Beth Harrington
features
Child Birthing and the Parental Experience
As someone whose reaction to the idea of having a child is a tepid "maybe I could adopt or become a foster parent -- that way if they turn out bad I can blame it on the biological parents," I approach literature on childbirth and maternity with a blend of skepticism and curiosity. I am eager to find my choice not to reproduce vindicated and yet wonder what it might mean to be converted. Truth be told, consciously choosing not to have a child can leave one feeling excluded, like an outlaw even in contemporary society. How do you get your boyfriend to propose if you can’t use your biological clock as an excuse? What to say to those nagging relatives? Such was the mindset that informed me as I began reading Labor Pains and Birth Stories: Essays on Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Becoming a Parent, an anthology of stories written mostly by moms, but including a few dads, about the process of giving birth. According to editor Jessica Powers, it is the first anthology of its type, which is rather surprising given the prevalence of birth and parenting literature. What transpires is a journey that aims to invite the reader into one of the most crucial experiences of human life, yet at its conclusion leaves the disbelieving reader with more questions and reservations than answers about the passage to parenthood.
In terms of its structure, the book contains twenty-nine stories, plus a brief introduction and conclusion, at a mere two hundred twenty-eight pages long. Thus, these personal accounts average less than eight pages per story. Length does not necessarily correlate with quality and some of the shortest pieces in this collection are striking, while some of the longer pieces seem unfocused. They simply tell the story of a pregnancy and birth and lack a specific perspective or argument needed to distinguish themselves. Reading this collection is oddly similar to the experience of working as staff on a maternity ward. The reader is taken along for birth after birth yet the stories usually end when the infant is taken home from the hospital.
In relation to content, first and foremost, it becomes clear that the contributors to Labor Pains and Birth Stories are a fairly homogeneous group. They are middleclass and in stable relationships; for the most part, their pregnancies appear to be expected (according to the American Pregnancy Association nearly half of all pregnancies are unplanned*). Granted, there is one story written by a single mother who is expecting her second child while trying to disentangle herself from an abusive relationship. Another is about a mother living in the Upper East Side struggling to support her daughter whose biracial father is reluctant to contribute to the child’s upbringing while he attempts to pursue an art career. However, descriptions of shelling out twenty thousand for medical treatments for a birth mother in the event of a possible adoption and a couple who spend the days leading up to their child’s birth strolling the beach and watching movies evidence that these authors live in relative economic comfort and privilege.
The contributors are even more drawn together by their preference for alternative, New Age birthing methods. This in itself seems indicative of their socioeconomic status. (One has to wonder how many welfare mothers have access to such diverse treatments or even the resources to gain education about them.) Deliveries are frequently presided over by midwives as opposed to obstetricians at birthing centers or even at home instead of hospitals. The mothers use guided meditation, relaxation tapes, and “hypnobirthing” to help them through labors. There is even one case in which nipple stimulation (known to release the labor-inducing hormone oxytocin) is enlisted to bring on contractions.
Mothers who do not partake of alternative medicine during labor seem to feel compelled to justify their need for modern-day medical care. In her essay, "Don’t Even Bother: The Case Against Childbirth Preparation," Kelly Cunningham-Cousineau responds with nothing but insults to women who claim that childbirth was easy for them: “You are so full of shit. I don’t like you, I don’t trust you, and my kid is not going to play with your kids, you evil, Stepford-wife pods!” She qualifies her difficult labor and reliance on an epidural by informing the reader of her typically high levels of endurance: “I skied in minus-fifteen-degree weather until my nose was frostbitten. I drank a frat boy under the table in a shot contest. I am total chick macho.” She later informs us that “some of the women I know who have had the easiest labors are the biggest wusses with anything else.” Is childbirth the female equivalent of the military service? The long and short of it all is that I am dubious that Labor Pains and Birth Stories depicts the average birth experience of the ordinary woman -- at least in an industrialized nation. What is more, if you are a mother who wants to have an epidural in the event that you go into labor before your elective Caesarean-section is performed at a teaching hospital, this is probably not the book for you.
Caesarian-sections in particular are frowned upon in this book. They are generally reserved only for extreme situations such as that of twins born to a surrogate mother twelve weeks premature and a woman with a malformed uterus. One father goes so far as to label the elective Caesarian “a distortion for the self-pampering many.” Putting aside whether major abdominal surgery can actually be qualified as a self-indulgence, his viewpoint serves as a springboard for some of the controversies that reading this book may trigger. To start with, why are so many of these women determined to give birth sans medical intervention, forsaking in particular the relief of modern-day pain medication?
Natural childbirth instructor Frederica Mathewes-Green addresses the issue in her essay "Granddaddy’s Obstetrics," coincidentally in relation to the high rate of Caesarean deliveries, saying “the female body is designed to give birth, and we all are descended from a long line of birthgiving women.” Fair enough, but we are also descended from a long line of cave dwellers and that does not stop most people, mothers or not, from appreciating the comforts of a house inlaid with bricks or a stucco apartment complex. Additionally, the women who give birth in their homes or in birthing centers staffed by midwives are fully aware that should complications arise they are a mere ambulance ride away from an emergency Caesarean section or induced labor. Such is a far cry from the African mothers referenced in "The Zooming Birth of Jett" who may give birth a dozen times and hope only to live through the experience and for their babies to survive.
