“I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer.” Frank Herbert was on to something. This totally tracks as the trump boat zombie crowd are no doubt nourished by daily doses of fear. And thanks for the recommendation, I’ll have to give defending your life a look.
One of the most misunderstood things about Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step programs is that fear helps drive addiction/obsession and the 12 step program is about mitigating those fears. I don’t sit in groups and talk about not “using”. I do talk a lot about facing and overcoming my fears.
Fear and worry have been constants my life. The only times they let up are when I have enough money to feel confident in my ability to take care of myself and my family. It’s nice when those seasons come. Mostly, they don’t.
Fortunately, I never developed a taste for fine hotels. I’ll be comfortable in the airport Motel 6.
The fact that he’s not fine with the Motel 6 -- that he is constantly anxious about visible markers of his worth, starting right from the BMW in the opening sequence -- is part of the genius of his character. On the other hand, Judgment City is weird about class, isn’t it? All the deceased wear the same thing, but there are levels of accommodations. One reason Julia is so evolved is that she is just as excited about the plebeian activities as she is the chocolate swans. She just embraces life, while Daniel obsesses about what it’s going to say about him.
I've stayed in many Motel 6 rooms. I've never had a problem. They've all been decent clean and comfortable. If you can afford to turn down a free room and voluntarily pay for a "nice" one, well, you're living a very privileged life and I hope you appreciate how lucky you are.
Fantastic! One of my favorite writers weighs in expertly on my favorite movie. Now I’m gonna go out there and keep on making those same mistakes over and over again. I wonder who I’ll be in my next life after I fail my trial.
I say this as both a parent and an elementary school teacher: Active shooter drills are not the responsible thing to do. My district's version of the drill is more mild than some places', which I'm thankful for, but it absolutely still creates fear and anxiety for some students, which is why the district felt compelled to announce the drill ahead of time and give parents the option of keeping their children home that morning.
As you said, Will, any number of school shootings is too many, but statistically speaking, they are still very rare, so the anxiety they create is for something that will never come to pass for the vast majority of kids. On top of that, there's no evidence the drills actually make students safer, that the body count is lower at schools where the kindergartners have been told they must practice what to do if a man is walking through the building killing people.
Strong evidence of a cost, no evidence of a benefit. That's not responsible.
Adults are the ones who must know what to do in the unlikely event of an active shooter, not children, and teachers need to be a voice their students will listen to. If I know what to do, and if my students will listen to me in an emergency, there's no reason they need to be put through the stress of an active shooter drill, and no reason they need to suffer the anxiety it can create.
I saw U2 from about the 10th row of the (now named) Foellinger Auditorium on the quad way back in 1982. Great show. But I’ve cooled on U2 after reading a book about them. Smug and arrogant My new motto is don’t read the books about rock and roll artists.
Thanks for writing about one of the most important movies in my life, Will. I happen to be preparing to show it to students in a summer course next week. It's a masterpiece. No matter when in my life I rewatch it -- as a grad student, a new parent, or a near empty-nester -- it manages to be exactly what I need to hear.
"Worry is interest paid in advance on a debt that never comes due" is just a convoluted version of an AA slogan, which are sometimes trite, sometimes corny, but 100% life changing when you hear them when you need to hear them: "Worry is praying for what you don't want."
As a teacher, I wholly agree with your assessment of active shooter drills for students. The protocol is a familiar “Get down” mixed with “Follow orders” and, as someone who has been in lockdowns as both student and teacher, I sincerely doubt classroom shooter drills increase safety in a meaningful enough way to be worth the fear they induce.
That said, teachers benefit from their own training. I’ve done full-scale active shooter drills with police (on an empty campus; still terrifying) and sat through formal presentations about them from law enforcement. As the one adult in the room, there are decisions teachers must make about our individual response separate from any drill’s preparation. They are scary decisions–decisions I hope I never need to act on–but I know where I stand and what I will do because of those trainings staff members, not students, go through.
In 2021, I wrote more substantially about active shooter drills and the response decision we must make proactively if anyone is curious. Please delete this if sharing the link is an issue:
Important thing to teach your boys.
enjoyed the movie a lot - thank you
Outstanding.
I’ve also heard, “If you’re worried about something, it hasn’t happened yet.” That might be glib, but I do try to remember that.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer.” Frank Herbert was on to something. This totally tracks as the trump boat zombie crowd are no doubt nourished by daily doses of fear. And thanks for the recommendation, I’ll have to give defending your life a look.
I hope you like it. I find it has one of my highest recommendation success rates.
One of the most misunderstood things about Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step programs is that fear helps drive addiction/obsession and the 12 step program is about mitigating those fears. I don’t sit in groups and talk about not “using”. I do talk a lot about facing and overcoming my fears.
Thank you for this. Seems the sort of thing that's good for everyone.
Fear and worry have been constants my life. The only times they let up are when I have enough money to feel confident in my ability to take care of myself and my family. It’s nice when those seasons come. Mostly, they don’t.
Fortunately, I never developed a taste for fine hotels. I’ll be comfortable in the airport Motel 6.
