Hey, Mom! The Explanation.

Here's the permanent dedicated link to my first Hey, Mom! post and the explanation of the feature it contains.

Also,

Monday, August 5, 2024

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3457 - WORK THAT - Time for Change - Sense of Doubt Reprint - Music Monday 2408.05


 A Sense of Doubt blog post #3457 - WORK THAT - Time for Change - Sense of Doubt Reprint - Music Monday 2408.05

This is a reprint of a former mix with a little added content.

Kamala Harris was my pick for the democratic candidate in 2020 before Joe Biden won the nomination. 

I was then thrilled when he selected her to be his running mate, and they won the election:


Saturday, November 7, 2020


I was not over-joyed to see Biden choose to run for a second term, but with the alternatives being Donald Trump, a wanna-be dictator, and RFK, Jr. An anti-vax lunatic, the choice was clear. I felt I had to back Biden to save our democracy. However, after the disastrous Presidential debate, it became clear that Biden did not have the wherewithal to beat Trump.

But then we waited days and weeks for him to make the decision (be convinced?) to step down. There's no doubt that he believes that he can do the job, and he is qualified. But would he beat Trump head-to-head? It was not looking like he could do that.

Given that Kamala Harris is the Vice President, she was the natural choice to step in as the "presumptive" nominee. Though not voted in by the American people via the primary system, and though not given the nomination by the Democratic National Committee at the convention (to start August 19th), it is 100% certain that she will be the Democratic candidate for president against Donald Trump.

Since she announced her candidacy, endorsed first by President Biden, and swiftly by many others, including former President Obama, a firestorm of excitement has boosted the chances of the democrats in this election year to not only win the presidency but possibly the majority in the House and keep the majority in the Senate.

But it's still a rough road ahead. The Republicans do not play fair and engage in false information of all kinds. The Republican candidate himself cannot help himself from race baiting with dog whistles to his racist base.

As I asserted in 2020: NOT all Trump supporters are racist but ALL THE RACISTS are Trump supporters.

Trump surely understand bi-racial people and yet he tried to argue that Harris chose to align herself with African-Americans after first aligning herself with South Asians.

It's rather simple:


Trump didn't have a problem with her in 2011, when he donated to her election campaign for Attorney General in California:


Now he wants to claim that she's "not black" and that she "falsely turned black."



There was one scheduled to be held on ABC, but Trump prefers to have it on FOX NEWS on Sept. 4th.

Harris has declined the Fox News invite (so far) and wants to proceed with the original agreement for the ABC News debate on Sept. 10th  set when Biden was the nominee that Trump backed out of when Harris took over for Biden.

Harris has issues with Trump's rhetoric: SAY IT TO MY FACE.

Trump doesn't have this kind of energy as seen in the video above.

That was from Harris' recent Georgia rally where people were dancing, clapping, and having a great old time even when Megan Thee Stallion was not performing.

Trump can't get stars like that at his rallies. In fact, he has lots of people, including defunct bands like the Village People, denying him the rights to use their music.

Trump spent most of his Georgia rally that followed Harris a few days later attacking the governor of the state and the state itself for not letting all the people into the rally that wanted to be there, suggesting that the empty seats were due to denial of access not lack of attendees.

And so, a repeat from the reprinted blog entry from 2022, shared below...



BE THE CHANGE.





I am proud of this mix. It's a good collection. And the photo gallery tells a story of strong, resilient, out-spoken not silent women in our culture.

Work that...


BTW, I got the idea for this mix when Vice President Kamala Harris walked out for her victory speech to Mary J. Blige's "Work That."



I think this one of my best mixes.







https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/08/deepfakes-elon-musk-donald-trump-kamala-harris-x/


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-harris-trump-cbs-news/


https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/08/harris-campaign-republicans-trump-voters/





Monday, October 17, 2022



Toni Morrison with tie


A Sense of Doubt blog post #2799 - WORK THAT - Time For a Change - a music mix - MUSICAL MONDAY 2210.17

I have been working on this mix for some time and finished it this summer, a few months ago, but had not yet posted a blog about it. Also, I published this one on the date shown, and yet I needed more than a full week to finish with all the photos of these amazing women, African-American women.

