It's Alive!

...meaning my Internet connection is now viable in the new dwelling, and I am now mostly moved.

I will probably not be posting a lot for a while still because I am still getting settled in (and my routines are all messed up as a result, meaning I've been forgetting things like sunscreen and vitamins and my work badge...not to mention that being short and lacking in gross motor skills means my lower legs are pretty banged up from whacking into things on the floor I've been stepping over).

But, still, I like the new place a lot and I think it will be quite conducive to more and better writing and other projects, not in the least because now I can actually FIND more of my books, music, etc., and I have room to organize office supplies and art things and such.

I am tired now and not going to write a lot but here is a picture of my desk in the new office room (sorry for the blurriness, I am using a different camera than usual that has no flash on it because my primary "good" digital camera broke recently and I still need to get it fixed):

Temporarily Disappearing

...as the phone line and hence the DSL at my apartment is being switched over to the new house tomorrow (Tuesday 8/18/09), and as it will probably take a few days to get the Internet stuff hooked up following that, I will likely be scarce online for the week to come. Not that I update every day in the first place, but I figured I'd post this just in case there were any complications resulting in a longer-than-anticipated disappearance.

So far things have gone mostly smoothly but I am kind of irked and suspicious of the phone/Internet company's apparent policy whereby you can't even ORDER your DSL until after the phone line has been installed and activated at the new location. Which means we might have to wait through several days of mail for the router, etc., to even arrive.

In any case, hopefully once all this is settled I'll be able to post yet more pictures of house-progress and of course get back to posting more regularly on my usual Subjects of Tremendous Interest.

What Equality Isn't

Equality, as I see it, is not about people who fall within a certain narrow range of strengths/weaknesses all being nice to each other ("because inside we're all the same").

Equality, as I see it, has to do with recognizing that no, we are not necessarily all the same, inside or otherwise -- but that this is not something to bemoan, but rather, to acknowledge and address and actually deal with.

Yes, some differences between people may be superficial, but deeper differences exist as well. This does not make us "aliens amongst aliens"; we share in common probably more than we differ, simply for being people.

But still we vary, and while certainly any one of us may have preferences for some variations over others, or different reactions to the existence of some variations, etc., it is paramount to at least accord people with variations that differ from our own the presumption of agency.

EDIT: What I mean by "accord people with variations that differ from our own the presumption of agency" is basically "understand that even two people with the same type of variation might differ in their opinions about that variation, and therefore, it is not good to assume that everyone who has a certain variation 'should' have the same exact opinion about it." If that makes any sense. I know I am not being very clear here but I am not sure how to say this yet I guess.

When Nerds Move House...

...we end up dealing with such fascinating challenges as "How To Sort Math Books According To Type Of Math".

That aside, I am feeling considerably less surly tonight than last night, and I am sure the lovely Wall of Books we've now established in the new house (observe below) have something to do with this:





(eeeee! Books!)

And then we have more fun in the living room...this time fun that sounds like the beginning of a joke. (As in, "A duck, a robot, and a murloc are sitting on a mantelpiece...")



Also, we now have grounded outlets (the house is California-old, having been built in 1954, and until yesterday all the outlets were the 2-prong sort, and many of them were broken). And they are the SQUARE HEADED KIND! Of all the American socket variations, this is quite possibly my favorite.

Some Thoughts On Privilege and Pointing Out Consequences

I probably don't have the bandwidth or energy for a big public exchange about this kind of thing right now but...sometimes it boggles me to pieces to encounter people who seem to really get it with regard to one kind of privilege, but then (seem to) totally fail when it comes to other kinds.

I know everyone is different, and that peoples' unique experiences can shape us to a far greater degree at any given moment than what demographic(s) we could be sorted into. I also definitely don't expect everyone to agree with me, let alone on everything, and certainly not immediately! I realize that really explicating some kinds of issues takes time, and it takes moments when you just wonder why you bother, and it takes making mistakes, and it takes sometimes going off about something even when you don't have the most subtle and articulate words at your disposal.

And...as someone not exactly known for subtlety (I seem to tend toward saying nothing or saying too much...such is the way of things for some of us), I've definitely had to interface with the question of what the difference is between being blunt versus being a jerk. I don't want to be a jerk, and I try not to be.

[Also I know I have a tendency to focus on my own "stuff" when I write. But really, the only reasons I do this are (a) I don't need to ask myself for permission to do so, and (b) I am not so much into interrogating others; I figure they will share what they want to share if they think it's relevant.]

I also realize that nobody likes to be checked on their privilege, or assumed to even have privilege in a given area (goodness knows I've not found it pleasant when I've experienced it).

And I realize that in attempts to call people out on what looks like it could be privilege talking I could be wrong (e.g., the person could actually turn out to be a member of the same demographic as me in some context only I assumed they weren't for whatever reason).

In summary, while I may not really care what people think of me socially (as in, I don't care a lick if people think I'm "cool" or not, or if they think I'm a big dork or whatever) I do aim to be respectful and ethical in my dealings with others. If I fail at this I certainly want to know, but hopefully it is not too much to ask that people offer the same considerations in return.

In other words, if I attempt to point out the potential negative consequences for [group] of saying [x] (e.g., "all people with [diagnosis] need [Therapy Q] otherwise they're inevitably going to be institutionalized!"), this does not mean I am trying to censor you, or "sugarcoat" anything, or that I don't have the first clue how bad things can get for certain people, etc.

Additionally, I am not assuming that you yourself are horrendously ignorant and obviously have no experience with [subject] when I attempt to offer my perspective on [subject]. I am just simply offering my perspective, not even demanding a response, not demanding anything, just hoping (and, in some bold cases, requesting) that you at least take what I've written into consideration.

This doesn't behold you to anything, obviously...I guess I just hope that at some point, human groupings that want to call themselves "civilizations" will have higher standards for what they consider to be "civilized". Toward this end I certainly invite and encourage people to call me out on it when I am acting as part of the problem in this regard -- and hopefully if I presume to attempt the same on occasion, this will not be taken as my trying to "dictate others", etc.