A pause

Hey folks,

Been quieter here than I assumed, for a lot of reasons that aren’t worth getting into, but one that I’d like to mark. Last week, one of my students was killed in a car crash; it’s been awful for obvious reasons, and I’ve had a hard time being at a physical distance from the community back home as we all grieve. I’ve been impressed and grateful to see how much the other students in my department have taken care of each other, supported each other, and generally made room for their feelings… and in a sense, being at a physical distance has probably usefully curbed my natural instinct to caretake in a way that would probably be beyond what the proper role for a teacher is, or to inject myself into a process that’s properly theirs. I don’t know! There’s no rulebook, it’s all just tremendously sad.

So, that has obviously thrown me for a loop, and things have been quiet here. In the depressing tradition of “horrible things happen back home while Pat’s away” posts, however, I did want to post a couple of donation links on the off chance that y’all are feeling flush and generous. Not to anything specifically related to the student (the gofundme for their family has exceeded its goal, thankfully, and it doesn’t feel right to open up their specific story to The Internet, and all of my [three? four?] readers) but to some causes that mattered a lot to them.

My student was gender nonconforming; had they lived, they’d have continued to be a target to the hate-fueled monsters on the right who’ve decided that the existence of trans and nonbinary people is a useful cudgel to wield as they try to seize power in much of the western world. (I don’t know if I’ve discussed it in this space before, but having had a solid cohort of trans students at the moment that the GOP picked that as its “what if we were Nazis about THIS issue though” issue in the midterms has me even angrier at that diseased, vile party. If you’ve been convinced by the lies and data-torturing narratives by opportunists and their useful idiots, and you’d like to know what the reality of the issues at hand are, please reach out. Don’t be on the wrong side of this one.) I’d appreciate it if you’d consider throwing a few bones to one of the organizations doing work on this issue; Gender Spectrum is one that I’ve been told does great work, and Trans Lifeline has long been essential. Please remember there are human beings whose lives, safety, and well-being are at stake here, as there are every time politicians pick human targets to scaremonger about. Also, given the way that this student died - please push your local governments hard to push back against car supremacy to try to make a safer world than we’ve chosen in this stupid automobile-addicted era.

Okay. I will, I think, be rallying in the coming weeks to continue the ridiculously delayed updates from last summer; for this summer, suffice to say that before and after the crash, things have been a little rocky and frustrating here, but also that I’m mindful that I’m very lucky to be in Palermo and working to keep myself active during a very sad and stressful time. Hope you’re all finding ways to be kind to yourselves and seek love and joy where it’s available. Let the folks ya love know ya love ‘em.