Percolating Ideas

Hello Everyone:

Another good day in the blogosphere. I had a good time writing about buildings that may be worthy of a little love. Some buildings are just so disliked for one reason or another and, in one case, cause an otherwise reasonable woman to assault the architect with her umbrella. Seriously, true story. Another rose, I applied for a writer/editor job at a Bay Area museum. I intended to apply for a job in their education department but I saw a listing for a writer/editor and applied for this one instead. To borrow a phrase from the Brit BF, "a carptastic day."  Right now I'm trying to formulate some thoughts on the issue of the Confederate flag. Pro or con. It's a tortured history. A flag, after all, is a symbol of national unity, a rallying point for soldiers on the battlefield. Yet, this flag has come to symbolize the tortuous history of racial and ethnic relations in the United States. The challenge is how to put this thoughts into more articulate ideas. I've been letting this issue percolate for some time. I mean, the obvious answer is get rid of it, put it in box, label it "bad flag."  This less obvious answer is how do we take this symbol of racism and bigotry into a teaching moment. I think this will be an issue for some time. The other thing that's been percolating is the whole identity thing. A white woman, identifying as African-American and the whole gender thing. Look, if someone finds their authentic self identifying as a different race or gender, then great. The one thing that genuinely annoys me is all the chest beating about it. Be honest about who you are. Mostly, be discreet about it. Just be.