The real barriers to being a public intellectual

Today is my writing day. I should be working on writing that counts. Such as the two scholarly articles I'm composing for academic journals - the kind of writing that Mr. Kristof calls "gobbledygook . . . sometimes hidden in obscure journals — or published by university presses whose reputations for soporifics keep readers at a distance."

Here's a sample of one of the pieces I'm currently working on. Is this "gobbledygook"? You be the judge.

"Exerting authority over their own identities, re-claiming space to express resistance, and challenging the stereotyped assumptions of thousands of readers, Indigenous feminist bloggers are on the rise and are gaining attention with arguments that lance the core of American popular culture and misinformed imaginations. In October 2013, Adrienne Keene (Cherokee), author of the blog Native Appropriations, was nominated for the 2013 Women’s Media Center Social Media Award, reflecting the impact and import of her blog work, much of which demands awareness of problematic appropriations of Native images and artifacts. Linking the past with the present to create a new and more positive future for Indigenous peoples, Native women such as Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo) and her blog, American Indians in Children’s Literature, expertly use the communicative tools and technologies of the 21st century to share stories from the Indigenous perspective and insist upon change."

You tell me. You are a reader and a member of the general public, possibly a member of the academy, possibly not. Is that gobbledygook to you? Is it over your head? Are you confused?

I suspect not.

However, and this leads me to my argument: There are REAL barriers to being a public intellectual, but one of them is NOT that academics aren't writing in the public domain. My article, once complete and published, will NOT be available to YOU, unless you have access to a university system library database, which is a paid platform accessible only to those in a university community. I actually agree with much of what Mr. Kristof says. Not the gobbledygook part, obviously, but certainly the idea that academics only write behind pay walls. Many academics (and I know A LOT of them) write in understandable and accessible forms in those obscure journals. And many of these academics are ALSO writing for the public.

Back to the idea that this blog post which tackles a very important academic issue will not count toward my bid for tenure and promotion. One of the largest barriers to academics publishing more for the general public is the fact that our public writing does not count and will not be considered as valuable and as worthy as our "gobbledygook" in "obscure journals." Kristof employs an interview comment to briefly touch upon this problem:

"'Many academics frown on public pontificating as a frivolous distraction from real research,” said Will McCants, a Middle East specialist at the Brookings Institution. “This attitude affects tenure decisions. If the sine qua non for academic success is peer-reviewed publications, then academics who ‘waste their time’ writing for the masses will be penalized.'” ("Professors, We Need You!")    

 I couldn't agree more. And I have a simple solution, although simplicity is not the academy's strong suit: Institutions and faculty unions should create a category called "Public Writing" and accept everything from blog posts and movie or book reviews in popular outlets to essays and opinion pieces in local, regional, and national publications, both in print and online. Instead of rejecting public intellectual work, this simple move would make public writing a REQUIREMENT of all faculty. And let's make the percentage low - 10 percent. So, 10 percent of your academic writing should be in a public forum. Most of the academics I know have already exceeded that by a large margin, and those who haven't done so may be hesitant to try because the existing system doesn't value public writing. If the goal is to reach more people, then this would effectively start to solve that problem. Moving on.

The second barrier to reaching a broader audience is the pervasive and very real anti-intellectualism in this nation that points and shouts, "Indoctrinator! Liberal! Left-wing nutjob! You're out of touch and don't know what the real people need to know! You think you're so smart? I don't care what you have to say! So there!"

Yes, I did just devolve that statement into a two-year-old's tantrum and for good reason. Because from my perspective, that's exactly what it sounds like when I write about an important issue such as Indigenous sovereignty or the academic system, and the response is a deafening silence. No response. No comments. No discussion. No engagement from anyone except my colleagues in the academy. And I'm small potatoes - I can just imagine the vacuum of silence for more well-known academics such as Tenured Radical, who composed her own excellent rebuttal to Kristof's missive. It is that silence that I now speak to.

Many of us in the academy WANT to reach a broader audience. We WANT to share what we know and understand about our specialties with YOU, the general public. But when the culture of our nation tells you to hate us because we have more education than you, because we work for the state and your tax dollars help to pay for our modest salaries, because you believe that we make too much money, and because you suspect that we do NOT have your best interests at heart with our pontificating, then our work is for naught, it is in vain, and we have NO AUDIENCE. 