There is also the question of whether infants who are the product of natural childbirths actually fare better in the long-term as children and adults than babies born under more standard conditions. If the answer is yes (and even if it is, there is always the possibility that mothers who elect such methods may be more invested in becoming parents and feel more positively about motherhood in general -- causation is not correlation as the old adage states) then the issue of childbirth practices becomes akin to the debate that surrounds abortion rights. To what extent should a mother be expected to sacrifice of her own body for the good of her unborn (or being born) child? While it seems reasonable to expect that parents will make sacrifices for their children and that for women, whose bodies produce these babies, the sacrifices may be physiological, should a woman be expected to endure any amount of discomfort to ensure the most optimal experience for her infant, even if they occur at great cost to her? Can a mother who chooses to "self-indulge" during the birthing process recoup whatever losses her decision about birth incurs with the ones that she makes after the birth? Looking at it from a different view, if an infant’s first moments do majorly impact his or her life development, then what of infant who -- for all their parents’ efforts -- is born blue with the umbilical cord around its neck and must be rushed to another room for oxygen, or premature babies who must spend weeks in neonatal care separated from their mothers? Are we to assume that these children will suffer from some degree of post-traumatic distress or interpersonal difficulty that will follow them throughout their lives?
The women in the book do not ever cite definitive scientific studies showing that birthing outside of the standard hospital-setting ultimately leads to happier, more successful children in the long run. In fact, the reasons most women give for selecting a midwife over an obstetrician have to do with their expectations that the former will give them more individual attention than the latter and focus on their needs as a whole rather than simply their pregnancy. The women who opt for homebirths, in particular, do so because it feels more comfortable for them and thus they believe newborns will benefit in turn. Given the rationale that these birthing experiences are for the benefit of the mothers who request them, is it fair for society (and the contributors of this anthology) to judge these women more favorably than a woman who utilizes the various medical technologies for her own comfort?
It would be easy to conclude an investigation of such topics with a cliché about how women should not judge other women’s choices regarding motherhood or that ultimately a woman should obey her doctor’s counsel. However, I wonder if there is something else going on in all of this meticulous planning and determination to endure that has to do with what the writers of these compositions mostly gloss over. In the era of Dr. Phil and a few decades after John Bradshaw’s books about Toxic Parents, none of these expectant mothers and fathers expresses any notable doubts or misgivings about their ability to care for and nurture a child into adulthood. Occasionally, a contributor will make reference to the knowledge that the anxiety over keeping a child safe is no less immediate after they are born. “We are not out of the woods yet,” Pierre Laroche’s wife remarks in an essay titled, incidentally, "Out of the Woods," but on the whole there is very little discussion of “becoming a parent” -- as the subtitle states -- beyond caring for the needs of an infant. At no point is there any discussion of how these families will juggle raising their children with career responsibilities -- though again, this could be a class issue on the part of the authors. None of these contributors explore grievances with their own parents in juxtaposition to how they shape their confidence in and ability to be a good mother or father. The assumption seems to be that once the baby comes out, as long as it is properly bonded with in the postpartum stages, everything will be okay.
Thus, one cannot help but wonder if the determination of these parents to craft the optimal birth plan represents a test of metaphysical proportions for them. Namely, it is a way to prove to themselves that if they are capable of making the most excruciating sacrifices for their children when they are at their most vulnerable and dependent, then they will continue to do so even as their children grow up and individuate from them. The alternative to a happy, healthy childhood for their posterity is more unbearable for parents than even the longest, most difficult labor without analgesics. Yet the skeptic in me still finds myself wondering if these parents are not focusing too much of their attention on the wrong moments. Whatever experiential gifts these parents have the capacity to give their children at birth represent only the beginning of their life stories.
After reading this book review, I found it very interesting to find a book review about child birth because it’s a topic that interests me. Even though I am only seventeen and I don’t plan to have kids until I’m about twenty seven or older, once I have my life settled down, I am scared of giving birth. All the pain and complications a mother has to go through really freak me out. I love kids and want to have at least two when I grow up, but I just wish I could skip the giving birth scene. I may sound like a coward by saying this but really it scares me. Maybe as I grow up and learn about it by reading books like this one, which gives advice and answer many questions, I can look at giving birth from another perspective, “Labor Pains and Birth Stories: Essays on Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Becoming a Parent, an anthology of stories written mostly by moms, but including a few dads, about the process of giving birth.” I often do ask myself is it easier to be a man or a women? “Is childbirth the female equivalent of the military service?”
I didn’t like the fact that, “Caesarian-sections in particular are frowned upon in this book.” I was born through caesarian section. It wasn’t because I had to but my mom chose to. As the book says the mother should sacrifice, “Namely, it is a way to prove to themselves that if they are capable of making the most excruciating sacrifices for their children when they are at their most vulnerable and dependent, then they will continue to do so even as their children grow up and individuate from them.” I find this statement incorrect, for having a child through natural birth is not a sacrifice it is just complicating yourself and putting your child at risk when you don’t have to. My mom had her first child through natural birth and her arm got stuck coming out and now she can’t turn her wrist. I was born through the c-section and I came out perfectly, my mother didn’t have to go through any pain and now days she does sacrifices for me and a lot. Why put your child at risk and complicate yourself when we have the advances in technology to make everything so much easier. Choosing to suffer doesn’t show your braveness, but the ignorance of the people.
Towards the end of the book review I wasnt to pleased with the book as I started out, while reading the first paragraphs.
miércoles, 28 de octubre de 2009
Slideshow Article
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/10/25/travel/20091025-villa-slideshow_index.html
This feature article is based on travel. It picks a a town in Colombia, Villa de Leyva and exposes it to the public. Since it is a feature article and not and informative article it doesn’t use the inverted pyrymid, for all the information is as important. There is no highlight or important point. I find the organization in this article scattered around, there is no specific order. There is an opening statement but no ending statement, “A carriage takes tourists across the plaza of Villa de Leyva.” I think the author should end with a stronger statement, that concludes the article.
This article is very creative. I like the way the author uses the slides with pictures and some text. It really caught my attention and I found it less boring , than regular articles. Eventhough it was entertaining, I felt the author didn’t get his point across. First of all what was his purpose? He talked about Villa de Leyva and things that you can do and go on in that town, but what does he want us to do with this information? I feel like the author throws out information, without connecting it or explaining it. After reading the article I was like and so what?
