One of the central tenets of coloniality is demarking distinctions of worth. Academia unfortunately animates this ethos by being a fundamentally individualistic, competitive, and therefore, judgmental cultural context. Grief can be a complex set of emotions, unrelenting in their reminding you you’re alive. Grief should, then, always provide an opportunity to slow down, to support, to rehumanize.
I don’t really know how to start this post but I certainly feel the need to write it. Yesterday I learned that one of my best friends since the age of 13 passed away. He was one of those people who was just good. Better. And he never got a fair shot in life. He had been ill for quite some time, so while his passing is not a surprise, the sadness is the same.
It’s a similar sadness to what I felt when my grandfather passed away during my first semester of graduate school. I was not able to attend his funeral because there was a snow storm and my flight was canceled. My current state is a lightweight version of the extremely deep pain I felt (and continue to feel) when my brother passed during my fourth year of graduate school.
Friends and colleagues of mine have experienced…
View original post 868 more words
Leigh Patel 