I tell my students again and again to always keep the audience in mind before they write. Who are you writing to? What is it that you would like them to understand or believe? How can you persuade them to see things your way?

My answer to these questions for my own public writing is this: I am writing to whomever has an interest in the issues that I believe are important. I would like my audience to understand the problems that exist within those issues and think about how they are contributing to the problem, as well as what they might do differently to become part of the solution. And to persuade, I try to use humor, facts, connections that make sense, but often take a more hammer-like approach because I can't stand softballing an issue and softening the tone because I am a stubborn, passionate writer and I'm fed up with being told by my society that I'm not worthy of being listened to. So that is probably my mistake. I come on very strong and I'm aware of that, but writing diplomatically is not my strong suit. 

To solve this dilemma then, perhaps I need to soften my approach, but the question remains, will my audience be more receptive or will silence continue to resonate across the interwebs because of the fundamental disconnect between the reality I want to share and the perception that my audience holds dear? My audience perceives that I'm just an indoctrinating, liberal, feminist nutjob ranting away about some issue that doesn't have any effect on their daily lives, so why listen? If I soften my tone and become more diplomatic, will that audience changes its fundamental position? I suspect not.

I'm not sure how to solve the anti-intellectualism that runs rampant in our nation. I'm not sure how to convince people who are absolutely sold on the idea that we academics are the source of the problems in this country and not a source of solution. Perhaps by requiring more academics to engage with the public through writing, this iron wall of resistance can slowly be chipped away over time. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

 

 

Complaints for 2014

While the bitter cold polar vortex exposes our softness and inability (or unwillingness?) to deal with extreme weather situations, I have noticed something about 2014. In the first four weeks of the year, I've heard and seen more complaints about more things than I think I heard and saw in 2013. I could be remembering this wrong, or maybe I just blew off last year's litany of various complaints so quickly that they didn't sink in. I even mentioned to my man last week how often people seem to be complaining in various venues and for various reasons and I wondered why. He said it is our nature to complain - something about survival skills and not wanting to settle - getting our species off the plains and into heartier abodes and such.

Well, then.

In the spirit of moving the species forward, I give you a list of complaints to last all year. Let's use these as motivation to improve ourselves. Did I miss any?

It's too cold!
There's too much snow!
My (insert body part) hurts!
My (insert product) stopped working/needs repaired!
I'm broke!
I'm jealous of (insert name)!
(Insert situation) isn't fair!
It's raining!
It's too hot!
It's too dry!
It's too humid!
(Insert publication) is subjective and publishes crap (because they rejected me)!
I'm bored!
My (insert space) is a mess!
I'm not having fun!
I'm disappointed!
I can't lose weight!
I can't gain weight!
But, I don't know how to (insert activity)!
But, it'll cost so much to (insert activity)!
But, I don't want to (insert expectation)!

That seems like a broad enough range to get started. In an effort to be more proactive, here are some suggested responses to these complaints that should result in forward movement/progress and possibly (gasp!) lead to changing the situation that we find intolerable enough to complain about:

Complaint: It's too cold!
Solution: Wear layers, invest in winter outwear that actually keeps you warm (scarf, hat, mittens, warm boots, etc.) Spend as little time as possible outside and just get to where you're going. And yes, this applies to all ages.

Complaint: (Insert publication) is subjective and publishes crap (because they rejected me)!
Solution: Of course (publication) is subjective. When you create anything that didn't exist before, people will judge its quality and appeal. That publication's editor judged your piece as a bad fit for their agenda...so what? Send it elsewhere. Don't let one rejection paralyze you or make you quit. Send that piece to five or six publications (and accumulate five or six rejections) before revising it. Maybe your work doesn't suck. Maybe it just didn't fit. Rejection is part of our world. Suck it up, buttercup.

Complaint: It's too dry!
Solution: Buy a humidifier. Drink more water. Use lotion.

Complaint: But, I don't want to (insert expectation)!
Solution: Then don't. Just stop. If this is part of your job and it is a required activity, suck it up, buttercup. If you can't stand that aspect of your job, figure out a way to change it or go find a new job. If you can't change that aspect and actually enjoy the rest of the job, just do it, do it as quickly as possible, and focus on the more pleasant aspects. If this is something that someone in your personal life expects you to do, have the difficult conversation and address the issue directly so that person knows you don't like it and you can work together to seek alternatives.

