not alone in struggling with ... Read more ...
Announcing the Decision to Leave Higher Ed: 3 Responses that Surprised Me
![Heading into #MLKDay2019, here’s a reminder that niceness won’t lead to racial justice: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/16/racial-inequality-niceness-white-people
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From the article by Robin DiAngelo, speaking to white folks: “We can begin by acknowledging ourselves as racial beings with a particular and limited perspective on race. We can attempt to understand the racial realities of people of color through authentic interaction rather than through the media or through unequal relationships ... [Cont.] These efforts require that we continually challenge our own socialization and investments in racism and put what we profess to value into the actual practice of our lives. This takes courage, and niceness without strategic and intentional anti-racist action is not courageous.”
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If you’d like to pursue more courageous and contemplative action, consider joining the 40-day practice I’ll be offering during Lent (beginning March 6th): “Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility.” I’ll be sharing more information about this e-course soon. For now, if you’d like to know more, feel free to contact with your interest or with questions about the course.
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#mlkweekend #committedtojustice #racialjustice #socialjustice #whitefragility #whitesupremacy #whiteness #bias #emotionalliteracy #courage #love #unlearning #unlearningracism #antiracism #antioppression #feminism #ecourse #community #communitylearning #communityeducation #bloggersofinstagram #notnice #realrelationships #conversation #action #activism](http://scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/06343f07fca83fdffbe866303c3118c3/5CC4401A/t51.2885-15/e35/c0.6.516.516/49998212_2210762159004274_3044998623218524569_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com "Heading into #MLKDay2019, here’s a reminder that niceness won’t lead to racial justice: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/16/racial-inequality-niceness-white-people
…
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From the article by Robin DiAngelo, speaking to white folks: “We can begin by acknowledging ourselves as racial beings with a particular and limited perspective on race. We can attempt to understand the racial realities of people of color through authentic interaction rather than through the media or through unequal relationships ... [Cont.] These efforts require that we continually challenge our own socialization and investments in racism and put what we profess to value into the actual practice of our lives. This takes courage, and niceness without strategic and intentional anti-racist action is not courageous.”
.
If you’d like to pursue more courageous and contemplative action, consider joining the 40-day practice I’ll be offering during Lent (beginning March 6th): “Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility.” I’ll be sharing more information about this e-course soon. For now, if you’d like to know more, feel free to contact with your interest or with questions about the course.
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#mlkweekend #committedtojustice #racialjustice #socialjustice #whitefragility #whitesupremacy #whiteness #bias #emotionalliteracy #courage #love #unlearning #unlearningracism #antiracism #antioppression #feminism #ecourse #community #communitylearning #communityeducation #bloggersofinstagram #notnice #realrelationships #conversation #action #activism")
![All of these side-by-side, then-and-now profile pics bring me back to questions about aging and ageism:
https://heart-head-hands.com/turning-39-and-thinking-about…/ ...
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I hope you’ll join me in asking today:
* How might we interrupt aging timelines and other age expectations?
* How might better understandings of ageism mobilize understandings of
other -isms (racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, sizeism, nationalism, +++)?
* How can we do more to interrupt ageism and its limitations on who we are allowed to be, what we are allowed to do, and how we are allowed to play?
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[Image posts the question: "What possibilities come with redefining ages and our associations with them?" against a colorful background of a pinwheel spiral toy.]
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#bloggersofinstagram #age #aging #ageism #thenandnow #alltheages #antioppression #socialjustice #committedtojustice #patreonartist #veganblogger #blogger #bloggerlife #bloggerstyle #womanownedbusiness #mondaymotivation #socialmedia #profilepictures #agingchallenge #artistsoninstagram #writersofinstagram #young #old #youngandold #rethinking #contemplation #play #love #selflove #selflovequotes](http://scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/566cfe1d057d878406764b4b44a7e48d/5CFFAD93/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/s640x640/47694263_220127215603643_2056174156185968619_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com "All of these side-by-side, then-and-now profile pics bring me back to questions about aging and ageism:
https://heart-head-hands.com/turning-39-and-thinking-about…/ ...
.
I hope you’ll join me in asking today:
* How might we interrupt aging timelines and other age expectations?
* How might better understandings of ageism mobilize understandings of
other -isms (racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, sizeism, nationalism, +++)?
* How can we do more to interrupt ageism and its limitations on who we are allowed to be, what we are allowed to do, and how we are allowed to play?
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[Image posts the question: \"What possibilities come with redefining ages and our associations with them?\" against a colorful background of a pinwheel spiral toy.]
