A naive question, of course, but one of my many shortcomings is my naivete, so I feel no shame in starting this blog post (and I apologize profusely for not keeping up with it as consistently as I had hoped/promised to) with a question. It's a scary world we live in, and living in Russia, I get caught up in all sorts of events. Last week's metro crash was another example of a close call. Twice I have narrowly escaped being the victim of a tragedy. The last close call came four years ago when I missed being a victim of the Red Line metro bombings. Don't worry, I am safe and very thankful for your thoughts, prayers and love. All the more reason to promote peace. What better place to begin promoting peace than online, where people frequently misunderstand and abuse their right to free speech to insult those who dare to disagree or suggest an alternative point of view Thankfully, none of my friends (and no one I know in general) are guilty of this, but I have seen too many examples of swearing, racial and ethnic slurs, and in some cases even threats made in an moment of irrational anger and by people who prefer to remain anonymous to warrant putting in my two cents' worth.
I really need to stop reading comments to online articles or threads on Facebook. All I see is a horrendous display of illiterate, ill-informed ad hominem attacks on one another; seldom have I seen a sustained, civil (by which I mean courteous) exchange of views. It's more than just anti-American propaganda (which infuriates me) or anti-Russian (which frustrates me no less). We have forgotten (that is, if we have ever learned in the first place) how to treat one another with dignity and respect. We lack the courage, or often, even the factual knowledge, to concretely respond to a well-formed, cogent argument, so we resort to childish name-calling,
Don't even get me started on all the grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors permeating throughout the internet. People DO judge you based not just on what you say, but how you say it. If you use a subject pronoun after a preposition, I will probably roll my eyes and groan a little bit. Little things like that drive me crazy, but they can be fixed. They can also be MODESTLY pointed out, not just corrected with arrogance As an English teacher, I do have my "grammatical pet peeves", but I do seriously question not only the motives of people who attack each other online, but also their intelligence (academic and emotional). I realize it's often difficult to discuss certain topics (religion, politics and current events are particularly notorious for arousing powerful emotions) without becoming irrational, but there are still certain boundaries that need to be established. For me (and I assume many others) name-calling and other personal attacks on people/s character, appearance, reputations cross the line and those who engage in such behavior should bear responsibility for their actions.
Words, as we know, in the words of Albus Dumbledore in the final Harry Potter movie, "are capable of both inflicting pain and remedying it." I for one am extremely weary of such attacks as well as wary of associating with people who, willfully or otherwise, engage in such attacks. I feel like this is not the first time I've addressed this problem, nor will it be the last. What does it take for people to put aside their wicked wit (here I use wicked in its non-New England sense, haha)? What does it take for people to take the time to do a little bit of research into a particular subject? WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR PEOPLE TO OPEN A DICTIONARY OR SOME GRAMMAR OR STYLE REFERENCE BOOK? Okay, the last one annoys the English teacher and me, but that annoyance turns into anger when it is compounded by some hurtful comment, It's bad enough to say mean things, but if your insults contain misspellings, sentence fragments or other abominations to the language of Shakespeare, then be prepared to face the combined wrath of English teachers throughout the world. 0:)
Yet again, I am probably not the best model to emulate, as I tend to ramble and jump from topic to topic, but I do make a concerted effort to listen to many points of view before venturing an opinion. Maybe it's the introvert in me, but I've always preferred to listen rather than to speak out (initially, anyway). To lead by example rather than just by words or direct action. The axiom "Think before you speak" may be understood by all but is virtually ignored by many. It's especially dangerous online because once something is out there, it's out there for good. You may be able to delete something you wrote quickly, but not before someone somewhere has seen what you said and has formed (consciously or not) a defined opinion about you as a writer (or professional in your field) and as a person When in doubt, DON"T SAY IT.
I'll get down from my soapbox in a minute, but I just wanted to say one more thing. In a world marked by tension between individual and community, how then shall we live? Okay, one more thing, but my fellow FYPpers will appreciate that last question. ;) In an online world marked by often vicious comments and embarrassing word crimes (thanks to Weird Al for that term), how then shall we respond? It's time we returned civility to the Net, and then to the workplace, to school, to conversations on the street, to EVERY aspect of our lives. With civility comes respect. With respect comes trust. With trust comes a willingness to cooperate, to establish new ties and strengthen old ones. I don't know what will happen with ties between Russia and the USA, but that should not discourage Americans from coming to Russia, nor should it discourage Russians from coming to America. Both countries have wonderful people, a rich literary and musical tradition, Politics aside, we need to stick together. I have made some wonderful friends here in Moscow, not just American, but Russian, British, German, etc I have also taught many bright, funny, charming, motivated Russians who have taught me a lot about their culture, have helped me become a better teacher. One of my main things is that I try to promote civility in the classroom. No swearing. No dominating the conversation (give others a chance to speak). Everyone's opinion is vital. I often get frustrated sometimes with the media (both US and Russian). It's time to get over this Cold War mentality. Time to start working together. No more vragi naroda (enemies of the people). No more blaming the US or Russia for all the world's problems. Time to start taking responsibility for our words and actions. Time to revive rigorous intellectual discovery and debate as a replacement for our current "civil discourse" We can't change the world overnight. But if we change a few people's minds, encourage a more open, tolerant, respectful discourse, then who knows? Maybe the Sox will make the playoffs after all. Stranger things have happened. :) * Anyway, that's all for now I think. I will try to limit my next blog to a more specific update as to how I am doing. Most of you will have guessed by now that I have decided to stay at least one more year in Moscow. I have more responsibilities. I am on the Church Council. I have been promoted to senior teacher. I am (I hope) going to be continuing teaching an exam class come September. I have lots to look forward to, most especially choir starting up in September. :) We are singing Haydn's St. Nicholas Mass, with other Christmas songs to be determined later. For now, have a wonderful summer! Stay cool, keep swimming (literally and in the Dory sense :))) and don't commit word crimes, if you don't want to be a "Lost cause!" :D Love and miss you all sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!
