I read a friend's blog the other day... ah the wit! the humor! the perfect correlation between words and meanings, the perfect rhythm, the whole was good as well as its parts. Not only that, my friend writes her blog with her husband.... Ah the greatness of collaborative efforts.
I have been neglecteing this little blog of mine, where I bitch and try to make sense. More writing perhaps will bring more writing. Hopefully I won't be so envious.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
About Sonia
So what if Sonia Sotomayor's experiences affect the way she reads and enacts the law? And by posing this question I am not dismissing the interference of personal background in the rational thinking of people. Quite the opposite. It is only through the study and understanding of one's background and psychology that it is possible to see, declare and adequately channel our emotions and passions towards certain topics or causes.
I just heard Rush Limbaugh speak and say that Sonia Sotomayor is a racist. P-lease. My visceral reaction comes from the disgust with people that are uneducated about bias and therefore bias the thinking of the masses. Sadly Limbaugh has a wide access to "the masses". His role is the opposite of that of an educator. An educator presents thesis and antithesis and allows students to make their own conclusions. An educator says "I believe in this and that" but you are free to make your own conclusions.
To say that Sotomayor has a bias because she is Latina and to ignore that other justices have a bias because they are Anglo-American or Italian-American is to insult the intelligence of people.
And yes, I am biased towards Sotomayor because her story reminds me of my own story. And I have no problem acknowledging this. Now, this would be a bias only if I pretend it doesn't exist. But since I am making it explicit, I can deal with it. If I were in the position to select Sotomayor to the court, or if I were to ask questions in the confirmation hearings, then I would need to compensate my position with that of others that my not have my same bias. This is the old process through which science deals with its own biases, through peer review.
It is sad to see arguments like this one (bias and rational thinking, how they interact, etc) dumbed down to a caricature. Does J-Lo like tight clothes? will she wear them to her next social event? Those are not the relevant questions...
I just heard Rush Limbaugh speak and say that Sonia Sotomayor is a racist. P-lease. My visceral reaction comes from the disgust with people that are uneducated about bias and therefore bias the thinking of the masses. Sadly Limbaugh has a wide access to "the masses". His role is the opposite of that of an educator. An educator presents thesis and antithesis and allows students to make their own conclusions. An educator says "I believe in this and that" but you are free to make your own conclusions.
To say that Sotomayor has a bias because she is Latina and to ignore that other justices have a bias because they are Anglo-American or Italian-American is to insult the intelligence of people.
And yes, I am biased towards Sotomayor because her story reminds me of my own story. And I have no problem acknowledging this. Now, this would be a bias only if I pretend it doesn't exist. But since I am making it explicit, I can deal with it. If I were in the position to select Sotomayor to the court, or if I were to ask questions in the confirmation hearings, then I would need to compensate my position with that of others that my not have my same bias. This is the old process through which science deals with its own biases, through peer review.
It is sad to see arguments like this one (bias and rational thinking, how they interact, etc) dumbed down to a caricature. Does J-Lo like tight clothes? will she wear them to her next social event? Those are not the relevant questions...
Friday, May 15, 2009
Fearless and... sin miedo!
Ok, the cat is out of the bag, se acabo la cosa. Tengo que tomar posesion (con tilde) de este blog. I have waited to long, and been way to cautious about my writing. This is where I live. Aqui vive Valky, en la era digital, that is. Un menjurje de cosas que es lo que soy. Let's see how it goes...
PS: Sorry but it has come the time to think outloud and I think in Spanish and English
PS: Todos los que puedan leer este blog son bilingues, estoy casi segura.
PS: Sorry but it has come the time to think outloud and I think in Spanish and English
PS: Todos los que puedan leer este blog son bilingues, estoy casi segura.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
On Solidarity
Dear Friend, if you are my friend and therefore you want to make me feel comfortable around you and around myself as well, show solidarity please. When I say "such and such was not nice with me" you should say: "Oh, that wasn't nice of him/her". When I say "I think I made a mistake when I did this or that" you say: "that wasn't that bad". And believe me, I am not asking you to lie to me. I will always like to know the truth, no matter how painful it is. And yes, I am a bit stinky, and yes, I am a bit slow in reacting to things, and yes, I could be more organized, persistent, etc, etc. But please do not tell me the "truth" right away. Let me feel that when I am with you I am safe. Feeling safe is very important for me. Please let me first feel safe. Then you can tell me how I make mistakes. If you are my friend, you have deep and vast knowledge of who I am and how I react to things. I can learn about myself from you. I like that. I am just asking you to be empathetic first, and critical later.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Relentless
That was my friend's advice. "If you want to get this thing done, you have to become relentless". The words don't go away, and even though I am not sure about the full meaning of the word relentless, I feel that it means "without excuses and without apologies". This was a very helpful piece of advice. There is a mind set that is necessary in order to accomplish something. From baking those cookies late at night, when you are feeling tired and sleepy, to thinking through the implications of your dissertation research and how people might perceive it. It is a very good thing that the stars are in my favor. This is the Chinese year of the Ox. Oxen are know for their strength and tenacity. I will, from now on, become an ox.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Better learn to write quick...
Because -of course- I have a dissertation to write, but also because what I write might be read by other people...
Exhibit A:
http://www.uel.ac.uk/cnr/obama.htm
They asked for stories, and I wrote mine, sort of, because I was overwhelmed with emotion. Now if I had only read that e-mail twice before I sent it.... argh!
Exhibit A:
http://www.uel.ac.uk/cnr/obama.htm
They asked for stories, and I wrote mine, sort of, because I was overwhelmed with emotion. Now if I had only read that e-mail twice before I sent it.... argh!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Language-jealous
I was racking my brain (raking? wracking?) trying to figure out what to write on our Christmas Card. Each year this chore is up to me, and I never feel that I am able to produce the card that I would like. It is never quite right, it is always tacky, but not in a cool way. Luckily our sons are beautiful and any excuse to see their image anywhere will do.
I looked for inspiration in my favorite books, thought about the year coming to an end, about all the things that I am grateful for this year (immigration, Obama, health) and then came up with two sentences that did not sound that great, but did encompass my feelings. So I went to ask my DH for help... He first said that "we" did not need to be so wordy... Ok, I have to admit that I am over sensitive to criticism, in general, and very specifically, I am sensitive to my DH's critics. So, I asked him to give me an alternative, give me something to work with. He took, I would say about 2 minutes. And then came back with what ended up in our Christmas cards (you will receive one in about 10 days). He is an artist, and I am so jealous that he is also good with words. He took some of my ideas, looked at the overall project and wrote something beautiful and simple. Ah! how I wish I could do the same. How I wish that what I wrote didn't sound like somebody's pen pal from Ecuador... I wish I could write with ease and also beautifully...
I looked for inspiration in my favorite books, thought about the year coming to an end, about all the things that I am grateful for this year (immigration, Obama, health) and then came up with two sentences that did not sound that great, but did encompass my feelings. So I went to ask my DH for help... He first said that "we" did not need to be so wordy... Ok, I have to admit that I am over sensitive to criticism, in general, and very specifically, I am sensitive to my DH's critics. So, I asked him to give me an alternative, give me something to work with. He took, I would say about 2 minutes. And then came back with what ended up in our Christmas cards (you will receive one in about 10 days). He is an artist, and I am so jealous that he is also good with words. He took some of my ideas, looked at the overall project and wrote something beautiful and simple. Ah! how I wish I could do the same. How I wish that what I wrote didn't sound like somebody's pen pal from Ecuador... I wish I could write with ease and also beautifully...
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