In this one, I get on a soapbox, unwittingly

Last Thursday's conversation about the rhizomatic v. arboreal ways of thinking was very interesting to me. I really think that the arboreal way of thinking with categories is part of the reason that racism, sexism, and any kind of prejudice exists. Having to categorize something means if you're not one thing you must be the Other. If you are not a man you must be a woman. It gives us very definite explanations of what is what and that's now how life works. I remember a conversation much like this in my Women's Studies intro class. I believe the excercise was to get into groups and define "female" and "male." Everyone came up with different ideas, different ways to define and categorize each gender. Of course, as each idea was read it could be questioned. For example, someone might say, "Females have a uterus." And the question would be, "so women who have had hysterectomies aren't female?" It was a great exercise.

I never leave our class without being amazed. I think this is because I have been online since before it was cool to be online. (is it cool?) I was on chat programs like compuserve in 1994. Your "screenname" was your IP address, when you signed in you just picked a different name. You could have the screenname "katemary" one day and the next you couldn't use that one because someone else was using it. So we're talking 11 years of computing. I have learned by trial and error and by now pick up quickly on most programs I use.

I have notice that my way of thinking is a little bit different. I abbreviate and don't have complete thoughts a lot until I have to write them down or type them. I think it's had a lot to do with my development as a person, too, because anytime I hear about something that interests me or that I don't know about I can get online and check it out.

I don't have a hard time with the fact that computers are readily used in our society or that "times they are a changin'." I'm excited about it and I think that people sharing ideas around the globe is incredible. I know that there are "scary" parts to that thought. It means that the "bad guys" can commuicate more quickly, too. But, look how it helped voter turn out in this past election and think about how people can share their information and create new ideas from that. I don't think that the Internet or "new media" is going to kill original thought and it REALLY amazes me that people think that way. It's hard for me to understand, but I'm glad I am being exposed to that way of thinking, because it makes me think from a different point of view. Its hard to do though. Its hard to sit there and listen to people say things about "this is scary" when a lot of this way of thinking is what keeps people "in their place". Do you think that the conservative, old, white, rich men (OR WOMEN!) want us to stop thinking in a hierarchical way? Heck no, that's the only way they stay on top! God save their souls if the world starts thinking we all might be equal and intertwined in different ways.

I will now step down from my soapbox.