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minority rant It's a good day today, at least for the early part of the morning. My little boss couldn't make it in so I will be own woman until the big boss gets in around nine. That means typing here without getting interrupted by silly questions, all I ask is for a free half hour in the mornings, nothing much! I have plenty to do today as well and I was a naughty girl yesterday and went to the grocery store but didn't do much else. I worked through Mackinnon's argument in the opening of the hearings for her ordinance and I have started Dworkin's arugment as well but I still need to finish out that book today. That will be my goal. I have a week left to read or skim or whatever on Walkowitz's book which is on prostitution in the victorian era. I am not sure how I am going to use that so I am not too worried about taking hugely detailed notes on it but I know that my advisor has read the work so I need to be up on it enough to relate it to her. I have been doing most of my research recently during spare moments and I have found that I perfer it that way. It's easier to swallow than when I attempt to force myself to read it and take notes in front of the computer for hours and hours. I hate doing that so I get easily distracted, take breaks, do nothing, etc. If I smack it though during lunch breaks, when I get up, and whenever I have a second I don't worry about how far I am getting, just the time. That reminds me, I still need to implement my torture scheme for myself. I haven't cleaned the exercise machine yet but I might today. I need some motivation to take notes and not watch That 70s Show and Friends. Damn UPN for making such a desireable block of shows! I normally can't pull myself away until eight when something dumb like the Parkers or basketball comes on...simpsons, 70s show, friends, raymond...it's all good. *sigh* nothing exciting to talk about. oh, I could tell you about yesterday's rudeness...if you like. there are a few departments at UM that we know are technologically challenged, at least their professors are, one of these said departments used to be across the hall from us. the downside of this particular department, unlike some others, was that most of its members were minority groups so when we have to explain stuff to them they seem to think that we are talking down to them because they are black, chicano, whatever. honestly though, we are talking down, if we do, because they are idoits in general. well, yesterday one prof from the department in question came in to return something about a month early. now, I must state that to pick out this piece of equipment was a trial for me. he said he wanted something that played tapes...oookk, well "tape" is a highly vague word in here to start with so we asked him which kind. well, he stammered out in some eubonic accent "you know, tapes, about this big" and made a nice vague gesture with his hands. to be helpful, I pulled some test tapes, of all kinds, out and asked him which kind he was thinking of. he started getting miffed around this point and asked what part of tape didn't I get? so I grabbed a machine and kept asking...he decided that I had grabbed the right one after a guess or two and nodded at me. I began to write up his order, which takes a lot of information to do, during which he kept stating his full name and his department and questioning why I needed to double check the information in the system. well, midway through, my big boss starts talking to him and he realizes -ding!- he said yes to the wrong machine, and back we go again. well, yesterday he returned, what he claimed was the right machine. more stammering in eubonics as I tried to find the paperwork for it and I asked him, to double check, if he was his first name. he looked right at me and said something like "my name is -last name-" and I wanted to check his first name, the last name looked right, and I explained why and asked again. he stood right up and said "yes, I am -first name- but I am only -last name- to you." he's lucky I didn't slap him at this point for being so uppity. I also nearly looked him in the eye and said something like "well, my name is daphne, but you must call me Ms. R. if you want to address me from now on." I didn't though but it did bother me that so many profs around here need to feel better about themselves by demeaning people like me. The guy in this story is generally a jerk but I find a lot of people like him around the university, blacks especially, that feel that just because over a hundred years ago some white people enslaved their ancestors, white girls like me who haven't done anything wrong need to pay. and yes, I do know the pain of enslavement both in the present and in the past, so you can't hold that up to me. arrghhh sorry to vent like this. part of me is worried that I am turning into some racist bitch but I think it is more against idoitcy. I hate frat boys, I hate blacks that spend all their money on clothes, and I hate people who can't wise up about life. It's getting to me. all of it is. and seeing so many minorities reinforcing their stereotypes out here really doesn't help them change the minority image. they claim to want diversity but if they still act like hood rats of course most whites won't interact with them. I'd say here that I do like black people but that sounds too cliched. I do enjoy smart, well dressed, clean, gentlemen of any race, but I also think that many minorities don't take good care of their women so I tend to be wary about that. ok enough typing, been half an hour! sorry about this bad entry folks, just what is running through my mind. hate me if you must, but realize that I am just figuring out the world. daphne
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