Oh my gosh, this is so touching and artful Garrett! I hope this will be in your book, or a book, or something that brings it to a much-deserved wide audience. You had me at Fugazi and Husker Du--how cool was that of you! Thanks for sharing and writing it so beautifully.
Thank you! That means a lot. And thank you for validating my music obsessions as cool! While the cooler fellow occupants of Dunloggin Middle School circa the early 90's would eventually agree with you, "eventually" was the key word lol.
Oh man, I also really grew up defining myself against the people I grew up around, and then coming to learn how much more there was to being a decent person than just being oppositional about one particular flavour of other people's behaviour, so that part really resonated with me. Fuck yeah Ms. Swerdlin! And also, what a fun clip of Bad Mouth, that really made me feel some feelings.
"made me really feel some feelings" is a perfect description for what happens every time I click on that video. And yeah, figuring out what you want to be about in the world beyond "not like those dudes" is a hell of a task. Still learning how to get there.
Sep 17, 2022·edited Sep 17, 2022Liked by Garrett Bucks
As BW, it is interesting to read about your school experience as a WM. I wish you tapped more into how you came to a realization with your privilege when you were enrolled in Thunder Hill elementary school.
As a Black child. I distinctly remember watching my white male counterparts receive better treatment than myself, such as the teacher would actually select them when they raised their hands. The teacher would acknowledge the white kid's parents with enthusiasm and practically ignore my Black parents upon child pickup. The teacher would be ENTHUSIASTIC when a white child got the answer correct but SUPRISED when the minority student got the answer correct and plenty more examples. I wish you could have delved more into how you realized you were privileged when you left the predominantly white elementary school in Montana and entered a diverse school in Maryland.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting. I couldn't agree more with the level of privilege I had- both at Thunder Hill and at ever step along the way. My apologies if that didn't come through strongly enough in this piece.
"kindness as a badge of exceptionalism isn’t quite kindness after all." OOF.
this one got me too.
Oh my gosh, this is so touching and artful Garrett! I hope this will be in your book, or a book, or something that brings it to a much-deserved wide audience. You had me at Fugazi and Husker Du--how cool was that of you! Thanks for sharing and writing it so beautifully.
Thank you! That means a lot. And thank you for validating my music obsessions as cool! While the cooler fellow occupants of Dunloggin Middle School circa the early 90's would eventually agree with you, "eventually" was the key word lol.
Oh man, I also really grew up defining myself against the people I grew up around, and then coming to learn how much more there was to being a decent person than just being oppositional about one particular flavour of other people's behaviour, so that part really resonated with me. Fuck yeah Ms. Swerdlin! And also, what a fun clip of Bad Mouth, that really made me feel some feelings.
"made me really feel some feelings" is a perfect description for what happens every time I click on that video. And yeah, figuring out what you want to be about in the world beyond "not like those dudes" is a hell of a task. Still learning how to get there.
As BW, it is interesting to read about your school experience as a WM. I wish you tapped more into how you came to a realization with your privilege when you were enrolled in Thunder Hill elementary school.
As a Black child. I distinctly remember watching my white male counterparts receive better treatment than myself, such as the teacher would actually select them when they raised their hands. The teacher would acknowledge the white kid's parents with enthusiasm and practically ignore my Black parents upon child pickup. The teacher would be ENTHUSIASTIC when a white child got the answer correct but SUPRISED when the minority student got the answer correct and plenty more examples. I wish you could have delved more into how you realized you were privileged when you left the predominantly white elementary school in Montana and entered a diverse school in Maryland.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting. I couldn't agree more with the level of privilege I had- both at Thunder Hill and at ever step along the way. My apologies if that didn't come through strongly enough in this piece.