Peace and love,
Jon
*I am not annoyed by emoticons. Please forgive my use of them. Please also forgive my footnoting my own blog. :)))
I really need to stop reading comments to online articles or threads on Facebook. All I see is a horrendous display of illiterate, ill-informed ad hominem attacks on one another; seldom have I seen a sustained, civil (by which I mean courteous) exchange of views. It's more than just anti-American propaganda (which infuriates me) or anti-Russian (which frustrates me no less). We have forgotten (that is, if we have ever learned in the first place) how to treat one another with dignity and respect. We lack the courage, or often, even the factual knowledge, to concretely respond to a well-formed, cogent argument, so we resort to childish name-calling,
Don't even get me started on all the grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors permeating throughout the internet. People DO judge you based not just on what you say, but how you say it. If you use a subject pronoun after a preposition, I will probably roll my eyes and groan a little bit. Little things like that drive me crazy, but they can be fixed. They can also be MODESTLY pointed out, not just corrected with arrogance As an English teacher, I do have my "grammatical pet peeves", but I do seriously question not only the motives of people who attack each other online, but also their intelligence (academic and emotional). I realize it's often difficult to discuss certain topics (religion, politics and current events are particularly notorious for arousing powerful emotions) without becoming irrational, but there are still certain boundaries that need to be established. For me (and I assume many others) name-calling and other personal attacks on people/s character, appearance, reputations cross the line and those who engage in such behavior should bear responsibility for their actions.
Words, as we know, in the words of Albus Dumbledore in the final Harry Potter movie, "are capable of both inflicting pain and remedying it." I for one am extremely weary of such attacks as well as wary of associating with people who, willfully or otherwise, engage in such attacks. I feel like this is not the first time I've addressed this problem, nor will it be the last. What does it take for people to put aside their wicked wit (here I use wicked in its non-New England sense, haha)? What does it take for people to take the time to do a little bit of research into a particular subject? WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR PEOPLE TO OPEN A DICTIONARY OR SOME GRAMMAR OR STYLE REFERENCE BOOK? Okay, the last one annoys the English teacher and me, but that annoyance turns into anger when it is compounded by some hurtful comment, It's bad enough to say mean things, but if your insults contain misspellings, sentence fragments or other abominations to the language of Shakespeare, then be prepared to face the combined wrath of English teachers throughout the world. 0:)
Yet again, I am probably not the best model to emulate, as I tend to ramble and jump from topic to topic, but I do make a concerted effort to listen to many points of view before venturing an opinion. Maybe it's the introvert in me, but I've always preferred to listen rather than to speak out (initially, anyway). To lead by example rather than just by words or direct action. The axiom "Think before you speak" may be understood by all but is virtually ignored by many. It's especially dangerous online because once something is out there, it's out there for good. You may be able to delete something you wrote quickly, but not before someone somewhere has seen what you said and has formed (consciously or not) a defined opinion about you as a writer (or professional in your field) and as a person When in doubt, DON"T SAY IT.
I'll get down from my soapbox in a minute, but I just wanted to say one more thing. In a world marked by tension between individual and community, how then shall we live? Okay, one more thing, but my fellow FYPpers will appreciate that last question. ;) In an online world marked by often vicious comments and embarrassing word crimes (thanks to Weird Al for that term), how then shall we respond? It's time we returned civility to the Net, and then to the workplace, to school, to conversations on the street, to EVERY aspect of our lives. With civility comes respect. With respect comes trust. With trust comes a willingness to cooperate, to establish new ties and strengthen old ones. I don't know what will happen with ties between Russia and the USA, but that should not discourage Americans from coming to Russia, nor should it discourage Russians from coming to America. Both countries have wonderful people, a rich literary and musical tradition, Politics aside, we need to stick together. I have made some wonderful friends here in Moscow, not just American, but Russian, British, German, etc I have also taught many bright, funny, charming, motivated Russians who have taught me a lot about their culture, have helped me become a better teacher. One of my main things is that I try to promote civility in the classroom. No swearing. No dominating the conversation (give others a chance to speak). Everyone's opinion is vital. I often get frustrated sometimes with the media (both US and Russian). It's time to get over this Cold War mentality. Time to start working together. No more vragi naroda (enemies of the people). No more blaming the US or Russia for all the world's problems. Time to start taking responsibility for our words and actions. Time to revive rigorous intellectual discovery and debate as a replacement for our current "civil discourse" We can't change the world overnight. But if we change a few people's minds, encourage a more open, tolerant, respectful discourse, then who knows? Maybe the Sox will make the playoffs after all. Stranger things have happened. :) * Anyway, that's all for now I think. I will try to limit my next blog to a more specific update as to how I am doing. Most of you will have guessed by now that I have decided to stay at least one more year in Moscow. I have more responsibilities. I am on the Church Council. I have been promoted to senior teacher. I am (I hope) going to be continuing teaching an exam class come September. I have lots to look forward to, most especially choir starting up in September. :) We are singing Haydn's St. Nicholas Mass, with other Christmas songs to be determined later. For now, have a wonderful summer! Stay cool, keep swimming (literally and in the Dory sense :))) and don't commit word crimes, if you don't want to be a "Lost cause!" :D Love and miss you all sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!
Peace and love,
Jon
*I am not annoyed by emoticons. Please forgive my use of them. Please also forgive my footnoting my own blog. :)))
