[Linganth] AAA troubles

[Celso Alvarez Cáccamo]

Hello,

What a mess about the AAA decision! I'm not a habitual at AAA meetings at
all (my last one was Philadelphia 1998), but, were I to attend this one, I
no doubt would *not* go to Atlanta. It goes to tell you (*me*, at least)
that it seemed easier for the AAA to have its meeting elsewhere than to
face Reality.

To me, one logical tactic to follow would be to GO to San Francisco: To
massively *join* the picket lines outside the hotel while each attendant at
the Meeting would (symbolically and practically) ask for permission *from
the Union* to individually, one by one, cross the picket lines in order to
(a) file individual complaints with the Hilton, and cancel their room
reservation if not charged yet; (b) simultaneously (not to incur in breach
of contract which could lead to a lawsuit), use the facilities at the
Hilton for meetings to discuss AAA guidelines' regarding doing business
with bad-practice employers etc.; hotel (unionized or not!) workers would
be invited to join in the meetings and talk; ; in these joint meetings,
hiring practices at Anthropology departments could also be discussed ;-) ;
it would be very revealing to know how much hotel workers earn versus how
much a reputed anthropologist earns, or whether having a clean hotel room
is important for practicing one's paper ;-) ; (c) cancel as many events as
possible in the Hilton while still abiding by the contract; and (d) do all
this without giving the Hilton one extra penny for using their services or
facilities (refreshments, food, etc.).

Can you imagine the headlines?: 4,000 Anthropologists Join Picket Lines
Against SF Hilton.

But, what's more important?, to present a 15-minute paper or to Do the
Right Thing we scholars (?) say we want to do? ;-) .  Of course, we all
know ;-).

Best, skeptical Regards,

-celso
Celso Alvarez Cáccamo
lxalvarz at udc.es