Food & Cultural Appreciation, Tuesday Third Period

[carbsliftthespirit]

"All right, everyone, listen up," Raiden said once his students were assembled for this week's adventure. "This week we're going to Peru, and before we go I want to remind you of the rules of the class, because there is one dish that is common in Peru that a lot of Americans have problems with. So, you don't have to try the thing, but I also do not want you to insult the thing. I want you to think with your brain about why another culture might eat the way they do. Okay? Okay.

( Let's go to Peru! )

Ethics, Tuesday, September 24, 2024

[sith_happened]

"Sooner or later, regardless of whatever your own personal ethics turn out to be, you will face someone who has decided you don't live up to theirs," Ahsoka said. "Sadly, while hope lives eternal, these people will rarely be open to honest discussion about the matter."

Anakin had no idea who she might be talking about! None!

"Many times the conversation, such as it is, begins from a place of defensiveness," Anakin said. "No one likes to hear they've been disappointing."

Of course he didn't! Why would he? "It doesn't help when the kind of people are volunteering these kinds of opinions are equally unlikely to take a diplomatic approach." You can say they were judgmental assholes, Ahsoka, everyone was picking up on that subtext.

"Telling strangers to 'do better' on social media, for instance," Anakin said, "does nothing other than make the person writing that look smug and judgmental." He shrugged. "My wife is a journalist. She gets a lot of unhelpful feedback."

"So what are some actually helpful ways of dealing with...let's go with differences in ethical expectations?"

"And you can't start with lightsaber duels," Anakin added, nodding.

World Mythology, Tuesday, 2nd Period.

[atreideslioness]

When students arrived today, they'd find Trebor happily playing with an assortment of brightly-colored wooden spiders by Ghanima's desk, her sitting beside him with a carved tiger, trying to chase the spiders.

As soon as the bell rang, she looked up at them, grinning, leaving the tiger with her son and standing up, dusting her hands off on her legs.

"Anansi is a fine fellow, and admittedly one of my favorite gods," Ghanima began, not missing a beat, "And I have known more than a few gods. He is easily -- in my opinion --one of the most important characters of West African lore, and mythology in general. He is often depicted as a spider, a human, or combinations thereof."

( We do not really mean, we do not really mean that what we are about to say is true. A story, a story; let it come, let it go. )

"Now, why is this figure so universal?" she asked, picking up the handouts that had been sitting on her desk and beginning to distribute them. "And why did so many African American folk tales recount his exploits, under one name or another? Anansi is the spirit of rebellion; he is able to overturn the social order; he can marry the King's daughter, create wealth out of thin air; baffle the Devil and cheat Death. Even if Anansi loses in one story, you know that he will overcome in the next. Anansi conveys a simple message --that freedom and dignity are worth fighting for, at any odds."