The idea of the pictures and slideshow is great, but I feel he has to further develop his ideas. If he wants to talk about colonial Colombia then be more specific and give more information so the reader can infer his point.
This feature article is based on travel. It picks a a town in Colombia, Villa de Leyva and exposes it to the public. Since it is a feature article and not and informative article it doesn’t use the inverted pyrymid, for all the information is as important. There is no highlight or important point. I find the organization in this article scattered around, there is no specific order. There is an opening statement but no ending statement, “A carriage takes tourists across the plaza of Villa de Leyva.” I think the author should end with a stronger statement, that concludes the article.
This article is very creative. I like the way the author uses the slides with pictures and some text. It really caught my attention and I found it less boring , than regular articles. Eventhough it was entertaining, I felt the author didn’t get his point across. First of all what was his purpose? He talked about Villa de Leyva and things that you can do and go on in that town, but what does he want us to do with this information? I feel like the author throws out information, without connecting it or explaining it. After reading the article I was like and so what?
The idea of the pictures and slideshow is great, but I feel he has to further develop his ideas. If he wants to talk about colonial Colombia then be more specific and give more information so the reader can infer his point.
Editing Blog-Passive To Active
Reading my blog I found some examples of passive voice.
Examples:
1. The author began off by talking about public Libraries and their importance, then he introduced the La Loma Library which is the one who was robbed.
Active: The author begins by talking about public Libraries and their importance, next he introduces the La Loma Library, the Library who is now suffering from the robbery.
2. As you watch it, you think the helmets and pads are enough protection but they aren’t.
Active: While watching football, one thinks that helmets and pads are enough protection, but they aren’t.
3. It continues with text from another blog thanking all the people who supported the victims.
Active: It continues with text from another blog, that thanks all the people who support the victims.
4. Those who committed the crime are plain stupid.
Active: Committing this crime takes someone plain stupid.
Examples:
1. The author began off by talking about public Libraries and their importance, then he introduced the La Loma Library which is the one who was robbed.
Active: The author begins by talking about public Libraries and their importance, next he introduces the La Loma Library, the Library who is now suffering from the robbery.
2. As you watch it, you think the helmets and pads are enough protection but they aren’t.
Active: While watching football, one thinks that helmets and pads are enough protection, but they aren’t.
3. It continues with text from another blog thanking all the people who supported the victims.
Active: It continues with text from another blog, that thanks all the people who support the victims.
4. Those who committed the crime are plain stupid.
Active: Committing this crime takes someone plain stupid.
Passive Voice Exercises
1. - Fill the blanks with the appropriate form f the verb
Example:
Swedish __________ in Sweden
(Speak)
Swedish is spoken in Sweden
• A coat was left in this classroom day before yesterday
(Leave)
• More than 2000 certificates ___were given_____ by the school last December
(Give)
• The house we used to live in ___was bought______ by our aunt last month.
(Buy)
• America _was discovered__________ by Christopher Columbus in 1492
(Discover)
• The southern Plaza Hotel ___is owned_____ by the same family since 1950
(Own)
• Several people at my office _were fired_______ since I started working here
(Fire)
• Most of Mr. Morgan’s best books __were translated_______ into Spanish.
(Translate)
• A lot of old buildings in the city ____are torn down_____ these days, aren’t they?
(Tear down)
• Mail ______is delivered_____ tomorrow, will it?
(Deliver)
• Most letters ____are typed_____ these days.
(Type)
Example:
Swedish __________ in Sweden
(Speak)
Swedish is spoken in Sweden
• A coat was left in this classroom day before yesterday
(Leave)
• More than 2000 certificates ___were given_____ by the school last December
(Give)
• The house we used to live in ___was bought______ by our aunt last month.
(Buy)
• America _was discovered__________ by Christopher Columbus in 1492
(Discover)
• The southern Plaza Hotel ___is owned_____ by the same family since 1950
(Own)
• Several people at my office _were fired_______ since I started working here
(Fire)
• Most of Mr. Morgan’s best books __were translated_______ into Spanish.
(Translate)
• A lot of old buildings in the city ____are torn down_____ these days, aren’t they?
(Tear down)
• Mail ______is delivered_____ tomorrow, will it?
(Deliver)
• Most letters ____are typed_____ these days.
(Type)
martes, 27 de octubre de 2009
No Word Other Than Evil To Explain This...
Colombia: Solidarity With Hiperbarrio After Library Robbery
Saturday, October 24th, 2009 @ 18:54 UTC
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Languages: Spanish
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Excerpt
After a robbery of the La Loma Library in Medellín, Colombia, the home of the Hiperbarrio citizen media project, an outpouring of support and solidarity was sent from around the world.
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This post is also available in:
Français: Colombie: solidarité avec Hiperbarrio après le cambriolage de la bibliothèque
Español: Solidaridad con Hiperbarrio tras el hurto en la biblioteca
Historically, libraries have been characterized as spaces for the free access to knowledge in the fields of literature, art, and culture, as well as becoming gathering places for the community. In this spirit, two years ago the Public Pilot Library of Medellín, Colombia at the La Loma site welcomed the participants of Hiperbarrio [es], one of the initial Rising Voices projects, where citizen journalism workshops have been taking place.
Photo of La Loma Library by Convergentes and used with permission. Click on photo to see a larger version of photo.
It is noteworthy that this library was created more than 50 years ago, as an initiative of the residents of La Loma, and throughout its service to the community it has offered classes in literature, painting, and music. The importance of its social role was described by Rezwan at the Rising Voices blog, who notes that that librarian's responsibility goes beyond the simple lending of books.
It is with those reasons that there were united voices of indignation surrounding the events that took place on October 13, which is described by @blueandtanit:
Ladrones robaron el equipo administrativo con información de La Loma, caja menor y El nica de Hiperbarrio en un asalto a la bpp de La Loma.
