(no subject)

[sebastienne]

To those of you who questioned whether this was really the most worthwhile organisation I could have chosen to work for this summer, who told me that LGB equality was inevitable, all the important work had been done, etc...

The entire office was just evacuated (except for the unlucky few who were quarantined), and we were attended by three police cars, an ambulance, a police dog van, and a bomb disposal squad, because of a letter we received, containing a homophobic hate message and a large amount of white powder.

...which turned out to be cornflour...

but nevertheless. While we exist in a world where someone thought that sending that was a fruitful use of their time, I will believe that working here is a fruitful use of mine.

Comments

[dyddgu.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. That's terrible! I hope everyone's ok sweetie.

[vampire-kitten.livejournal.com]

To those of you who questioned whether this was really the most worthwhile organisation I could have chosen to work for this summer, who told me that LGB equality was inevitable, all the important work had been done, etc...

Who the fuck said that? They need some sense slapped into them...

[stronglight.livejournal.com]

Somehow it seems even worse to me to send cornflour than to send bio-warfare stuff... is that really silly of me? Obviously I don't condone the sending of either, especially not to your office, it just seems like someone that wants to kill gay people is seriously deluded but at least deluded on a principle. Someone that wants to scare the crap out of them with cornflour is just a complete arse with too much time and a seriously malicious nature.

(NB. If I am one of those implicated in the first line, that wasn't the impression I intended to give...I just wanted to know more about what Stonewall do as I sort of forget that not everyone is as ok with gay-ness as I am...If not ignore my paranoia)

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

While I'm glad it was cornflour, for the sake of my officemates, I do agree with what you're saying. Sending people anthrax through the post is an act of someone with -problems-... faking it is malicious in a much more rational way.

No-one is realy implicated in that first line; it's an exaggeration of what several people have said to me about working here. Although no-one told me they thought my work was not going to be worthwhile, enough people questioned it to make me a little uncertain. But a lot of people did seem to "forget that not everyone is ok with gayness"... I didn't really mean to criticise them, or anyone, in this post, so much as to give a reminder to everyone that there is still a lot of hate in the world.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

No-one actually told me this work wasn't worthwhile... but enough people said "isn't it already illegal to discriminate?" or "aren't people basically ok with it now?" to make me feel uncertain.

[mejoff.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of hate, there's also a lot of cornflower, maybe the person in question was all like 'Shit dude, we got too much cornflower, how're we gonna get rid of it?... i know, I'll send it to The Gays! Should enclose a covering letter though, or they might get confused.'

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

"death to all fags... by the mighty power of cornflour!"

[vampire-kitten.livejournal.com]

Still need a slapping. What percentage were white/hetro/male?

[stronglight.livejournal.com]

That's fair.

But then again - if the people around you forget that prejudice exists, then maybe we're existing in a little bubble where it doesn't. And while that doesn't make the rest of the world ok, isn't it still good that at least among a few people your work is done?

Frustrating though it might be to feel as if people aren't valuing your work, you *are* in a job that is working towards the day when it *will* be unnecessary. You are, in effect, aiming to make your job redundant. If some people think you've already succeeded isn't that credit to the steps forward that have already been taken?

I guess to me it's a positive thing cos I'm very much a believer in the ripple effect. I don't know.

In conclusion - I think you should take that cornflour, cook it up with some margarine, add some milk, cheese and macaroni and say "fuck you, moronic pseudo-bio-terrorist, see how I make a yummy nutritious meal out of your hate."

Life would be better if all discrimination was converted into comfort food. :-)

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

I adore Oxford more than anything, for that very reason; it is like a little bubble where everyone accepts everyone else. But listen to Ashley talk about Leicester, sometime... *shudders*

Oh, and I'm not letting this guy get to me... I'm just letting him reassure me that there are still corners of the world that aren't as lovely as Oxford. Letting him remind me that my job is not redundant... yet. But, yes, I'm working for the day it will be.

[stronglight.livejournal.com]

Good. *hug*

[sushi-radical.livejournal.com]

Do they still exist? I'm pretty sure we don't have that type around here if they do...

[sushi-radical.livejournal.com]

How dichotomous of you!

XD

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

yes - waterloo - come and see me!

[anotherusedpage.livejournal.com]

Ach. I hate it muchly when people get complacent about prejudice. Even if it's ok right here and right now there are places where it isn't and the ready possibility that it might not be again.

It's like the 'why do we still need feminism?' debate. Makes me spitting mad.