What's going on....

[Dr. MJ Hardman]

Indeed.  I remember the attacks on Rigoberta Menchu, and they angered me so,
for the very reasons you say.  The reality of reprisal is always there; such
reorganization is necessary and does not change the "truth".  Even in
teaching I have found, as I think I have said before on this list, that I
can convince students better with a novel than with an ethnography.  I use
SF for this purpose.  Truth is stranger than fiction?  Or Fiction is truer
than history.  MJ

On 12/6/11 1:15 PM, "Paula Meyer" <pmeyer8 at COX.NET> wrote:

> Rolland,
> The complainers about "truth" put me in mind of those who attacked Rigoberta
> Menchu.  Rigoberta may have collapsed several people into one and changed her
> relationship to some of them, but the overall message  in her book of the
> oppression of her family and her people is absolutely true.  There are many
> definitions of "truth."  For example, there are chronicles taken verbatim from
> a particular incident, and there are personal histories that come from a
> person's perception of events.  Both are true.  In a way, the narrator's
> perceptions hold more "truth" or meaning than "objective" documentation.  This
> issue comes up a lot when narratives of oppressed people are read or heard by
> the oppressors.
> Paula
> ---- Rolland Nadjiwon <mikinakn at SHAW.CA> wrote:
>> Yes, I was aware of the controversy. However, I thought the impact of the
>> message was more important than the truth or falsity of the video. Being
>> bullied is not something most young people want to talk about. Most bullying
>> happens in silence and even fabricated stories to protect themselves amongst
>> peers. There have been far too many young people committing suicide as the
>> end product of bullying and those are only the ones we hear about. If not
>> suicide, the damage is often demonstrated in the incredible increases in
>> drug and alcohol addiction in youth and often in overdose deaths. Most of
>> the messages and information passed on today is done so by actors...what is
>> the truth or falsity in our world of everything being an advertisement
>> commercial. We have allowed ourselves the deceptions of a bureaucratic
>> culture in an age of illusion. We may need to wave even more flags.
>> I realize this is not list for 'soap boxing' ...editorializing maybe...
>> Resa, following the comments, to me, clearly indicated I would not want to
>> be in close relation or proximity of some of those respondents...many of
>> them were tantamount to bullying...amazing.
>> 
>> 
>> -------
>> wahjeh
>> rolland nadjiwon
>> ___________________________________________
>> Thought I wanted a career, turns out I only wanted the pay checks...
>>  
>>  
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
>> On Behalf Of Resa C Bizzaro
>> Sent: December-06-11 11:43 AM
>> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: [ILAT] What's going on....
>> 
>> Hi, everyone. Thanks, Rolland, for sending this link along. I saw it
>> yesterday, and I read through some of the comments. That was where I found
>> out that there is quite a bit of controvery over whether the video is
>> actually true. Some postings indicate that Jonah Mowry lied.
>> I did not continue to look into the videos (due to time constraints) to see
>> if the video was a hoax or not.
>> 
>> Whether the video is true or false, I still believe it's important for us to
>> be vigilant with regard to bullying. It has become apparent to me (through
>> my own experience with my son being bullied) that the bullying cessation
>> programs in our public schools are not working.
>> 
>> Resa
> 

Dr. MJ Hardman
Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology
Department of Linguistics
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Doctora Honoris Causa UNMSM, Lima, Perú
website:  http://grove.ufl.edu/~hardman/