Remember all those people who wept over a Russian soldier killed by a Ukrainian drone?
They have zero reaction to these murders of Ukrainian civilians by Russians.
Stupid, pathetic, completely owned people.
Ready for the Fall
The semester starts strangely early, and I’m switching into a Fall time state of mind. I cooked lentil soup and my favorite dish of shaved steak with bok choy, mushrooms and Savoy cabbage. I have changed the dining room table layout. I brewed fennel and anise tea. And now I’m in the midst of my favorite neoliberal pastime which is creating a mood board and a list of guiding principles for the Fall.
It takes more work than it should to feel the approach of the Fall because we are in the midst of the worst heat wave of an already very hot summer.
Define the Difference
How would you define the main difference between liberal and conservative?
I don’t mean the extremes. Only the actual standard liberal and conservative.
Self-awareness
Together 10 years and she’s still a fiancee?
Dude, 6 is a huge compliment. You are barely a 2.
Book Notes: The Tenant by Freida McFadden
Freida McFadden writes mega bestsellers, thrillers with a million plot twists. Fun, entertaining reads, perfect for the beach, the airport, and the beginning of the academic year.
I want to mention The Tenant in particular because it’s the second novel this week (after Culpability) that portrays a hen-pecked man, eager to please, and fussing around helplessly as women tug him around and pummel him.
A man terrified of displeasing women is now a major theme in American literature. I could give a long list of books where that is the center of the narrative. The Brits are obsessed with housing, the Spaniards are fixated on their depopulating countryside, and Americans can’t figure out how men and women should coexist.
The novel is great fun. Probably the best I have read by McFadden.
Q&A about Academic Colleagues
I know people who do these things and they always make carveouts for their acquaintances.
“I think we should strip tenure off everybody who voted Republican in this election.”
“I voted Republican.”
“Oh! I didn’t mean you! You know I love you. I’m sure you had good reasons. I mean other people.”
These aren’t bad individuals. They do these land acknowledgements like I put on eye shadow, because I think it looks nice.
The actual real fanatics who enjoy hurting others are few. Just like women who put on eye shadow because they want to steal your husband.
Most of them are clueless and they don’t care much one way or the other. They were told that BLM posters and pronouns in signatures are the thing, so they do it.
Waste of Time
Putin sent his happy Udmurt double to meet with Trump, and American soldiers had to crawl on their knees in front of him.
Nothing Better to Do
I hope it’s not true because seriously? Belarus? Have we solved all our domestic problems so that our President can take trips to the utterly insignificant Belarus?
Tolerating Ambiguity
In a healthy relationship, ambiguity creates no stressors for the relationship. In unhealthy ones, ambiguity is intolerable.
Q&A about Disgrace
I’m so glad you read the book! I hope you loved it. Everybody should read it, it’s a masterpiece.
If you are in the US and you are invited into a struggle session, I recommend immediately to contract a lawyer and request that the administration deal directly with your legal representative. College administrations are terrified of legal threats. I have witnessed unsavory personalities wheedle the most outrageous things out of the administration by lawyering up. Don’t say a word, don’t go to any committees, everything through a lawyer.
I understand that the events in the novel are set in Cape Town, and I don’t know how things work there. The professor in Disgrace did the next best thing to finding a lawyer. He refused to engage beyond the bare minimum. That’s always the correct behavior in any workplace spat. Whoever says the least, wins. Never ever ever do point-by-point rebuttals. Limit your responses to a difficult colleague to one sentence.
I’ve felled absolute wild beasts of prey who had made life impossible to generations of administrators before me by using this strategy. Don’t give them any time and, most importantly, any of your mental space. Pray, meditate, do whatever you need to not dwell. One sentence responses that are declarative (not questions). “I understand your position but I disagree.” “Please proceed as instructed previously.” That’s it, you are done, move on.
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