The next time you feel a complaint rising in your throat, pause and take a breath. Try to imagine what the answer might be for you - a complaint means something is wrong. And you really DO have the power to change most situations by taking action. ;)

Hand talker

She grabbed my wrists and stood in front of me, all five feet of her, white puff of hair, color-blocked shirt, and sugar smile.

"If your hands were cut off, would you still be able to talk?"

I've heard variations of this insult/criticism/observation since I was a kid. My parents used to chastise me for being too exuberant and physically expressive with my hands when I spoke.

"No one will see your face or hear what you say, they'll be so distracted by your hands waving around," they would admonish.

I'm used to it.

I tried for several years to stop using my hands when speaking extemporaneously and found, instead, that the effort to suppress my physical form also suppressed my thoughts as they formed. Result: I spoke less.

In a world that doesn't value confident, assertive, and knowledgeable female voices, it occurs to me after this latest experience that the real criticism embedded in such statements is this:

"Be quiet. Be calm. Your exuberance, enthusiasm, and confidence intimidate me. You should be more measured, more controlled, quieter in voice and movement, so that I am more comfortable in your presence. You're a woman. Behave the way society wants you to behave."

Of course, when I speak in more formal podium-type settings, I stand and hold the podium and follow carefully crafted notes, but in almost every other public or private speaking situation, from the classroom to the coffee shop, from the dock to the dining room, I embrace my natural exuberance that expresses itself physically. I reject suppression and let my hands punctuate my words because that is more comfortable for me.

I am a hand talker.
I have the right to express myself the way that I want.
I will not be suppressed.

A brief guide to locating publishing opportunities (for junior and temporary faculty and advanced grad students in the humanities)

One of the requirements of my job as a junior faculty member is to publish. Now, I work at a teaching university, so the requirements are similar to those at research universities, but the types of allowable publications that count toward tenure and promotion are more expansive. It occurred to me today that everyone might not know what I know. I was fortunate to attend a research university for my PhD with a cohort of research-focused people, which meant we talked about and shared information about how and where to publish. I attended conferences and networked with more established academics in order to learn what was needed. Our professors were also good about incorporating some of this information into classes and conversations, which meant that we were extremely well-prepared about what to expect publication-wise when we went on the academic job market.

However, not everyone had that intensive experience. And once you land the job, no one really talks about what is expected and HOW to locate the right kinds of publishing opportunities. My advice and list are based on the requirements (as I understand them) at my state teaching university.

First, bookmark and check this site frequently: University of Pennsylvania CFP

No matter what your humanities specialty, the UPenn CFP will have publishing and conference opportunities for you. Start here.

A word about conferences. They are not as important as publishing, but you will be expected to attend at least one or two per year (say, one regional and one national or international). Use the conference time to network and seek out publishing opportunities. I landed two book reviews for a well-known cultural journal by simply responding to an editor's call for review ideas at a national conference. I've also met many people in my field who have been incredibly valuable to me and my grad students. But don't let conferences dominate your scholarship.

Remember, publishing is still king, even at a teaching institution.

Second, become familiar with the top 25 or 50 journals in your field or fields. For instance, my primary field is Composition and Rhetoric, my specialty is Indigenous Rhetorics, and my interests extend to teaching (pedagogy) and creativity. This broadens the scholarly publishing potential, but there are still top journals in each of these fields or specialties - in fact, there is a hierarchy of journals. Top tier, middle tier, bottom tier. Some are traditional print journals (such as Rhetoric Review, where my first academic article appeared in 2011), and some are digital (such as Epiphany Journal of Transdisciplinary Studies, where my second academic article appeared in 2012). Both of these journals are peer-reviewed, which means the submission goes through a rigorous and blind process of judgment and revision before it is accepted or rejected. Whether the journals you seek are in print or online, the ones that will count the most are the peer-reviewed publications.

Third, there are many other types of publishing that will count, but that won't take a year or more to see results. As long as there is an editorial process - meaning, there is an editor or editorial team providing revision feedback before your work is published - these publishing opportunities are easier to write, less complicated to obtain, and have a fast publishing time frame. Get on Google and use your browsing capabilities to find blogs, web sites, and online publications for article, essay, creative, review, and opinion opportunities. Find out who the editor is and pitch that person an idea. If they seem open to book reviews, pick a book that hasn't been published yet and suggest a review. To find these unpublished books, go to Amazon and search for your field's most well-known term. For me, it was "indigenous rhetorics" or "Native American studies." For you, it might be "education" or "film theory." Search by publication date from the most recent and then scroll down until you see books that are about to be published within six months. Don't worry about not having a copy - if the editor gives you a thumbs up for the review, just contact the book's publisher for a press copy. The editor can often help with this.

