Eagle vs. Shark

I had to sit down and really think about this prompt for this week. Its funny to get stumped by a seemingly simple question. I had to establish my identity pretty early in life. While my peers toyed around with various trends and life views I had cemented myself into a role. A role that I had gotten wrong from the start. I finally was able to make some sense and peace with myself when I came to the realization that I define myself, not a stereotype. I am at odds with a lot of what I am identified for and it puts my teeth on edge. For that reason it is difficult for me to just shout out something when asked to define myself.

There is a big discrepancy between how I would like to see myself and how I really see myself. I would like to see myself as a fox. There has always been something intriguing about that animal for me. Not only are the handsome animals but they carry the moniker of being clever and evasive. This is always how I have fancied myself, clever and cunning. Something to be watchful over but not exactly scared of. Living on the fringes of society, observing, and choosing when to enter the stage.

 Copyright Dan Walkers Photography

The red fox is a understated looking animal. Small, they are not intimidating, yet something in the face belies intuition and wit. Something our society has persistently applied to them. They are also beautiful the coloring and markings are understated and bold. The rich red is offset by the black legs, making it look something like a uniform. This appeals to me as well.

That is how I wish I was. How do I really see myself? A panda. Large, "cute", nonthreatening (unless provoked). An animal that I fail to see the interest in. They sit around all day eating bamboo. They cant breed properly without human intervention. They are cute, not attractive. They are in essence the example, if not the symbol,  of a breed that cant adapt with the chaining world.

 Photo courtesy of Biojobblog.com

Not that I think that they should not be protected and studied, we need to protect all nature to keep our world safe, but it is an example of a species which cant keep up. They are dull and passive until they get pissed and rip your face off, traits that I really do not enjoy about myself. Pandas are seen as friendly and nonthreatening, more issues that I have with myself. Incapable and slow, again, I feel like I am living in a world that is passing me by.

From the reading this week I was really impressed with the Lighting man story. I am not usually a big fan of narrative poetry but the subject matter and excellent construction of the story overcame my bias. What really intrigues me is the differences between this story and the stories of the Popul Vu. They are both Maya texts, they both pull on similar themes and generalities, but the essence of the stories are really different. One major change is that of legacy. In the Popul Vu the twins are the sons of the original hero twins and their mother is a deposed princes of the underworld. They are characters of relative linage and prestige. In the Lighting Man the hero's are simple peasants. This transcends down into their behavior. The twins of the Pupul Vu know their destiny, the underworld is coming after them and they know they can get one over on them. They are self assured almost to the point of cockiness. The heroes of the lighting man are humble, they are not at risk, nobody is coming after them. They put themselves into the path of danger, they offer their lives to the gods and to their people for the honor of defending it. The difference here is irking. The lighting heroes are truly ready to give their lives. The hero twins only use self sacrifice as a means to an end.  These differences illustrate the differences in ideology between the various villages (or languages) of the Maya.

Culture Shock

I grew up in Red Bluff California.

This is a small town, a cow town you could call it. We have one high school, 2 Starbucks, and the west coast's largest three day rodeo. Its a culturally isolated place.

One story that I heard was growing up what that of Ishi, the last of the Indians. It was a name that was always followed by that phrase(or some version of it), and said with a sort of quiet reverence. What little I gleaned thought many years of sub par social studies and history classes is that somehow a person had grown up, and lived most of his life outside of what we consider "society". This "wild man" was taken in by the scientific community of the times and studied. Beyond that I didn't know much, to be perfectly honest I didn't care.


This blog post is about our choice of name for this blog. I chose No People to Name Me. Purportedly this was the explanation that Ishi gave to the researcher Alfred Kroeber when asked why he had no name. Ishi was the last of his kind. This single living link to his history and his people. I cant even began to imagine the burden that must have been. How crushingly and oppressive the knowledge that you are it. The last holdout against the invasion. How do you continue? How do you go on?

I think that most people have felt alone in their lives. Depression, death, a breakup, however trivial it is human nature to feel isolated. It is what drives us to be social. It is what forces us to interact. I can not sympathize with Ishi. Nothing that has happened in my life could allow me to understand that depth of emotion. I can only take what I have experienced and try to empathize.

We all feel alone, but what does alone truly mean? With this blog I want to expand my own knowledge of a culture that I admittedly know little about. I strive to expand my knowledge of peoples lives and peoples experiences. Even if it is not something that does not relate my my own people and history it is my job to learn as much as I can, if for no other reason but to understand more.

From the readings that we have done so far I think the most striking aspect is the format of the literature. Coming from a traditional western perspective reading though a non linear text for the first time can be a little confusing. Despite the confusion the stories themselves are really interesting. Reading a creation story is a really good way to learn about how a culture views the world an themselves. The fallibility of the gods is really interesting to me. Viewing the creators as entities that make mistakes shows a level of self awareness that seems to be lacking in traditional "western" culture.