Thieves stole the administrative equipment with information of the La Loma library, petty cash, and the Nica (prize) during a robbery of the bpp (public library) of La Loma.
The director of Hiperbarrio, Álvaro Ramírez described his reaction upon hearing the news. He writes about the consequences of the robbery in his blog Ojo al Texto [es]:
Estoy un poco aturdido. Me concentro y trato de visualizar la modesta y hermosa Biblioteca de La Loma, sus estantes, las mesas y las sillas donde niños y grandes se sientan a diario a leer, a consultar libros, y a conversar.
Alcanzo a imaginar los computadores apagados y en la noche. Un par de intrusos llegan y logran penetrar por el techo. Entran con linternas y comienzan a sacar cosas
(…)
A la mañana siguiente llegan Gabriel Jaime y los otros empleados y encuentran el desastre. Un robo consumado. Un asalto a la comunidad de La Loma y un golpe duro para la Biblioteca Pública Piloto que ha venido dotando, con gran voluntad y paciencia a la filial más antigua de su extendida red de bibliotecas públicas: es decir gratuitas y abiertas para que todos podamos acceder a sus servicios.
(…)
Pienso en el daño que eso representa. En las personas que se van a perjudicar por no poder acceder gratis a los computadores.
I am a bit stunned. I concentrate and try to visualize the modest and beautiful La Loma Library, its shelves, the tables and chairs where children and adults sit to read on a daily basis, to read books, and to talk.
I am able to imagine the computers turned off at night. A couple of intruders arrive and are able to enter through the roof. They enter with flashlights and start to take things.
(…)
The next morning, (the library's coordinator) Gabriel Jaime and other employees arrive and find the disaster. A completed robbery. An assault on the community of La Loma and a hard blow for the Public Pilot Library, which has been providing, with a strong will and patience to the oldest branch in the extended network of public libraries: free and open services so that everyone can access its services.
(…)
I think about the damage that this represents. In the people that will be hurt and will not be able to have free access to computers.
Photo of La Loma library by blueandtanit and used under a Creative Commons license. Click on photo to see a larger version of the photo.
News of the robbery soon spread throughout different online networks, and the community also received notes from those who expressed their solidarity during the incident, showing that there is a strong network across the internet. For example, from Chile, Enzo Abbagliati sent a message of support on his blog Cadaunadas [es] after reading the post written by Ramírez:
Cadaunadas varias veces ha sido espacio para la alegría que desde una barriada de Medellín hemos recibido cotidianamente quienes creemos en las bibliotecas públicas como espacio de equidad y construcción de sociedades más democráticas. Reproduzco ahora una triste nota publicada por Álvaro Ramírez en ConVerGentes, quien desde el aturdimiento inicial nos avisa que han robado en la Biblioteca de La Loma. En Chile, en nuestras bibliotecas públicas, a veces sufrimos la misma suerte, la misma frustrante suerte.
¡Animo, amigos de La Loma! Sé que la comunidad estará con ustedes.
On many occasions, (the blog) Cadaunadas has been a space for daily joy received from a neighborhood in Medellín for those of us who believe in public libraries as a place for equality and the building of more democratic societies. I am now republishing the sad news written by Álvaro Ramírez from ConVerGentes, who tells us of the stunning news about the robbery of the La Loma Library. In Chile, our public libraries sometimes suffers the same luck, the same frustrating luck.
Cheer up, friends from La Loma! Know that the community stands with you.
Locally, the Colombian digital magazine Equinoxio [es] became one of the first sites to publish news about the acts of vandalism and wrote about the efforts to investigate the crime:
El director de la biblioteca se reunió con las autoridades y con efectivos de la Policía Nacional a fin de coordinar esfuerzos para recuperar los bienes que se llevaron los asaltantes y capturar a los responsables.
The library's director met with authorities and officers from the National Police to coordinate efforts to recuperate the items taken by the burglars and to capture those responsible.
Fortunately, the Golden Nicca prize was recovered, as it was found nearby, but the other objects remain missing. A member of Hiperbarrio, Catalina Urquijo of the blog $ujetate (Unknown II) [es] thanked those who sent messages through the different social networking sites:
Ofrecemos nuestros más sinceros agradecimientos a todos aquellos que nos acompañaron por diversos sitios de la red dándonos su apoyo tanto cuando creímos que nos habían robado el nica como ahora.
We would like to offer our most sincere gratitude to all those who have accompanied us through various online sites giving us their support, especially when we thought that they had stolen the Nicca (prize).
Finally, Libary Coordinator Gabriel Vanegas of the blog Esas Voces que Nos Llegan [es] summarizes the shock in which, as a public employee, he had to find out about the incident:
Duele ver la ignorancia de quienes perpetúan este delito contra el patrimonio de la comunidad, pero preocupa pensar en quienes dieron la orden de hacerlo y quienes sabiendo y viendo que se hacia no procedieron de manera correcta y oportuna ante las autoridades.
It hurts to see the ignorance from those that committed this crime against the community's patrimony, and it also is worrisome to think about those who gave the order to do it and those who knew about it, who did not do the right thing and go to the authorities.
I found this Feature Article very interesting and creative. It uses many references and quoted information from many sources. The author began off by talking about public Libraries and their importance, then he introduced the La Loma Library which is the one who was robbed. Instead of retelling what happened he used an outside source to quote what had happened, “Thieves stole the administrative equipment with information of the La Loma library, petty cash, and the Nica (prize) during a robbery of the bpp (public library) of La Loma.” Then he uses Alvaro Ramirez to talk about the consequences of this robbery and how the users where going to suffer. The author continues even exposing information written from Chile, “Cheer up, friends from La Loma! Know that the community stands with you.” This is from a blog who wants to cheer the La Loma community. Then he cites the magazine Equinox, which wrote on article about this event in their magazine. It continues with text from another blog thanking all the people who supported the victims. Finally the author ends his article with the opinion of a public employee who was really hurt by this, “It hurts to see the ignorance from those that committed this crime against the community's patrimony, and it also is worrisome to think about those who gave the order to do it and those who knew about it, who did not do the right thing and go to the authorities.”