By the way, those academic journals each took a year or more from submission to publication. The publishing I've done in the outlets identified in the last paragraph all took less than a year - often a matter of months - from idea pitch to publication.

Book chapters are also wonderful and if you have the right contacts, these are terrific and valuable additions to your CV. However, books are tricky because publishing is often much, much slower - projects get held up for all kinds of reasons. And the same goes for writing a book. Save the book-length manuscript for your bid for full professor. When you are a temporary instructor hoping to be rolled over into a tenure-track position or a junior faculty member, try for as many scholarly, peer-reviewed pieces as time allows (3-4 in your first five years), but then bulk up your publishing record with the smaller, faster pieces. It shows your commitment to your field and your scholarly activity.

Keep this in mind when it comes to book publishing: If your book (or the one with your contribution) isn't actually in print by the time you go up for tenure, it won't count. I just learned this fascinating fact - only the things in the "published" category will really be considered. Everything else takes a far back seat because anyone can load their CV with "revised and resubmitted" or "forthcoming" promises, but the tenure and promotion committees want to see tangible publications that are out there and available for perusal.

Another great place to publish is encyclopedias. Whatever your field, there is an encyclopedia or two. These have an editorial review process and require you to be at least a PhD candidate or a faculty member to contribute. These entries vary in length (usually run 500 - 3000 words), involve research, and can be cranked out rather quickly once you are used to the genre.

Something else to keep in mind: Everything you do before your tenure clock starts doesn't count. So, if you publish a scholarly, peer-reviewed article as a PhD candidate and that gets you the job, you must realize that it will not count toward your tenure and promotion bid. If that piece was published before you started your job, it doesn't count. If you have been a temporary instructor at your university for four years and are then rolled over into a tenure-track position in year five? Everything you've done in years one - four won't count toward tenure and promotion. The tenure and promotion committees only consider what you've published after the tenure clock has started.

Another strategy to consider for crafting a publication pathway:  Not only is it possible, but also perfectly acceptable, to contact a journal editor cold to pitch an idea. Academic journal editors may respond or they may not, but if you apply what professional writers do all the time - pitching ideas cold to relevant outlets - you may get the nod to try. No guarantee of publication because your work must still be vetted by two reviewers who will not know that you pitched the idea to gauge interest. However, this is a tactic I used all the time as a freelance journalist and I've recently started applying it to my academic publishing and it works! I saw a new journal in my field set to start publishing next year, so I emailed the editor with an abstract of an idea for a potential article. He liked it and said if I wrote it well, it would probably stand a good chance. That's all I needed and I'll be writing that piece over winter break. Why not make your process more efficient by vetting your idea with an editor up front, so that you know your piece will at least have a chance at being considered? Otherwise, you are just blindly submitting to publications that may be a bad fit - but it will take that editor 3 - 6 months to tell you this. Be more efficient and business-like in your approach to academic publishing and you may end up with more and better-focused opportunities.

So be fearless, don't hesitate, and don't let the existing rules block your progress. Find a hybrid position between following the conventional rules and making your own path so that your publishing record will cover all the bases, be varied and yet focused on your fields, and show your level of dedication and scholarly activity.

Now go publish! And please leave any comments, questions, or additional ideas. :)

Changing the master narrative: The problem with dressing children as "Indians" for Thanksgiving plays, selfies, and social media outlets

My Facebook feed has exploded today with images of charming little white kids dressed up in feathered headbands, fake braids, and colorful "Indian" clothing. I try, I really do try to change this master narrative by posting informative pieces from real Native peoples living and working today - from Indian Country Today Media Network, Beyond Buckskin, Native Appropriations, Last Real Indians...in the hope that some of this new information would puncture the master (and incorrect) narrative that we Americans continue to tell ourselves about the origins of Thanksgiving.

And it seems I haven't made a dent. This explosion of images and comments proclaiming how "cute" the kids are...proves that all of my efforts are in vain. No one is paying attention. No one gives a shit. No one wants to change the comfort of the master narrative. And why is that? Are we really so vapid as a people that we can't accept that dressing little white kids up as "Indians" isn't appropriate for Halloween or Thanksgiving or ANY time of year?! Is it really that difficult to suggest that perhaps your child or your child's school focus on the truth about this holiday or at least choose a less racist costume?

