Follow-ups to yesterday’s entry.
I get why everyone interviewed is upset. Suicide is horrible.
But there’s something big missing from what these amazingly-knowledgeable educators absolutely are missing.
.
.
These ardent academics blamed everything they could think of for these suicides. Except for the policies they fucking set that sent people into unnatural isolation.
I really haven’t felt myself needing additional human interaction, but I’m weird. I know that. I admit that.
I can go weeks at a time without face-to-face contact with others. When I was in college, much of my time was spent by myself.
I’d have one or two breaks an hour in the middle of the night. I’d listen to the stations’ programming in monitors while I was doing my college research, and writing papers.
But I’m fucking weird. Most people can’t do that. On my nights off work, about my only interaction would be with the clerk at 7-Eleven or the diner.
Whatever. I’m comfortable with that. Most people aren’t. Most people can’t deal with just being completely without seeing others smile more than a few times per week.
This doesn’t have anything to do with the lack of minority representation among your faculty. It’s not because of systemic racism.
You did this; this is your fault.
I’m sorry if saying that bothers you, but it’s the truth. There’s people, including more than a handful of your students, who are dead directly because of what you did.
But you’ve got lots of letters after your name, so you can’t be responsible for anything bad. You’re a good person, and you were only looking out for others protecting that from a virus that probably wasn’t going to kill them, or cause significate harm.
You did this. You are responsible. Admitting your culpability is the first step in not repeating the mistakes you make. You did make them. I know I did. I admit them.
Maybe if I’d been rich, healthy enough to buy more, I’d feel absolved.