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#bloggersofinstagram #age #aging #ageism #thenandnow #alltheages #antioppression #socialjustice #committedtojustice #patreonartist #veganblogger #blogger #bloggerlife #bloggerstyle #womanownedbusiness #mondaymotivation #socialmedia #profilepictures #agingchallenge #artistsoninstagram #writersofinstagram #young #old #youngandold #rethinking #contemplation #play #love #selflove #selflovequotes")
![Good morning from snowy DC, where the shutdown continues to define everyday life. Hopefully, today will be quiet -- literally, the snow is "blanketing" (comforting?) the city -- but yesterday, I could feel the tense energy I write about here: https://heart-head-hands.com/living-in-shutdown-usa/ ...
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When swimming at the public pool, there were multiple meltdowns, anxious interactions, and another swimmer who pushed me so hard that I cried ...
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I keep thinking especially about scene 3 from the blog post -- and how aggression (including the bullying, harassment, and dehumanization that's enacted publicly) leads to more aggressive behaviors, feeding the very energy that I'd want to "shut down."
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Scene 3:
"In a short walk (only a few blocks), I pass two white men—both wearing suits, both yelling into their phones. One is furloughed and seems to owe money. The other seems to be speaking to colleagues about a tense work situation. Both are full-on yelling and cursing on the sidewalk. I instinctually pick up my pace, walking by quickly, but I keep thinking about whiteness and masculinity and the entitlement to take up space. How are these men experiencing this moment of white supremacy shutting down their lives?"
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Like the government, snow can shut down the city ... but in a quiet way, a way that asks for inner contemplation and sitting with the self rather than mindless continuation of violence.
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So, I'm asking myself on this snowy Sunday: *What more can I do to "shut down" white supremacy? *What is being asked of me, of us (individually and collectively) at this time?
*And how can we raise our voices not only to #StoptheShutdown but to stop all harms -- small and large, everyday and systemic, person-to-person and via the nation-state?
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[Image is a photo taken out of my apartment window, showing neighboring buildings, trees, sidewalk, and road covered in snow with a grey sky overhead.]
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#stoptheshutdown #governmentshutdown #nowall #nowalls #dc #bloggersofinstagram #writing #storytelling #contemplation #mindfulness #antiracism #whitesupremacy #racialjustice #socialjustice #ecofeminism #everyday #snowday #snow #snowy #sunday #sundayvibes #sundaymorning](http://scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/12d0119fe5e8bb5b644602dfa2692156/5D0042B9/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/c164.0.751.751/s640x640/47693807_2141301125930062_1490226982958133754_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com "Good morning from snowy DC, where the shutdown continues to define everyday life. Hopefully, today will be quiet -- literally, the snow is \"blanketing\" (comforting?) the city -- but yesterday, I could feel the tense energy I write about here: https://heart-head-hands.com/living-in-shutdown-usa/ ...
.
When swimming at the public pool, there were multiple meltdowns, anxious interactions, and another swimmer who pushed me so hard that I cried ...
.
I keep thinking especially about scene 3 from the blog post -- and how aggression (including the bullying, harassment, and dehumanization that's enacted publicly) leads to more aggressive behaviors, feeding the very energy that I'd want to \"shut down.\"
.
Scene 3:
\"In a short walk (only a few blocks), I pass two white men—both wearing suits, both yelling into their phones. One is furloughed and seems to owe money. The other seems to be speaking to colleagues about a tense work situation. Both are full-on yelling and cursing on the sidewalk. I instinctually pick up my pace, walking by quickly, but I keep thinking about whiteness and masculinity and the entitlement to take up space. How are these men experiencing this moment of white supremacy shutting down their lives?\"
.
Like the government, snow can shut down the city ... but in a quiet way, a way that asks for inner contemplation and sitting with the self rather than mindless continuation of violence.
.
So, I'm asking myself on this snowy Sunday: *What more can I do to \"shut down\" white supremacy? *What is being asked of me, of us (individually and collectively) at this time?
*And how can we raise our voices not only to #StoptheShutdown but to stop all harms -- small and large, everyday and systemic, person-to-person and via the nation-state?
.
.
[Image is a photo taken out of my apartment window, showing neighboring buildings, trees, sidewalk, and road covered in snow with a grey sky overhead.]
.
.
#stoptheshutdown #governmentshutdown #nowall #nowalls #dc #bloggersofinstagram #writing #storytelling #contemplation #mindfulness #antiracism #whitesupremacy #racialjustice #socialjustice #ecofeminism #everyday #snowday #snow #snowy #sunday #sundayvibes #sundaymorning")