Sigh.

We have a responsibility to ourselves, to our youth, and to the actual real living Native peoples existing in this land today to change the master narrative, to speak truth about our past, and to stop dressing little white kids up as "Indians." It isn't that hard, I promise.

It starts by recognizing that dressing little white kids up as "Indians" is reinforcing a stereotype and a belief that Indigenous peoples are no longer with us and therefore, are available to us as a source of mockery to be represented any way we see fit. Ah, and there's the rub. Indigenous nations in North America number in the hundreds today - they are still here - and they see what you do. They are not honored. They are not amused. Some choose to ignore our racist behaviors because, quite frankly, they have enough to worry about with the health and wellness and success of their own communities. But for those who do look up, look around, and see how we think of them - as nothing more than a costume to be used on a fake holiday for the amusement of ourselves and our friends?

Take one moment out of your ever-thankful proceedings to stop for a hot second and consider what that might feel like if it was directed at you. Imagine that your life, your history, your identity, your ideals, your cultural practices were constantly belittled and demeaned in the public domain and no matter how loud you shouted that you deserve more respect than that, instead of being heard, you are ignored and laughed at and told to lighten up. How do you feel now?

Feast away. Be thankful that your white privilege is strong and powerful enough to permit your need to dress your children as a fantasy idea of real living peoples. But dump the "Indian" attire. Your kids are not cute dressed in racist and inappropriate costumes, no matter what your friends and family say. If those people think it's cute, then they also need the same smack-down lesson. Just stop.

You should be teaching your children better than that. And for that more appropriate teaching, here is a list of children's books to get you started. Now is a great time to stop contributing to the problem of racist stereotypes of Native peoples and start changing the master narrative:

Beyond the So-Called First Thanksgiving: 5 Children's Books that Set the Record Straight

The damaging effects of the “indoctrination” accusation

Someone I love dearly told me recently that I indoctrinate students when I teach Native American rhetorics. That, in fact, every time I talk about it, post about it, publicly proclaim about it, that I am indoctrinating people.

Let’s take a look at this word, “indoctrination.”

I’m going to take a page from the college student handbook and include a dictionary definition here:

Indoctrinate: “to teach (someone) to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group and to not consider other ideas, opinions, and beliefs” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indoctrinate)

So, my profession has been conveniently boiled down to this negative assumption; an accusation oft thrown around by conservatives and anti-education folks. I am fascinated to know that I teach my students to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of Native Americans without any consideration of others’ ideas, opinions, and beliefs. (And ignoring the fact that, as a group, “Native Americans” are a varied bunch with many diverse opinions on a wide variety of subjects.) Of course, that’s not at all what I do, but let’s just go with that for now.

Where exactly does this accusation come from? A simple Google search for “college professors indoctrinate students” had 974,000 results, some of which are linked here:

Student indoctrination. http://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/4714344-74/academic-professor-students#axzz2l6PJr23b

One-Party Classroom: How Radical Professors at America’s Top Colleges Indoctrinate Students and Undermine Our Democracy. http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/library/books/one-party-classroom-how-radical-professors-america%E2%80%99s-top-colleges-indoctrinate-students-and-undermin

How California's Colleges Indoctrinate Students
A new report on the UC system documents the plague of politicized classrooms. The problem is national in scope. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303816504577312361540817878

School Has Started And So Has Student Indoctrination. http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-perspective/091913-671786-using-classroom-to-indoctrinate-students-grounds-for-dismissal.htm

College Professor Tells Students Republicans Are Stupid, White Old Racists- Indoctrination. (And this author takes the official dictionary definition a step further. Her definition of indoctrination: “To imbue with a partisan or ideological point of view.”) http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2013/04/college-professor-tells-students-republicans-are-stupid-white-old-racists-indoctrination-2618916.html

Clearly, this accusation of indoctrinating students is coming from the political Right. My personal opinion as to why this is the case has to do with the Right’s persistent refusal to accept that students are capable of making up their own minds and thinking for themselves when it comes to fraught political or social issues, such as gay marriage, abortion, and in my case, Native American sovereignty, history, cultures, contemporary issues. Okay then.

So, we know this accusation exists in the national conversation. We also know that this assumption exists in the personal spectrum when people who believe that we indoctrinate become personally involved with us as friends, colleagues, partners. Let’s take a look at the damaging effects of this accusation.

