quotes

A friend posted this on her blog, and I thought it was very well put.

How racism works

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said “I do” to? What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization? What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama were a member of the “Keating 5”? What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

— Kelvin LaFond, Fort Worth

What do you think?

Politics

- Michigan will use foreclosure lists to limit voting. This is really horrible.
- Samesame but different in Ohio.
- Women against Sarah Palin for Vice President is a blog that has letters from women about why they do not support Sarah Palin for vice president.
- Political fact checking - non-partisan fact checking on the current US election.

Month

It has been a month since I've posted anything to this blog (as my mother very clearly pointed out) and so a quick bullet-point list of what is going on:

- Teaching on an alternative license in Indiana was not as easy as I thought it would be
- I considered and then decided against teaching in other states.
- I had good feedback from these other states that made me feel less defeated.
- I start substitute teaching in IPS at some point this week
- I should find out if there will be any additional SPED openings this week, too.
- The objective at this point is to find out exactly what I need to do in order to become fully licensed in Indiana in the most efficient way possible. This may involve being a full-time student this spring/summer if I am not able to get a full-time teaching position this fall, and patching together a few part-time things until then.
- I still get a bit overwhelmed by conversations going on around me, as I can't seem to block out the English very well, or I block out EVERYTHING. Neither of this are acceptable options, but it is getting better.
- I found a gym here that I really, really like. It is NIFS and is near downtown (on the IUPUI campus) and it is awesome. I can run outside along the canal and near the zoo before going to the gym. Sweet.
- I went to a Korean restaurant for the first time since I've been back last night. We ordered a bottle of soju and found out at the end of the meal that it cost $15. Granted, it was pretty good soju, but STILL!!
- I've been watching a lot of political news lately, and I often end up yelling at the TV. I know no one will be shocked that I lean towards the liberal. I am signed up as an Obama volunteer, and might be working as a voting rights monitor on election day.
- North America, I love your baked goods.
- Libraries ROCK.
- I saw Joshua Bell play with the Indianapolis Symphony, and it was AMAZING!
- I meet up with Korea-friends in here last night, and it was so wonderful. It was such an interesting web of interconnected relationships - Indiana/IU/New Orleans/Korea shared frames of reference and it was really cool.

So overall, while I'm extremely frustrated with the job situation, everything else is going reasonably well. Unfortunately, the job situation is my primary concern. I need to make a better effort at being social and meeting more people, but I have to admit that I still get overwhelmed easily and I can't exactly explain why. I have ended up leaving stores or the library with either nothing or a strange assortment of items simply because I get overwhelmed by the number of options. I'm so incredibly lucky that I'm able to stay at my parents' cottage in Indianapolis - I have a lot of independence and personal space, but also get to see them about once a week or so. I miss my friends deeply, and have had many, many times where I wish I could call people to get together for dalkgalbi at OUR dalkgalbi place, or go to the KOTR meet and greet, or make plans for a 5 or 10k. So many people and places I miss so deeply I don't even have the words.