In fact, so amazing are these women, I cannot choose one for the image up top, so instead I am using a picture of Toni Morrison, partly the inspiration for this post. I am teaching her book Sula this quarter in English 101.

I am also trying to get my students to understand the great feminist adage: "THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL."

I am trying to get students to see the relevance to their lives of all the things that take place in the political arena.

Did the majority of Americans, especially young Americans, realize the extent to which the world and the United States in particular relied on the "bread basket" of Ukraine.

We do this assignment in which a student picks an endangered right (most of them are endangered) that is considered a human right or is a right protected by the US Constitution, or they select a right that should be protected by the Constitution or should be recognized as a human right and isn't.

I often experience push back from students who "don't like to write about politics."

I tell them that the "PERSONAL IS POLITICAL," that those things in their personal life that they care about are affected and often can only be changed in the political arena.



The phrase come from a 1969 essay by Carol Hamisch arguing that issues of sex, child care, gender inequalities, marriage rights, and more are not personal and private issues but ones that are political and can be changed in the political arena.


They could sometimes admit that women were oppressed (but only by “the system”) and said that we should have equal pay for equal work, and some other “rights.” But they belittled us no end for trying to bring our so-called “personal problems” into the public arena—especially “all those body issues” like sex, appearance, and abortion. Our demands that men share the housework and childcare were likewise deemed a personal problem between a woman and her individual man. The opposition claimed if women would just “stand up for themselves” and take more responsibility for their own lives, they wouldn’t need to have an independent movement for women’s liberation. What personal initiative wouldn’t solve, they said, “the revolution” would take care of if we would just shut up and do our part. Heaven forbid that we should point out that men benefit from oppressing women.


A lot has been written about it in the years since. Like this:

The personal is political: the journey of a feminist slogan

All successful slogans are subject to misappropriation: it is a sign of their success. The personal is political – but mind the gap.

Rahila Gupta

13 April 2015

 

Outside of feminist politics, the slogan, if not the exact words, has been co-opted by politicians and public figures as a way of simplifying complex political ideas by using the personal as a metaphor. The slogan was not meant to be used in reverse, i.e. trying to understand the political in terms of the personal as that can subvert the original idea. Margaret Thatcher was a great believer in this form of discourse, ventriloquizing the popular voice, as Stuart Hall describes it. Thatcher particularly liked discussing the national budget in personal terms as Margaret Drabble reminds us, “Many economists …warned her you couldn't run the country as you ran a household budget... It didn't square up with monetarism and privatisation and the reckless deregulation of financial services and the Big Bang”. It is the kind of discourse which influences voters to vote Conservative because they understand the national debt in terms of personal debt and believe that it is a sign of prudent management of finances when the Conservatives say that it is their number one priority to reduce borrowing even if it means drastic cuts to spending. Living within your means, the personal motto that might drive a thrifty person, is no way to run a country.

https://psyche.co/ideas/the-origin-story-of-a-slogan-the-personal-is-political

And so, as we work on the RIGHTS essay, I realized the time was NOW to share this MIX and the voices of these beautiful women, these beautiful black women, to "WORK THAT," work for the change.

BE THE CHANGE.

I am proud of this mix. It's a good collection. And the photo gallery tells a story of strong, resilient, out-spoken not silent women in our culture.

Work that...


BTW, I got the idea for this mix when Vice President Kamala Harris walked out for her victory speech to Mary J. Blige's "Work That."



I think this one of my best mixes.

Thanks for tuning in.

Enjoy.