First, being accused of indoctrinating students undermines my professionalism, my goals as a professor, and dismisses the import of what I actually do in a classroom. Like most simplifications, it renders a complex and sometimes difficult task down to a very negative and easy process. It also makes huge assumptions about the gullibility and malleability of college-aged students. How quaint to think that my room full of 18 – 21 year olds are so easily swayed to my perspective, my point of view, my opinion; that they, in fact, have no opinions or perspectives of their own. Hence, this accusation not only undermines my professionalism, it also assumes that people in college are empty vessels waiting to be told what to think. And in my professional experience, that assumption is quite far from reality.

Second, accusations of indoctrination evidence a deep disrespect for my profession and for me personally. This accusation, in one simplistic swoop, tells me that the subject I care about deeply enough to invest money, time, and energy into learning about in order to teach students the wide variety of issues inherent in that subject, does not matter, is not worth my time or my students’ time, and is certainly the wrong thing to be teaching.

Third, the accusation of indoctrination puts professors on the defensive. It certainly put me on the defensive. I take what I do very seriously – and personally because of all the time, money, and energy I’ve expended to get here. Putting people who have worked so hard and care so much about a subject on the defensive is an effective strategy because it shifts the focus away from the real problem: that students need to be exposed to a multitude of opinions and information in order to form their own opinions about the world.

And here’s my final word on this for now: If students come away from college with different opinions than yours? That doesn’t mean they have been indoctrinated. It means they were presented with a broad spectrum of information and opinion that you may have never seen, and they decided for themselves what to think. The process of college is scary to some people because it does influence how people think about subjects and realities in the world. But I am tired of being on the defensive – it is exhausting. I know what I do in my classroom and most people have no idea. I invite any of my readers to come to my classrooms and observe for a day. Just a day should be enough to demonstrate how misguided this indoctrination accusation really is.

This is Power

When someone spreads vicious rumors about you that have no basis in fact, when someone acts purely for spite, or to disrupt, or “because they care,” your response should be…


Silence.


Do not protest. Do not defend. Do not retaliate. Tell your friends, your confidantes, your lover. But keep your public voice quiet.

          But it’s not true! My reputation is…

Your reputation is just fine. Because the rumors aren’t true. And everyone who knows you, everyone who matters, knows they aren’t true. You have integrity, character, and class. Do not let the shouting voices of disapproval drown out your progress, your work, your worth.

          But…they lied. They need to know….

They need to know that you are Teflon and unpredictable. Imagine what they will think when you say nothing. When you just go about your business doing good works, raising your child, enjoying your life, unscathed. They will wonder if you will say something. When you will say something. What you might say. And to whom. Let them wonder. Let them have the headaches and the stress and the stomach knots. They’ve earned it.

          But I’ve spent the past two days angrier than I’ve ever been…and crying. I’ve cried so much…

So now it’s out of your system. Good. Now let it go. For the sake of your sanity, stress level, health, and self-esteem, let it go. Do not let your enemies win by showing them they have disrupted your enjoyment of life.

          She hates me.

Yes. She hates you. She will always hate you because you cannot change the things that she hates. She hates your very existence. There will always be people who dislike you, who will talk about you negatively behind your back, who will wish you ill will and try to break you. Do not give them the satisfaction.

          Take the high road?

The hard road, yes. Hold your head up and go about your business and your life. Live, work, love, and keep doing what you do. The people around you see. They see that your enemies are cruel and uncaring. Troublemakers. They see that you remain silent, remain in a good mood, remain productive, and they start to see your critics differently. No longer trustworthy, those gossips continue to lose credibility with every forward step you take.

          I was hurt.

Yes. Blind attacks can be the most painful. But they must also be endured. Only engage with people and situations that are transparent and in your field of vision. Those proverbial slings and arrows sting and grind away at your spirit, but these are surface wounds. Only you can let them go any deeper. You are in control, even if you don’t feel it.

          How can I be in control if I feel like everything is falling apart. People will think less of me…

…if you engage in a protestation defense, yes. They will think better of you if you take the hits and just keep going. Accept that there will always be people who will dislike you, talk about you, want to disrupt your life. Your reaction will determine your course. If you choose the high road, the hard road, and just keeping walking the path, unwilling to let these small minds distract you, this is Power.

For my friends. Much love.