I love this blog. I haven’t bothered to categorize what type of feminist I am, but I do consider myself a feminist, and also a humanist. Until society levels the playing field, both men and women will find themselves held to arbitrary standards of behavior that are based on archaic views. Until we get over the idea that women should be princesses on pedestals, men should both venerate and debase them (based on how well they conform to the stereotypical roles in most cases) and accept the idea that all people should have the right to do as they damn well please (so long as they don’t infringe on the rights and we’ll being of others), there will be a need for feminism.
Okay, the title of today’s blog is a little deceptive. I’m not going to talk about wonderful careers that change the world…
I wish I could blog about my day at work. Weird stuff happened, most of it rather interesting. But I don’t write about my work because I don’t want to cross a line into somehow talking about things that should remain confidential. So… perhaps some day, some of these things can wind their ways into stories where the people involved cannot be traced.
I’ve read that before writing the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling worked at Amnesty International, and that she heard and saw a great many things that served as inspiration for Lord Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and the like.
Crowds in amusement parks are pretty soulless, aren’t they?
Here’s a fun little game: match the author to the job they worked before becoming famous…
1. Harper Lee A. Banker
2. J.D. Salinger B. Managed a Saab Dealership
3. Kurt Vonnegut C. A high school janitor
4. T.S. Elliot D. Reservation Clerk for an airline
5. Stephen King E. Entertainment director on a ship
I was driving myself crazy earlier trying to remember which famous author worked in a mental hospital before making it big. Oh that we would all be that lucky?
Really, though… We have some people who come from a local group home from time to time. They come to visit the planetarium on campus. I’ve watched them from the window, and while it makes me sad to see them, it makes me eternally grateful that I’m not in that line of work. It is all the sadder to know that the people who always seem so kind and patient are most likely very much underpaid for the amount of effort they are likely to expend. Not to mention how difficult it must be for the residents who struggle to do the tasks most of us take for granted…
K.E. Wilkinson 