WORK THAT MIX - TIME FOR A CHANGE






TRACK LIST

[1] Mary J. Blige - Work That
[2] Bob Marley & The Wailers - Redemption Song
[3] Sade - Soldier of Love - Official - 2010
[4] H.E.R. - Damage (Official Video)
[5] Janelle MonĂ¡e - Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu [Official Video]
[6] Megan Thee Stallion: Anxiety (Live) - SNL
[7] TLC - Kick Your Game live (1996)
[8] Lizzo - Truth Hurts (Official Video)
[9] Ruthie Foster - Phenomenal Woman
[10] Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer: her very best performance!
[11] Lizzo - Humanize
[12] Sade - Cherish the Day (Live 2011)
[13] Bonnie Raitt & Ruthie Foster "Angel From Montgomery"
[14] Janelle MonĂ¡e & Kelly Clarkson - Unbreakable [Official Visualizer]
[15] H.E.R. - I Can't Breathe (Audio)
[16] Erykah Badu - Didn't Cha Know (Official Video)
[17] Ruthie Foster - Brand New Day (Live at The Paramount)
[18] Pharrell Williams - Entrepreneur (Official Video) ft. JAY-Z
[19] Janelle Monae - Suite II Overture
[20] RuthieFoster - "Heal Yourself" from the film Road To Austin
[21] Mary J. Blige - Everything (Official Music Video)
[22] Janelle MonĂ¡e - Tightrope [feat. Big Boi] (Video)
[23] Erykah Badu - Back In The Day (Puff) live
[24] Sade - Paradise (Live 2011)
[25] En Vogue - Free Your Mind (Official Music Video) [HD]
[26] Tanerélle Stephens - Boys Like You
[27] Curtis Mayfield- Move on Up (Extended Version)
[28] Janelle MonĂ¡e - Electric Lady [Official Video]
[29] H.E.R. - I'm Not OK (Official Video)
[30] Megan Thee Stallion - Ungrateful (feat. Key Glock) [Official Video]
[31] Mary J. Blige - I'm Goin' Down
[32] Erykah Badu - On & On (Remix Edit)
[33] Tanerélle Stephens - Continuum
[34] TLC Live Honolulu Hawaii 8/6/22 - "Creep"
[35] Megan Thee Stallion - Her [Official Video]
[36] Mary J. Blige - Just Fine (Official Music Video)
[37] Janelle MonĂ¡e - PrimeTime ft. Miguel [Official Video]
[38] Arrested Development ‎– People Everyday - 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of
[39] Sade - No Ordinary Love - Official - 1992
[40] Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Live at Kennedy Center Honors)


PHOTO GALLERY

Mary J Blige






H.E.R.






https://www.instagram.com/hermusicofficial/?hl=en






ARETHA FRANKLIN






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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2210.17 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2663 days ago

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2408.05 - 10:10

- Days ago = 3321 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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Sunday, August 4, 2024

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3456 - SDCC Recaps - Comic Book Sunday 2408.04



A Sense of Doubt blog post #3456 - SDCC Recaps - Comic Book Sunday 2408.04

No, I didn't go.

I used to say I wanted to go some day, and maybe I will change my mind, but this thing has become so huge and sprawling that I am not inspired to go.

But recaps make a good COMIC BOOK SUNDAY.

Thanks for tuning in.




https://reactormag.com/tag/sdcc-2024/

Several recaps at the link above, but here's a few selections...



What Is Going On With the Tone of This Star Trek: Section 31 Trailer?

By 




Marvel Brings Back Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo Brothers for the Next Two Avengers Movies

By 





More Star Trek for You! New Series Announced & Starfleet Academy Will Have Familiar Faces

By 




https://www.comicsbeat.com/sdcc-24-dungeons-dragons-celebrates-50-years/

SDCC ’24: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS celebrates 50 years

TTRPG industry professionals reflect on their love of D&D

By
 Diego Higuera
 -

It’s estimated that over 50 million people play Dungeons & Dragons, and for the past 50 years, it has remained the number one tabletop roleplaying game in the United States. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, industry experts Anjali Bhimani (Desi Quest, Critical Role), producer Kailey Bray, Gary Con founder Luke Gygax, D&D comics writer Jim Zub, and writer and game designer Matt Forbeck (Endless Quest) shared how Dungeons & Dragons has risen to the top of pop culture. The panel was moderated by Ross Thompson.

The panel took place on Gary Gygax Day to celebrate D&D‘s creator. The crowd cheered as the panelists took their places. Before answering any questions, Gygax asked the crowd, “Wuick question, who brought their dice?” He chuckled as the crowd laughed in unison.

Thompson asked: “What do you think is one of the most significant influences of D&D and why it’s kind of penetrated pop culture and allowed it to resonate as long as it has? Matt?

Forbeck seemed surprised to be called out at first, but answered, “I have a lot of opinions on this, as you can imagine, but I think one of the reasons is that it gives people a chance to scratch that creative itch that all of us have as human beings.” Forbeck continued by explaining how we have a human need to share stories and come up with and create stories and share them.