I couldn’t agree more with this employer. Those who committed the crime are plain stupid. Why would they rob a place where people are educated and helped out, so they can succeed. My only thought I have is evilness because those thief’s if they wanted could have gotten so much resources to improve their education and succeed. Those who knew about it and did nothing, will be paying for the consequences because now there are not enough supplies for them to take advantage of. They were robbed the tools to succeed and the one who knew didn’t fight for them, they just gave to the thief’s in their hands. How can someone be so wicked to do such act?
Saturday, October 24th, 2009 @ 18:54 UTC
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Excerpt
After a robbery of the La Loma Library in Medellín, Colombia, the home of the Hiperbarrio citizen media project, an outpouring of support and solidarity was sent from around the world.
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Français: Colombie: solidarité avec Hiperbarrio après le cambriolage de la bibliothèque
Español: Solidaridad con Hiperbarrio tras el hurto en la biblioteca
Historically, libraries have been characterized as spaces for the free access to knowledge in the fields of literature, art, and culture, as well as becoming gathering places for the community. In this spirit, two years ago the Public Pilot Library of Medellín, Colombia at the La Loma site welcomed the participants of Hiperbarrio [es], one of the initial Rising Voices projects, where citizen journalism workshops have been taking place.
Photo of La Loma Library by Convergentes and used with permission. Click on photo to see a larger version of photo.
It is noteworthy that this library was created more than 50 years ago, as an initiative of the residents of La Loma, and throughout its service to the community it has offered classes in literature, painting, and music. The importance of its social role was described by Rezwan at the Rising Voices blog, who notes that that librarian's responsibility goes beyond the simple lending of books.
It is with those reasons that there were united voices of indignation surrounding the events that took place on October 13, which is described by @blueandtanit:
Ladrones robaron el equipo administrativo con información de La Loma, caja menor y El nica de Hiperbarrio en un asalto a la bpp de La Loma.
Thieves stole the administrative equipment with information of the La Loma library, petty cash, and the Nica (prize) during a robbery of the bpp (public library) of La Loma.
The director of Hiperbarrio, Álvaro Ramírez described his reaction upon hearing the news. He writes about the consequences of the robbery in his blog Ojo al Texto [es]:
Estoy un poco aturdido. Me concentro y trato de visualizar la modesta y hermosa Biblioteca de La Loma, sus estantes, las mesas y las sillas donde niños y grandes se sientan a diario a leer, a consultar libros, y a conversar.
Alcanzo a imaginar los computadores apagados y en la noche. Un par de intrusos llegan y logran penetrar por el techo. Entran con linternas y comienzan a sacar cosas
(…)
A la mañana siguiente llegan Gabriel Jaime y los otros empleados y encuentran el desastre. Un robo consumado. Un asalto a la comunidad de La Loma y un golpe duro para la Biblioteca Pública Piloto que ha venido dotando, con gran voluntad y paciencia a la filial más antigua de su extendida red de bibliotecas públicas: es decir gratuitas y abiertas para que todos podamos acceder a sus servicios.
(…)
Pienso en el daño que eso representa. En las personas que se van a perjudicar por no poder acceder gratis a los computadores.
I am a bit stunned. I concentrate and try to visualize the modest and beautiful La Loma Library, its shelves, the tables and chairs where children and adults sit to read on a daily basis, to read books, and to talk.
I am able to imagine the computers turned off at night. A couple of intruders arrive and are able to enter through the roof. They enter with flashlights and start to take things.
(…)
The next morning, (the library's coordinator) Gabriel Jaime and other employees arrive and find the disaster. A completed robbery. An assault on the community of La Loma and a hard blow for the Public Pilot Library, which has been providing, with a strong will and patience to the oldest branch in the extended network of public libraries: free and open services so that everyone can access its services.
(…)
I think about the damage that this represents. In the people that will be hurt and will not be able to have free access to computers.
Photo of La Loma library by blueandtanit and used under a Creative Commons license. Click on photo to see a larger version of the photo.
News of the robbery soon spread throughout different online networks, and the community also received notes from those who expressed their solidarity during the incident, showing that there is a strong network across the internet. For example, from Chile, Enzo Abbagliati sent a message of support on his blog Cadaunadas [es] after reading the post written by Ramírez:
Cadaunadas varias veces ha sido espacio para la alegría que desde una barriada de Medellín hemos recibido cotidianamente quienes creemos en las bibliotecas públicas como espacio de equidad y construcción de sociedades más democráticas. Reproduzco ahora una triste nota publicada por Álvaro Ramírez en ConVerGentes, quien desde el aturdimiento inicial nos avisa que han robado en la Biblioteca de La Loma. En Chile, en nuestras bibliotecas públicas, a veces sufrimos la misma suerte, la misma frustrante suerte.
¡Animo, amigos de La Loma! Sé que la comunidad estará con ustedes.
On many occasions, (the blog) Cadaunadas has been a space for daily joy received from a neighborhood in Medellín for those of us who believe in public libraries as a place for equality and the building of more democratic societies. I am now republishing the sad news written by Álvaro Ramírez from ConVerGentes, who tells us of the stunning news about the robbery of the La Loma Library. In Chile, our public libraries sometimes suffers the same luck, the same frustrating luck.
Cheer up, friends from La Loma! Know that the community stands with you.
Locally, the Colombian digital magazine Equinoxio [es] became one of the first sites to publish news about the acts of vandalism and wrote about the efforts to investigate the crime:
El director de la biblioteca se reunió con las autoridades y con efectivos de la Policía Nacional a fin de coordinar esfuerzos para recuperar los bienes que se llevaron los asaltantes y capturar a los responsables.
