July 13, 2024: Assassination attempt on President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
I was at an early dinner with a friend when I got a text that simply said, “Holy shit.” That seemed a strange message. So I texted back, “What the heck?? What is holy shit?”
That is how I found out that Trump was shot.
Continue reading “RNC: Thoughts on Assassination Attempt”
What started as a single exercise to get me out of my comfort zone has grown into a regular gig photographing protests here in Chicago. Over the past two years, I have improved my skills dramatically, I have found the courage to photograph people unapologetically, I have claimed the authority to record what is going on out in the streets, I have befriended a handful of photographers who are doing the same thing as I am, and I have learned a LOT about people, politics, and propaganda.
We are about to embark on what is likely to be a crazy timeline to be living through (as if the past four + years haven’t already been insane!) as we count down the days to the 2024 presidential election.
Continue reading “Election 2024: traveling to the RNC and the DNC”
I have been taking photos of protests here in Chicago for a couple of years now. And I am addicted! One reason I love it is because the opportunity for creative, interesting photos is unlimited at these events. Another reason is that as someone who used to teach journalism, and assigned a book in my classes that was specifically about fake news (Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News by Bernard Goldberg) even over twenty years ago, long before Trump coined the term. I only bring that up because I have had people explain to me that there is no such thing as fake news, that Trump made it up because he didn’t like the coverage about him. I always try to explain that no, the news has always been “fake.” So I really love the opportunity to witness a newsworthy event in person and then compare it to the news coverage. I don’t think there has been a single time when I have felt that the coverage was objective and/or fair.
For those who think I’m exaggerating, I would ask you to think about a time you were involved in what became a news event. How did the media coverage compare to your experience? How accurate were the stories with basic facts? Knowing that the media struggle to report the stories that you actually know something about accurately, you have to ask yourself what evidence there is that would make you assume they get all of the other stories right. But I digress…
Continue reading “Thoughts on Attending a Trump Rally”
There are plenty of mainstream news stories that spark debates here in Chicago. And then there are the niche issues that small groups of people feel passionate about and protest to bring attention to them (and hopefully media coverage).
My city apartment sits in the perfect spot to catch a large majority of these protests. Some groups gather at the small Jane Byrne Park in front of the Water Tower (two blocks from me) to protest causes such as animal cruelty, a Tibetan uprising, Russian war crimes. Larger ones usually meet in the Federal Plaza, Daley Plaza, or Wrigley Square. Other demonstrations are targeted at specific businesses: anti-fur at Louis Vuitton or fossil fuels at Chase Bank.
Protesters march up and down Michigan. They march around the Loop
Continue reading “Photographing the Turmoil: Palestinian Rallies”
And here we are – the conclusion of a speech I gave in 2007. I have spent the past ten installments expanding on my thoughts and experiences from fifteen years ago. I enjoyed the process because I could directly see how so many of the problems we are seeing in education today were obvious much longer ago. And seeing where we are today, I would have to say that my concerns were warranted!
This will be the last installment, and I look forward to hearing others’ thoughts on this topic and on what they are seeing in their children’s and grandchildren’s schools. Thank you for joining me on this journey!
If you would like to go back to the beginning, you can find the FIRST essay in the series here.
Continue reading “Group Identity (Conclusion)”
I cannot believe I am on the tenth installment in this series of essays on the focus of group identity on college campuses. I knew I had some things to say, but I didn’t expect it to be this long. But I continue here with probably the most devastating effect of focusing on group identity: the impact on a student’s self-image. For those who worry about what is happening on campuses today, and who are concerned about the direction of our society, the roots were planted long ago. And much longer ago than my personal experience.
Continue reading “Group Identity (Part Ten)”
This ninth installment of my series on education and the focus of group identity is particularly important to me. Only because I feel so strongly about this topic. I am completely opposed to the idea that students can only relate to literature written by authors of the same ethnic background and gender as they are and to literature written about people just like them. And although I used to lecture my students about this topic fifteen to twenty years ago, I am completely shocked at how this idea has become so mainstream today.
So let’s get into it…
Continue reading “Group Identity (Part Nine)”
I didn’t realize that this commentary would turn into so may individual installments. I am already up to the eighth! But I have definitely been enjoying going through this speech, which I gave at a conference in 2007. It has reminded me of many of the experiences I have gone through in my decades of teaching.
This installment will continue with a discussion of the curriculum and more specifically what happens in classroom instruction when an institution focuses on group identity. If you want to go back and start from the beginning, you can access the first installment here.
Continue reading “Group Identity (Part Eight)”This is the sixth installment in a series of essays on group identity on college campuses that comes from a speech I gave back in 2007. You can find the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth here. In this essay, I will continue discussing what happens with a fixation on group identity, problems I saw playing out 15 years ago. And these problems have only increased since then.
This installment begins with how group identity damages relationships between students. The speech is rewritten in the indented sections, and I interrupt periodically with my current comments about what I wrote so long ago.
This is the fifth installment of a series of essays on group identity on college campuses that comes from a speech I gave back in 2007. You can find the first, second, third, and fourth here. I will continue discussing what happens with a fixation on group identity, problems I saw playing out 15 years ago. And these problems have only increased since then.
This installment continues with the discussion of the detrimental impact group identity has on the relationship between faculty members and students. The speech is rewritten in the indented sections, and I interrupt periodically with my current comments about what I wrote so long ago.
Continue reading “Group Identity (Part Five)”
The Writing Life 