He concluded, “It’s an interactive form of entertainment, as opposed to most entertainment we just consume. You’re actually producing [a story] with your friends in a unique way that’s often never captured.”

Zub said, “It unlocks that ability for you to be bold in a way that in your day-to-day life, you may not feel like you can be. You know, so much entertainment is passive, and we just let it sort of wash over us. And the ability to choose that suddenly, the spotlight is on you in that moment.”

He mentions how powerful it is to be able to swing a session or turn the mood around with one choice.

Gygax picked up immediately: “Even as a game master, I already liked games where I didn’t know what the player is going to do. I like to set up things to ruin my flame.” He noted that GMs who listen to their players may discover their original idea wasn’t as good as the suggestion players make. “Sometimes they’re like, ‘I think it’s this,’ and I’m just like, ‘That is way better than what I had.'”

“I think there’s something to be said for a lasting power of identity in connection with Dungeons & Dragons,” said Bray. “You get to either remotely or at the table really connect with people that you just met, or people that you love dearly, on a deeper level than you can do doing most other activities, and explore and learn things about yourself that you might not know or be brave enough to do in any other context. I think that’s why people keep coming back to this.”

Bhimani said this game is made to be a safe space, as any good game should be. However, she does dig into the root of where that comes from and what it means for players across the globe to be able to put themselves in their characters’ shoes.

“It is very much a safe space to explore what it’s like to have agency in ways that you don’t necessarily feel like you do. In your in your life, like games, in general, video games do the same thing. But TTRPGs and D&D specifically do it to a much greater degree,” Bhimani said. “That view when you get to see a hero that you identify with, and that you then take control of… When you’re doing it with a controller, it’s one thing if you’re in someone else’s voice, but you still have ownership of it. That’s amazing.

“But when it’s your voice and your writing and your choices, and when you can make that natural one work beautifully for a story, there is a sense of empowerment that you have, that you don’t necessarily get in your day-to-day lives or maybe not in that way,” she continued. “When you take that sense of empowerment with you into the world, you are a different person, you are expanded, you’re more of who you are because you experienced something that you wouldn’t have been able to experience in your day-to-day life.”

Inclusion was the running theme of this panel, and couldn’t have been more prominent then when the Q&A session started and so many fans got up to ask their questions. These ranged from asking the panelists about their favorite D&D species to their favorite adventure, what projects they would love to work on again, or their thoughts on the last year’s backlash against Wizards of the Coast.

What stood out the most was when a child walked up to the podium in what was possibly the best Shredder costume that an 8 year old could have and asked, “H do you get your friends into D&D who have short attention spans?” This made everyone in the room roar with laughter. It’s nice to know adults are not the only ones with this problem.

At the same time it was fantastic to see all these generations of fans who were wanting to know more, who cared and were invested. Let’s hope the next 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons are just as good.

Stay tuned for more SDCC ’24 coverage from The Beat.



AND MORE







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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2408.04 - 10:10

- Days ago = 3320 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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Saturday, August 3, 2024

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3455 - Writing in Counseling Studies - Part One

Me Barista Portland Alberta St Portland 1805_19

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3455 - Writing in Counseling Studies - Part One

I have started a graduate program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

I plan to share many of my writings in my classes here on my blog.

Here's the first two.

Thanks for tuning in.

FIRST ASSIGNMENT
This reflection below on procrastination and other issues is pretty clear without the assignment prompt.

Procrastination is an often misunderstood function of the human mind. Not all of what gets labeled as procrastination is bad. As explained in Dr. Devon Price’s article “Laziness Does Not Exist” (published on Medium originally and later as a book) that we as a culture define productivity exclusively as an extension of our “work” (career) or practical industry (school, family chores, etc.) (Price, 2018), and procrastination is the avoidance of that productive industry. However, even a nap can be productive if one needs a nap and such a thing then helps one to be able do these traditionally productive things later in the day, then more rested and refreshed. As someone who has worked from home at least half-time throughout my career, work-life balance has been crucial to maintaining my mental wellness and overall health. After working a sufficient amount of time each day, ending the work day to engage in self-care activities has been critical to my happiness and self-worth. However, I suspect this question intends to solicit a response like “procrastination has not benefitted me.” I am a big proponent of getting an early start on any work that I have to do as much as possible, as evidenced by how I wrote this before the Monday July 8th start of the semester. After years of procrastination as task avoidance, I have learned to set priorities and get done the things that have to get done in the best order.