The library's director met with authorities and officers from the National Police to coordinate efforts to recuperate the items taken by the burglars and to capture those responsible.
Fortunately, the Golden Nicca prize was recovered, as it was found nearby, but the other objects remain missing. A member of Hiperbarrio, Catalina Urquijo of the blog $ujetate (Unknown II) [es] thanked those who sent messages through the different social networking sites:
Ofrecemos nuestros más sinceros agradecimientos a todos aquellos que nos acompañaron por diversos sitios de la red dándonos su apoyo tanto cuando creímos que nos habían robado el nica como ahora.
We would like to offer our most sincere gratitude to all those who have accompanied us through various online sites giving us their support, especially when we thought that they had stolen the Nicca (prize).
Finally, Libary Coordinator Gabriel Vanegas of the blog Esas Voces que Nos Llegan [es] summarizes the shock in which, as a public employee, he had to find out about the incident:
Duele ver la ignorancia de quienes perpetúan este delito contra el patrimonio de la comunidad, pero preocupa pensar en quienes dieron la orden de hacerlo y quienes sabiendo y viendo que se hacia no procedieron de manera correcta y oportuna ante las autoridades.
It hurts to see the ignorance from those that committed this crime against the community's patrimony, and it also is worrisome to think about those who gave the order to do it and those who knew about it, who did not do the right thing and go to the authorities.
I found this Feature Article very interesting and creative. It uses many references and quoted information from many sources. The author began off by talking about public Libraries and their importance, then he introduced the La Loma Library which is the one who was robbed. Instead of retelling what happened he used an outside source to quote what had happened, “Thieves stole the administrative equipment with information of the La Loma library, petty cash, and the Nica (prize) during a robbery of the bpp (public library) of La Loma.” Then he uses Alvaro Ramirez to talk about the consequences of this robbery and how the users where going to suffer. The author continues even exposing information written from Chile, “Cheer up, friends from La Loma! Know that the community stands with you.” This is from a blog who wants to cheer the La Loma community. Then he cites the magazine Equinox, which wrote on article about this event in their magazine. It continues with text from another blog thanking all the people who supported the victims. Finally the author ends his article with the opinion of a public employee who was really hurt by this, “It hurts to see the ignorance from those that committed this crime against the community's patrimony, and it also is worrisome to think about those who gave the order to do it and those who knew about it, who did not do the right thing and go to the authorities.”
I couldn’t agree more with this employer. Those who committed the crime are plain stupid. Why would they rob a place where people are educated and helped out, so they can succeed. My only thought I have is evilness because those thief’s if they wanted could have gotten so much resources to improve their education and succeed. Those who knew about it and did nothing, will be paying for the consequences because now there are not enough supplies for them to take advantage of. They were robbed the tools to succeed and the one who knew didn’t fight for them, they just gave to the thief’s in their hands. How can someone be so wicked to do such act?
"Every play: collision, collision, collision"
One evening in August, Kyle Turley was at a bar in Nashville with his wife and some friends. It was one of the countless little places in the city that play live music. He’d ordered a beer, but was just sipping it, because he was driving home. He had eaten an hour and a half earlier. Suddenly, he felt a sensation of heat. He was light-headed, and began to sweat. He had been having episodes like that with increasing frequency during the past year—headaches, nausea. One month, he had vertigo every day, bouts in which he felt as if he were stuck to a wall. But this was worse. He asked his wife if he could sit on her stool for a moment. The warmup band was still playing, and he remembers saying, “I’m just going to take a nap right here until the next band comes on.” Then he was lying on the floor, and someone was standing over him. “The guy was freaking out,” Turley recalled. “He was saying, ‘Damn, man, I couldn’t find a pulse,’ and my wife said, ‘No, no. You were breathing.’ I’m, like, ‘What? What?’ ”
They picked him up. “We went out in the parking lot, and I just lost it,” Turley went on. “I started puking everywhere. I couldn’t stop. I got in the car, still puking. My wife, she was really scared, because I had never passed out like that before, and I started becoming really paranoid. I went into a panic. We get to the emergency room. I started to lose control. My limbs were shaking, and I couldn’t speak. I was conscious, but I couldn’t speak the words I wanted to say.”
Turley is six feet five. He is thirty-four years old, with a square jaw and blue eyes. For nine years, before he retired, in 2007, he was an offensive lineman in the National Football League. He knew all the stories about former football players. Mike Webster, the longtime Pittsburgh Steeler and one of the greatest players in N.F.L. history, ended his life a recluse, sleeping on the floor of the Pittsburgh Amtrak station. Another former Pittsburgh Steeler, Terry Long, drifted into chaos and killed himself four years ago by drinking antifreeze. Andre Waters, a former defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles, sank into depression and pleaded with his girlfriend—“I need help, somebody help me”—before shooting himself in the head. There were men with aching knees and backs and hands, from all those years of playing football. But their real problem was with their heads, the one part of their body that got hit over and over again.
“Lately, I’ve tried to break it down,” Turley said. “I remember, every season, multiple occasions where I’d hit someone so hard that my eyes went cross-eyed, and they wouldn’t come uncrossed for a full series of plays. You are just out there, trying to hit the guy in the middle, because there are three of them. You don’t remember much. There are the cases where you hit a guy and you’d get into a collision where everything goes off. You’re dazed. And there are the others where you are involved in a big, long drive. You start on your own five-yard line, and drive all the way down the field—fifteen, eighteen plays in a row sometimes. Every play: collision, collision, collision. By the time you get to the other end of the field, you’re seeing spots. You feel like you are going to black out. Literally, these white explosions—boom, boom, boom—lights getting dimmer and brighter, dimmer and brighter.
from the issuecartoon banke-mail this“Then, there was the time when I got knocked unconscious. That was in St. Louis, in 2003. My wife said that I was out a minute or two on the field. But I was gone for about four hours after that. It was the last play of the third quarter. We were playing the Packers. I got hit in the back of the head. I saw it on film a little while afterward. I was running downfield, made a block on a guy. We fell to the ground. A guy was chasing the play, a little guy, a defensive back, and he jumped over me as I was coming up, and he kneed me right in the back of the head. Boom!
