Re: the discourse of minority-mindedness

diane celia hodges (dchodges who-is-at interchange.ubc.ca)
Mon, 23 Nov 1998 08:14:39 -0800

Jay -

Thank you for the critical clarification of Locke, in terms of place,
context, relevance, perspective, history - you've made many important
points.

The grammatical complexities of simplistic categorical terminology, yes, I
understand how that can stifle progressive thinking;
but until the audiences gain more sophisticated relations with text,

there is still the problem of Matthew Shepard, whose death can be
grammatically traced to a noun: homophobia; or, a descriptive noun:
hate-crime.

the materiality of the consequences of what has thus far been created by
(desperate) discourses for minority / oppressed participation have been,
and
continue to be, life-threatening. So, the damage of the categorical
reductionism has been done: not language:
action. behaviour. doing.

take material steps to demand change. activity theory, thus far, strikes
me as quite passive.
how might those with authority and conscience and non-minority status do
something with that privilege?

an age-old question. paradox of immobility and activity, this
activity theory, seems to me. what am I missing?

diane, not meaning hostility here, perhaps more residual grief and anger.

"Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right." Ani Difranco
*********************************************
diane celia hodges
faculty of education, centre for the study of curriculum and
instruction,
university of british columbia
vancouver, bc canada

snailmail: 3519 Hull Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V5N 4R8