Like Tim Urban explains in his TED Talk “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator,” I had the very same experience in which I stayed up for 72 hours straight to complete 125 pages of writing:
“...with three days until the deadline, still not having written a word, and so I did the only thing I could: I wrote 90 pages over 72 hours...humans are not supposed to pull two all-nighters” (Urban, 2016, 01:27). And so, I have learned that if I put off work for the graduate program, I am less likely to be successful: All in balance,  priorities, wise choices, work-life balance, self-care. Fortunately, given my current work load, I will have 2-3 work week days at home to devote lots of time to my graduate school work.

The disposition of engagement is vital for professionals in the field of counseling for processing information, self-directed learning, and self-care to ensure quality care of clients. Norma S. Guerra of the University of Texas wrote of the LIBRE model in the Journal of Employment Counseling; LIBRE stands for Listen, Identify, Brainstorm, Reality Test, Encourage (Guerra, 2007). Though all five of these actions are crucial to being a successful counselor, active listening is possibly the first and most important skill. I talk with my own therapist frequently about staying engaged with clients, as I think it would be challenging to stay focused and keep one’s mind from wandering. As an introvert (INXP) and an Individualist (Enneagram), my mind tends to wander the wilderness of Imagination quite often, and is something I will have to be mindful of as a counselor. 

Along with active listening, being self-directed learner will aid me both in becoming and in serving as a counselor. Rashid and Asghar propose in an article in Elsvier, “technology improves student learning” and engagement. Students develop life-long learning skills by becoming self-directed learners, which rely on strong engagement (Rashid & Asghar, 2016, p. 610). And for the third importance of engagement, a counselor will have difficulty advocating for clients to practice good self-care without practicing it themselves. Though Stevens, Williams, and Dowd wrote their article for counselors in training in Ohio, but the advice surely applies to all: “Counselors and counselors-in-training (CITs) are responsible for supporting the
well-being and mental health of their clients, and self-care is critical in ensuring quality care” (Stevens et al. 2020). I already model the advice for which these authors advocate with the focus on proper self-care. As Dr. Oswin mentioned in her Week One video, the expectation is that I am an imperfect counselor now and will continue to be one for years to come. 

Good self-care through self-directed learning and active listening as well as other aspects of LIBRE are ways to remain engaged and to grow as an imperfect counselor who is evolving. I know how to manage any tendencies to procrastinate to remain on track and be successful in my learning and my practice.

References

Guerra, N. S. (2007). LIBRE model: engagement styles in counseling. Journal of Employment Counseling, 44(1), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2007.tb00019.

Price, Devon. (2018). Laziness Does Not Exist. Medium: Human Parts, Medium Corporation. humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01. 

Rashid T. and Asghar H.M. (2016). Technology use, self-directed learning, student engagement and academic performance: Examining the interrelations. 63(1), 604-612, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.084.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216304204.

Stevens, M. M., Williams, A. E., & Dowd, S. E. (2020). Motivation, Perceptions, and Engagement Related to Participation in Personal Counseling Among Master’s Level Counselors-in-Training in Ohio. Journal of Counselor Practice, 11(1), 85–106. https://doi.org/10.22229/cou1112020

Urban, T. (2016, February). Inside the mind of a master procrastinator: Tim Urban: TED2016. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator?language=en




I disliked this activity. The Impartiality part focused on these pictures.


Awareness: Bridge the Gap

1. How have inconsistencies between how you view yourself and others’ experiences of you created problems for you in the past?