“They sat me down on the bench. I remember Marshall Faulk coming up and joking with me, because he knew that I was messed up. That’s what happens in the N.F.L: ‘Oooh. You got effed up. Oooh.’ The trainer came up to me and said, ‘Kyle, let’s take you to the locker room.’ I remember looking up at a clock, and there was only a minute and a half left in the game—and I had no idea that much time had elapsed. I showered and took all my gear off. I was sitting at my locker. I don’t remember anything. When I came back, after being hospitalized, the guys were joking with me because Georgia Frontiere”—then the team’s owner—“came in the locker room, and they said I was butt-ass naked and I gave her a big hug. They were dying laughing, and I was, like, ‘Are you serious? I did that?’
“They cleared me for practice that Thursday. I probably shouldn’t have. I don’t know what damage I did from that, because my head was really hurting. But when you’re coming off an injury you’re frustrated. I wanted to play the next game. I was just so mad that this happened to me that I’m overdoing it. I was just going after guys in practice. I was really trying to use my head more, because I was so frustrated, and the coaches on the sidelines are, like, ‘Yeah. We’re going to win this game. He’s going to lead the team.’ That’s football. You’re told either that you’re hurt or that you’re injured. There is no middle ground. If you are hurt, you can play. If you are injured, you can’t, and the line is whether you can walk and if you can put on a helmet and pads.”
After reading this article, I was surprised how much physical damage football can cause. As you watch it, you think the helmets and pads are enough protection but they aren’t. In this article it gives examples of football players who done crazy things like kill themselves, because they have gone crazy after hitting themselves so many times in the head blocking their opponent. Here are some examples, “Mike Webster, the longtime Pittsburgh Steeler and one of the greatest players in N.F.L. history, ended his life a recluse, sleeping on the floor of the Pittsburgh Amtrak station. Another former Pittsburgh Steeler, Terry Long, drifted into chaos and killed himself four years ago by drinking antifreeze. Andre Waters, a former defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles, sank into depression and pleaded with his girlfriend—“I need help, somebody help me”—before shooting himself in the head.” How hard have they been hit in the head? Apparently way to hard!
What would make them do such insane act? They have literary lost their mind, “But their real problem was with their heads, the one part of their body that got hit over and over again.” What I ask myself is how can you have so much fun hurting yourself? Then knowing you are hurt want to continue playing? Toward the end of this article it talks about how greedy the coaches are. They just want to win no matter what. It seems like they have no heart. After having a serious head injury this is what happened due to the coaches desire to win, putting winning as a priority before health, “I was really trying to use my head more, because I was so frustrated, and the coaches on the sidelines are, like, ‘Yeah. We’re going to win this game. He’s going to lead the team.’ That’s football. You’re told either that you’re hurt or that you’re injured. There is no middle ground. If you are hurt, you can play. If you are injured, you can’t, and the line is whether you can walk and if you can put on a helmet and pads.”
They picked him up. “We went out in the parking lot, and I just lost it,” Turley went on. “I started puking everywhere. I couldn’t stop. I got in the car, still puking. My wife, she was really scared, because I had never passed out like that before, and I started becoming really paranoid. I went into a panic. We get to the emergency room. I started to lose control. My limbs were shaking, and I couldn’t speak. I was conscious, but I couldn’t speak the words I wanted to say.”
Turley is six feet five. He is thirty-four years old, with a square jaw and blue eyes. For nine years, before he retired, in 2007, he was an offensive lineman in the National Football League. He knew all the stories about former football players. Mike Webster, the longtime Pittsburgh Steeler and one of the greatest players in N.F.L. history, ended his life a recluse, sleeping on the floor of the Pittsburgh Amtrak station. Another former Pittsburgh Steeler, Terry Long, drifted into chaos and killed himself four years ago by drinking antifreeze. Andre Waters, a former defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles, sank into depression and pleaded with his girlfriend—“I need help, somebody help me”—before shooting himself in the head. There were men with aching knees and backs and hands, from all those years of playing football. But their real problem was with their heads, the one part of their body that got hit over and over again.
“Lately, I’ve tried to break it down,” Turley said. “I remember, every season, multiple occasions where I’d hit someone so hard that my eyes went cross-eyed, and they wouldn’t come uncrossed for a full series of plays. You are just out there, trying to hit the guy in the middle, because there are three of them. You don’t remember much. There are the cases where you hit a guy and you’d get into a collision where everything goes off. You’re dazed. And there are the others where you are involved in a big, long drive. You start on your own five-yard line, and drive all the way down the field—fifteen, eighteen plays in a row sometimes. Every play: collision, collision, collision. By the time you get to the other end of the field, you’re seeing spots. You feel like you are going to black out. Literally, these white explosions—boom, boom, boom—lights getting dimmer and brighter, dimmer and brighter.
from the issuecartoon banke-mail this“Then, there was the time when I got knocked unconscious. That was in St. Louis, in 2003. My wife said that I was out a minute or two on the field. But I was gone for about four hours after that. It was the last play of the third quarter. We were playing the Packers. I got hit in the back of the head. I saw it on film a little while afterward. I was running downfield, made a block on a guy. We fell to the ground. A guy was chasing the play, a little guy, a defensive back, and he jumped over me as I was coming up, and he kneed me right in the back of the head. Boom!
