[Xmca-l] Re: What is a Pedagogy of the Oppressors?

[larry smolucha]

Message from Francine:

Annalisa,

I do not consider being stoic the same as being a Vulcan (like Mr. Spock
in Star Trek). To me being stoic means that you are not daunted by the
fact that there is pain and pleasure, that life is not fair, and that death is part of life.
Stoicism does not mean the absence of emotion or compassion.

Here are some quotes from Marcus Aurelius:

"When you wake up in the morning think what a precious privilege it is to be alive -
to breath, to think, to enjoy, to love."

"The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts."

"Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom
fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart."

"We are the other of the other."

"Kindness is unconquerable."

While some people might interpret "accept the things to which fate binds you"
as meaning do not try to change your station in life (be a happy slave), I would
interpret  it as meaning that that even though you try to accomplish something
you do not have full control of the outcome.  You might not be able to bring
about the change you wanted - you might be an agent of change in ways
you did not intend or imagine.

> From: annalisa@unm.edu
> To: xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu
> Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2015 03:59:14 +0000
> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: What is a Pedagogy of the Oppressors?
> 
> Hi Francine,
> 
> May I say how ironic it is that I inquire how so few comments have emerged about my several posts about the absence of emotion and feeling in speech, and VOILÁ you bring up the stoics??? 
> 
> Other than that, I have a lot of time for Emerson and Thoreau, and living a moral life that lives closely and in reverence to nature. I mean there is something wise in evolution and it has been tested and retested over millions of years, so why we would try to fight mother nature on some rudimentary and untested theories for making extra coinage just seems pure folly. But that is me!
> 
> Thanks for your post and bringing up the Transcendentalists. 
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Annalisa
>