Encore des articles

I told you I should have been a conservationist. I kept saying, this is urgent, and you think I should study the history of western civilization and piano playing so I can become a genteel wife? Russia as a moderate fascist state. Actual diversity work. And more diversity work. Betsy de Vos calls discrimination and … More Encore des articles

Some of the ways in which my mother was a good mother

I am in the stage of recognizing that she was not, due to the emotional abuse and its profundity, but here is something really good. My mother came from a relatively racist, classist, and anti-Semitic background and rather than propagate that or deny it, she fought against those sentiments and learned to shed them. This … More Some of the ways in which my mother was a good mother

Henry Giroux Today

Having a bad day today. Maybe the hangover from being denied tenure by the right-wing stooge John Silber, the then president of Boston University, in 1981 still stings. Since those dark days, I have always had some hope in the university, recognizing that it was an important site of struggle and filled with contradictions. I … More Henry Giroux Today

On anxiety

I have it and should pay more serious attention to it. I need shiatsu massage and reasonable control of my schedule and space, regardless of the chaos other people may have in their lives. I am not talking about control over others or rigid defensiveness. I am talking about not being imposed upon, and about … More On anxiety

The sacrifice zone

Nowhere is the abuse as frightening as in Louisiana—with the exception, perhaps, of its neighbor to the east (“Thank God for Mississippi!” is the unofficial state motto). Louisiana is the second-poorest state and second-to-last in human development, which is a measure of individual freedom. The state’s rate of fatal cancers is about 30 percent higher … More The sacrifice zone

Lemmas

A colleague said: It is not a university, it is A PLANTATION. It is not a department, it is SOMEONE’S PSYCHIC SCENARIO. Therefore, DO NOT HOPE FOR RATIONALITY. Axé.

In which I am outspoken in ways that I do not even realize

Person: I do not want children. I feel guilty about this as it is my responsibility to have them. Z: Studies show that every U.S. child born is highly detrimental to the environment no matter how green their lifestyle. There is no reason to feel guilty about not having them. Person brightens. Bystander (to Person): How can … More In which I am outspoken in ways that I do not even realize