People in my life – mostly my therapist and my wife – keep me focused on growing and evolving how I am perceived versus how I feel I am conveying myself, my thoughts, and feelings. My wife will always point out how my tone, my facial expression, and/or my body language reveal a great discrepancy between my intentions and how I perceive my actions and how I am perceived. I hear this feedback less often in the work-place, so either my colleagues and students (I am a teacher) are too kind to say anything or my wife is ultra-sensitive, though this does not mean she is wrong or hyperbolic. The exercise is useful as a thought process, but it’s all based on my reality, rather than having someone else fill out the second part in how others perceive me. For instance, I scored blunt and bossy very low, though perhaps I am seen that way more than I realize. I have learned valuable lessons in the past about being bossy when I delegate tasks and then micro-managing due to my own anxiety. I am better now at letting people be and allowing them to work at their own pace. My greatest gap scores individually were scores of two; some of these reveal vulnerabilities, such as I do not believe everyone realizes how sensitive and trusting I am, and this vulnerability has caused me a great deal of pain and/or anxiety in the past. Other scores, such as the gap in discourteous, measure my fears about how I am perceived. I am very sensitive to avoiding being offensive.


2. How can you adjust your own self-perception to consider the experiences of others in your professional life?

Something that I have worked to change for years is the deeply-rooted mind-set that everyone has to like that derives from a childhood experiencing bullying and believing few people liked me. This feeling is something to change in my self-perception, and it touches on multiple elements rated in this gap exercise. As a teacher, it is not possible to be liked by all one’s students. Likewise, as a counselor some potential clients may decide that I am not the right therapist for them and move on, much like some students make the same choice and drop my class. I always struggle to not take those decisions personally. As a teacher, I have often reached out to see if there is something I can change about the course or myself to avoid other students dropping for the same reason. Often the reason they drop is their own and has little or nothing to do with me or the workload in my course. Likewise, I would hope that as a counselor in training I will have some wise supervisors to help guide me to improve when confronted with shortcomings identified by clients. I already discuss this issue with my therapist who is immensely helpful in helping me to understand what experiences of others to take seriously and use to adapt myself, my approach, my mind-set and what feedback is not helpful, cases when those perceptions are inaccurate, based on a misunderstanding, or of either projection or transference. I can work to alleviate misunderstandings by improving the clarity of my own communication. Projection or transference may be a longer project, if and only id the client stays in my care, though I may consider how my actions may contribute to one of those psychological conditions.

3. How can you adjust how you are experienced by others?

I am always analyzing and checking in with people on how I am perceived. Was that comment rude? Did I talk too much? Do I seem dismissive? Was relating my own experience in that situation inappropriate? All these questions and more. I take the feedback I receive seriously; I do not reject it. When I have asked for feedback and get some that upsets me, I spend a lot of time questioning why the feedback upsets me. Is it because the feedback is wrong or am I being defensive because the feedback is right, and I do not want to face that reality? Likewise, I am aware that like all humans I am a creature of denial, hypocrisy, and complex rationalization. I am always monitoring my actions, beliefs, feelings, and attitudes to try to uncover truths about which I am in denial, ways in which I am a hypocrite (though it’s impossible to not be a hypocrite in some ways in the modern world), and ways I rationalize when I should not. I will continue this self-analysis even more extensively as a counselor.

Impartiality: Burning Buildings

1. What thoughts, feelings, or reactions came up for you during this exercise?

I know I have deeply-rooted and unconscious prejudices that I am still working to make conscious and eliminate. I know I can make assumptions about people just based on how they look; assumptions that I know often prove to be wrong.

2. What surprised you about yourself during this exercise?

I am not really surprised at all as I have done a similar training of this kind before. Maybe what surprised me most is that I like to fool myself into thinking I have grown, even though I am still uncomfortable with some of these choices in regards to some of these people based on what might be erroneous assumptions.


3. What was difficult for you about this exercise?

What is most difficult for me is the burning building question. I have grappled with similar questions in other training exercises, and these questions offend me. In a burning building, if I am being a hero, I am going to grab whomever I can based on where the fire has spread and who is closest to the exit. Some people are not reachable and that will not be my fault. Whether they are rescued has nothing to do with what they look like. I am surely not walking past the man who appears homeless to rescue the one who looks like a gay black man because I am gay. That’s just stupid.

4. What was easy for you about this exercise?

What is easiest for me is being asked to be impartial in letting some people into my home or my family as well as entering their home or joining their family. I try to remain open-minded until I know more about a human. I try not to make assumptions and judgement based on how they look, though I know that I am very good at fooling myself into thinking I am being open when deep in my heart I am not.


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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2408.03 - 10:10

- Days ago = 3319 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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