2) The college put out a campus-wide email today condemning the harassment--I appreciate how quickly they acted. The email starts "in the aftermath of the recent election" so they're not shying away from why this is happening either.
3) So, so grateful for all the people who reached out or reached back when I reached out to them. I'm not alone in this. I never was. I never will have to be.
4) I worked from home today. And there's so much work! Student research projects are underway; they're the culmination of the semester's learning and are so exciting. I have two panels to chair at the NWSA next Friday + one paper to write. It's past 3 am, and I'm still putting the final touches on my Gaza class, in a couple of hours... And of course, despite this heavy roster of tasks, I spent too much time today trying to articulate why I should not have been harassed. That's one of the ways racism, sexism, etc. get people to waste their time--by making them try to justify their existence as Toni Morrison explained.
5) A child in Nu's school died by suicide last night. Friends think it was panic about the election results. Nu did not know them personally but found themselves sobbing inconsolably all day. They told me people were posting supportive Post-it notes everywhere and giving hugs to everyone and that it just made them cry harder because the student who had died could have benefitted from all of this. I want to cry too. I wonder how many people we will lose needlessly in the coming four years...
Pic: Max waits for me to catch up. I'm not usually home at this time, so I was pausing to marvel at all the cool shadows the trees were making in the autumn light.
14 comments:
Nice
And so it begins. Our most vulnerable friends are in real danger, aren't they?
Oh my goodness, what a terrible tragedy. I'm so sorry.
I am really sorry about the kid at Nu's school, even though they weren't acquainted. These are dark days indeed.
The leaves are peaking/just past peak here and I keep trying to see the beauty, as you did in the long autumn shadows, but it's an effort.
I think it's really important to remember that we are not alone in times like these. I am grateful that your university came out quickly and strongly, and that you have gotten the support of so many friends/colleagues/students.
I'm so very sorry about Nu's classmate. My daughter is scared that the US is going to become like Nazi Germany and goes down some mental doom loops. It's really, really hard. We're trying to help her with coping mechanisms, but it's hard.
Thanks!
It's heartbreaking!
I am too, Nicole. When you're that young hopelessness can feel like such an abyss...
Steph--I think you can read between the lines to understand the many reasons why this would have triggered my poor Nu...
Re. beauty. It was a moment of lightness--Max helps!
Jules--There is hope and there are helpers; that is definitely the good part.
I'm so sorry that your young person is having a tough time with this--it's got to be extra tough counseling them when we're not 100% sure ourselves... I love her name (obviously :) ) but am not sure of her age...
So very sorry, hugs Maya
Thanks, Daria...
That's TERRIBLE. Terrible, terrrible, terrible. I hope Nu is doing okay. We all have to support each other right now. Sounds like you got a lot of support from work after the harassment... so that's good at least.
Jenny--I've been saying some version of this too "We all have to support each other right now." Wow. We really are in sync sometimes!
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