Certainly, money is a factor in all of this, alas. For the record: I also am perfectly fine with Motel 6s.
The fact that he’s not fine with the Motel 6 -- that he is constantly anxious about visible markers of his worth, starting right from the BMW in the opening sequence -- is part of the genius of his character. On the other hand, Judgment City is weird about class, isn’t it? All the deceased wear the same thing, but there are levels of accommodations. One reason Julia is so evolved is that she is just as excited about the plebeian activities as she is the chocolate swans. She just embraces life, while Daniel obsesses about what it’s going to say about him.
"I'm at the Continental. Come over one day. We'll paint it."
I am NOT fine with the Motel 6, as evidenced by the free hotel room offered by the airline that I passed up so I could stay in a nice one. Judge away!
I've stayed in many Motel 6 rooms. I've never had a problem. They've all been decent clean and comfortable. If you can afford to turn down a free room and voluntarily pay for a "nice" one, well, you're living a very privileged life and I hope you appreciate how lucky you are.
I do!
Fantastic! One of my favorite writers weighs in expertly on my favorite movie. Now I’m gonna go out there and keep on making those same mistakes over and over again. I wonder who I’ll be in my next life after I fail my trial.
Like Daniel, probably a tribesman frantically running from a wild beast.
I say this as both a parent and an elementary school teacher: Active shooter drills are not the responsible thing to do. My district's version of the drill is more mild than some places', which I'm thankful for, but it absolutely still creates fear and anxiety for some students, which is why the district felt compelled to announce the drill ahead of time and give parents the option of keeping their children home that morning.
As you said, Will, any number of school shootings is too many, but statistically speaking, they are still very rare, so the anxiety they create is for something that will never come to pass for the vast majority of kids. On top of that, there's no evidence the drills actually make students safer, that the body count is lower at schools where the kindergartners have been told they must practice what to do if a man is walking through the building killing people.
Strong evidence of a cost, no evidence of a benefit. That's not responsible.
Adults are the ones who must know what to do in the unlikely event of an active shooter, not children, and teachers need to be a voice their students will listen to. If I know what to do, and if my students will listen to me in an emergency, there's no reason they need to be put through the stress of an active shooter drill, and no reason they need to suffer the anxiety it can create.
Thank you for this. It's a bit of relief to hear some of my thoughts confirmed by someone who, you know, actually knows what they're talking about.
❤️
Another thought provoking read, so well written.
I saw U2 from about the 10th row of the (now named) Foellinger Auditorium on the quad way back in 1982. Great show. But I’ve cooled on U2 after reading a book about them. Smug and arrogant My new motto is don’t read the books about rock and roll artists.
We used to always hear rumors that the band went out with students in Champaign after the show. Any truth to those rumors?
Thanks for writing about one of the most important movies in my life, Will. I happen to be preparing to show it to students in a summer course next week. It's a masterpiece. No matter when in my life I rewatch it -- as a grad student, a new parent, or a near empty-nester -- it manages to be exactly what I need to hear.
Now this is a class I would love to take.
"Worry is interest paid in advance on a debt that never comes due" is just a convoluted version of an AA slogan, which are sometimes trite, sometimes corny, but 100% life changing when you hear them when you need to hear them: "Worry is praying for what you don't want."
Side note here: Realizing how far down the rabbit hole Mamet has gone the last few years was pretty disturbing!
I don't wanna know. Why does this keep happening?
I watched Defending Your Life after reading this and I loved it (and maybe it will change the way I live my life). Thank you for a great post.
Thank you. It's so wonderful, isn't it?
Yes, but it was a later tour, in 1987:
https://u2tours.com/tours/new-show-added-u2s-1987-sorority-performance.html#:~:text=On%20October%2022%2C%201987%2C%20U2,on%20campus%20following%20their%20performance.
"Defending" is also one of my all-time favorites but let's not bury the lede: that's one FANTASTIC karaoke performance there.
Remember: it's not about the quality of your singing voice that makes it great...
Ha. I'm doing "Suffragette City" at the Bowie version of that same show next month. Should be quite an experience!
As a teacher, I wholly agree with your assessment of active shooter drills for students. The protocol is a familiar “Get down” mixed with “Follow orders” and, as someone who has been in lockdowns as both student and teacher, I sincerely doubt classroom shooter drills increase safety in a meaningful enough way to be worth the fear they induce.
That said, teachers benefit from their own training. I’ve done full-scale active shooter drills with police (on an empty campus; still terrifying) and sat through formal presentations about them from law enforcement. As the one adult in the room, there are decisions teachers must make about our individual response separate from any drill’s preparation. They are scary decisions–decisions I hope I never need to act on–but I know where I stand and what I will do because of those trainings staff members, not students, go through.
In 2021, I wrote more substantially about active shooter drills and the response decision we must make proactively if anyone is curious. Please delete this if sharing the link is an issue:
https://mrmikejsteele.substack.com/p/volume-2-entry-50-a-violent-exercise
Thank you for this. And thank you for that link: That's exactly the sort of thing I'd want shared high and low.