seanessay.com The Vice President said he appreciated how whenever he asked me a question I would take a second, before I answered. He told me none of the other staff did so, making me —once again— a minority of one. My New Age habit was to pause to get grounded, centred, with my subconscious engaged, […]
Letter to a Lady Candidate for Congress
seanessay.com Howdy web surfers, I learned that Jennifer Tod is running for the first time for congress, against a morally-challenged red hat republican. So I wrote an e-mail to her election site: Hello Tod and friends: Canadian here. I found your name by accident. Good Luck with your election race! I presume you have organized […]
Blogging the Meaning of Abuse and Injustice
seanessay.com Karen Reed is free! With the common cynicism around social media, I wonder if young people remember the excitement around blogs? Short for web log. As the term “log” implies, blogs were never soundbites, never limited in the number of characters. Part of the excitement of this new, improved medium was that it would […]
Respect in Action, Part Two
seanessay.com Respect was mutual and easy among two female sex workers and I after we three moved into a duplex together. Their boyfriends loved them. This would have been long after I had learned to make eye contact and do small talk. But years earlier, when I walked as a security guard along an avenue […]
Sarcasm Ain’t in the Bible, and Ain’t New Age
seanessay.com A wife was bullied, back in school. Her husband told me that when they were dating he tried to be funny by using sarcasm. She made him stop. When he told me, I responded, “I despise sarcasm.” I learned the word as a child watching A Charlie Brown Christmas. The dialogue went: Charlie: Thanks […]
Respect In Action Part One
I work with people with disabilities. My supervisor said affectionately, “I can put you with anyone.” That’s because, said a colleague, I always “lean in,” no matter how hard a client is. Yes, and also because clients with challenging behaviours may sense that deep down I respect them. Never, during a confrontation, do I stand […]