Comments on:

by: Levi

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:20:15 +0000

LOL I am sitting in a cubicle with security reading your stuff now. Getting to do what you are passionate about but without the paycheck hmmmm.. hard to say
being everything to everyone. Impossible
Even Jesus couldnt do it. He died trying.
I hope you find your way:)

by: Marysia Borek

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 02:05:55 +0000

Working as an activist, in some sense, is like any other job or situation in life. We all have to ask ourselves not am I happy, but do I have peace of mind? If the answer is yes then put up with the discomfort we all experience from time to time in life. However , if the answer is no then a definitive change is necessary. It does not mean leaving every aspect of the work you do, but rather finding a way to balance the work you do with your right to have financial security. Staying poor when you do not have to is not empowering for anyone. So many people do not have the option to get out of poverty therefore, if one has the opportunities to do so one must. It has often been said to women, mostly mothers, that if you do not take care of yourself first how can you possibly take care of others in your life? You will be better able to do the work you love if you are taking care of your financial needs and wants. This is not about materialism, but security and self respect. You deserve to be paid for the work you do and instead of wishing the world recognoized your efforts find a way to adapt you work to the needs of a capitalist society. I often get the feeling when reading your posts that you think that having money and possessions would somehow take away a certain validity to what you do. I know other artists/activists/teachers who think the same way. Intellectually we know better, but, especially if one did not grow up with much financial comfort, psychologically it feels more familiar to remain poor and noble and perhaps perpetuates an us-against-them mentality that so many of us take comfort in nurturing. I can’t help but think that if you really wanted financial security you would have found it long ago. I do not say that in accusatory way, but simply that you are too resourceful and ambitious of a woman to not have solved the problem of finding a balance between your need to be an activist and your need for financial security. Repeating the same behavior over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. You may not be able to do the exact work you are doing now and earn money, but surely you can find a happy medium that will give you peace of mind and allow you to take care of yourself and others as well.

by: Stephen L

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 11:15:43 +0000

I have a few responses Heather, coming from several different places.

Firstly, Intellectually I think its an interesting question. In some ways what you have to say is the counterside to another arguement I heard recently. Someone was commenting on the current responses to the 200th anniversary of the ending of the slave trade. They complained that white figures like Wilberforce were getting all the credit and argued that what they did wasn’t that worth of admiration - the real heroes were the slaves who rebelled because they had really suffered, and had put themselves at risk of even greater suffering by making a stand.

Of course there is a valid point about whites getting the glory because they were white, but I think there is a much more complex debate to be had. However what I have to say there is probably too long for a comment and might have to wait until I have my own blog.

Secondly Emotionally, I just want to send out a virtual hug. This must be such tough stuff to deal with, realising that it may not be possible to get both the respect and the security you deserve.