“They sat me down on the bench. I remember Marshall Faulk coming up and joking with me, because he knew that I was messed up. That’s what happens in the N.F.L: ‘Oooh. You got effed up. Oooh.’ The trainer came up to me and said, ‘Kyle, let’s take you to the locker room.’ I remember looking up at a clock, and there was only a minute and a half left in the game—and I had no idea that much time had elapsed. I showered and took all my gear off. I was sitting at my locker. I don’t remember anything. When I came back, after being hospitalized, the guys were joking with me because Georgia Frontiere”—then the team’s owner—“came in the locker room, and they said I was butt-ass naked and I gave her a big hug. They were dying laughing, and I was, like, ‘Are you serious? I did that?’
“They cleared me for practice that Thursday. I probably shouldn’t have. I don’t know what damage I did from that, because my head was really hurting. But when you’re coming off an injury you’re frustrated. I wanted to play the next game. I was just so mad that this happened to me that I’m overdoing it. I was just going after guys in practice. I was really trying to use my head more, because I was so frustrated, and the coaches on the sidelines are, like, ‘Yeah. We’re going to win this game. He’s going to lead the team.’ That’s football. You’re told either that you’re hurt or that you’re injured. There is no middle ground. If you are hurt, you can play. If you are injured, you can’t, and the line is whether you can walk and if you can put on a helmet and pads.”
After reading this article, I was surprised how much physical damage football can cause. As you watch it, you think the helmets and pads are enough protection but they aren’t. In this article it gives examples of football players who done crazy things like kill themselves, because they have gone crazy after hitting themselves so many times in the head blocking their opponent. Here are some examples, “Mike Webster, the longtime Pittsburgh Steeler and one of the greatest players in N.F.L. history, ended his life a recluse, sleeping on the floor of the Pittsburgh Amtrak station. Another former Pittsburgh Steeler, Terry Long, drifted into chaos and killed himself four years ago by drinking antifreeze. Andre Waters, a former defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles, sank into depression and pleaded with his girlfriend—“I need help, somebody help me”—before shooting himself in the head.” How hard have they been hit in the head? Apparently way to hard!
What would make them do such insane act? They have literary lost their mind, “But their real problem was with their heads, the one part of their body that got hit over and over again.” What I ask myself is how can you have so much fun hurting yourself? Then knowing you are hurt want to continue playing? Toward the end of this article it talks about how greedy the coaches are. They just want to win no matter what. It seems like they have no heart. After having a serious head injury this is what happened due to the coaches desire to win, putting winning as a priority before health, “I was really trying to use my head more, because I was so frustrated, and the coaches on the sidelines are, like, ‘Yeah. We’re going to win this game. He’s going to lead the team.’ That’s football. You’re told either that you’re hurt or that you’re injured. There is no middle ground. If you are hurt, you can play. If you are injured, you can’t, and the line is whether you can walk and if you can put on a helmet and pads.”
Dream Pattern And Cathexis
As I read in Chapter Five about typical dreams, my dream pattern is not that of a typical dream. Through typical dreams you can interpret somewhat of someone dream, but you always need the background information about this person in order to fully interpret the dream. Typical dreams as said by Freud , “A peculiar interest attaches to these typical dreams, because, no matter who dreams them, they presumably all derive from the same sources, so that they would seem to be particularly fitted to provide us with information as to the sources of dreams.” These typical dreams have general meanings coming from a common place, therefore making it easier to interpret the dream. My dream pattern is far more complex, if you didnt have my background information you wouldnt be able to interpret it correctly.
Lately, I have dreamed of events that I wish for to happen. Since I lived all my life with my mom and in 9th grade I came to live in another country with my dad, I usually tend to dream of my mom a lot. She has become a symbol in my dreams constantly coming up. I have dreamed of her dying but expressed no sorrow, as Freud says this is because, “This is the case in the dream of the aunt who sees the only son of her sister lying on a bier (chapter IV). The dream does not mean that she desires the death of her little nephew; as we have learned, it merely conceals the wish to see a certain beloved person again after a long separation.” Along with this I have dreamed of getting accepted into University of Miami. In my fifteen list University choices there are many who are better than University of Miami. I have Princeton and Stanford, so why am I not dreaming of getting accepted into those? I believe it all has to do with my mom. Since my mom lives in Miami, University of Miami is the only University that if I get accepted I can once again live with her. I am in my dream fulfilling my dream of living with her, due to the fact I had so many great memories with her and I truly miss her. I look forward to someday living with her again and my best option is by getting accepted to UM.
This pattern is a great example of cathexis. Cathexis is , “the libidinal energy invested in some idea or person or object) Freud thought of cathexis as a psychic analog of an electrical charge." Dreaming of events related to my mom, means most of my energy is put in to these dreams, which are wishes. These dreams help me fulfill the idea of being with my mom instead of repressing them, yet I hope one day they become reality.
Lately, I have dreamed of events that I wish for to happen. Since I lived all my life with my mom and in 9th grade I came to live in another country with my dad, I usually tend to dream of my mom a lot. She has become a symbol in my dreams constantly coming up. I have dreamed of her dying but expressed no sorrow, as Freud says this is because, “This is the case in the dream of the aunt who sees the only son of her sister lying on a bier (chapter IV). The dream does not mean that she desires the death of her little nephew; as we have learned, it merely conceals the wish to see a certain beloved person again after a long separation.” Along with this I have dreamed of getting accepted into University of Miami. In my fifteen list University choices there are many who are better than University of Miami. I have Princeton and Stanford, so why am I not dreaming of getting accepted into those? I believe it all has to do with my mom. Since my mom lives in Miami, University of Miami is the only University that if I get accepted I can once again live with her. I am in my dream fulfilling my dream of living with her, due to the fact I had so many great memories with her and I truly miss her. I look forward to someday living with her again and my best option is by getting accepted to UM.
This pattern is a great example of cathexis. Cathexis is , “the libidinal energy invested in some idea or person or object) Freud thought of cathexis as a psychic analog of an electrical charge." Dreaming of events related to my mom, means most of my energy is put in to these dreams, which are wishes. These dreams help me fulfill the idea of being with my mom instead of repressing them, yet I hope one day they become reality.
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