This blog, it seems, is not going to be as expected. There aren’t enough hours in the day to become a credible reporter on topics at the intersection of politics, education, and science, at least while also working toward a Ph.D. and also occasionally lobbying the Texas legislature. A primary source in science I hope to become (and indeed a paper is in the pipeline); but as a secondary source, the playing field is crowded.
In lieu of the previously scheduled columns, I propose to write about something people seem to want to read. This last semester, my efforts to keep Texas classrooms more-or-less free of concealed handguns made me notorious enough in certain circles that I received regular hate mail. According to Korpela’s First Corollary, that means my (or some) message is being communicated mostly-not-unsuccessfully.
I had hoped to escape relative notoriety from my membership in Virginia Tech’s Class of 2007, and had I fled to California instead of Texas, politics might have kept clear of me.
A scan of my picture in the Tokyo Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, talking about the guns on campus legislation.
It’s worth mentioning that Texas could have avoided my presence in the big pink building downtown. What drew me in was the stubborn insistence on the part of Texas lawmakers that had Virginia Tech students been allowed to attend class armed, the shooting might have been deterred or made less tragic.
Having heard first-hand from numerous survivors that guns would not have helped, and with that included in the bipartisan Virginia Tech Review Panel Report, the lawmakers’ arguments seemed disingenuous—not to mention insulting and incredibly painful. To have a lover’s death used by a stranger to accomplish some political end, particularly one so dangerous, was thoroughly repugnant.
I expect that those who disagree will make their presence known here. The NRA’s membership is nothing if not persistent, particularly on the Tubes.
I anticipate abusive comments, but in any case, I ask that you refrain. I reserve the right to delete, censor, or even edit your comments if they are not germane. In fact, all rights are reserved. If you don’t like that, pester someone else. This is a blog about my personal experiences, not a message board for controversy or political games. If you want a debate, I suggest you check out Gun Guys or, if you aren’t particular as to topics, The Huffington Post.
It is extraordinarily frustrating that I should end up on CNN and Democracy Now! for something over which I have little control. Most Americans, I think, want to succeed on their own terms, by their own skills, and not by fortune—or in my case and especially Maxine’s, misfortune.
Whatever success there may be, know that I would trade it all to have her back in this world.
Perhaps circumstances will allow me, in time, to achieve fame and/or notoriety on my own terms.
5 Comments
You’ll get there. You were working on getting there before the shooting happened, and I have faith that you can still do it. It’s true that right now your name is associated with the concealed carry on campus debate… but that is SO not all you are. You’re working for this cause because it’s important to you, but I know it’s not the only thing that is important to you. You haven’t given up on everything else you were doing pre-4/16, and I think that’s quite admirable. You are still pursuing your own dreams. This gun control issue will always be there, and I’m not saying that it’s okay to just let it slide because somebody else will champion the cause - I’m just saying that even outside of this, you are still you.
You’re John Woods, gun control activist. You’re also John Woods, scientist. Ph.D. candidate. Graduate of Virginia Tech. Black belt. Chef. Dancer. Listener of good music. Total geek. Mohawk-John.
You’re doing what you can to help promote a cause that means a lot to you. But you’re also doing your own work, original work, and I’m confident that you will be known for it. Maybe not in the same circles exactly… but you will be known for what you do.
I think separating out the events in your life who made you who or what you are from your idea of yourself may be an attractive thing, especially if those events are painful beyond what we believe we can bear. However, I say from my own experience, you are your experiences and your tragedies, just as much as you are your choices. We are only in control of our own destiny in the context of a world that can never be controlled, and that is part of who we are.
Anyway: You’re getting attention because you have chosen to be excellent at whatever you do, even in the face of tragedy, and you will not compromise that. Those ARE your terms. Don’t dismiss that.
Hi, John. Please forgive my tardy posting — I just discovered your blog.
I’m coming from a mish-mash of sides here. I am a Ph.D., I “play” academia while working for the Texas A&M University system in adult education around the State.
Because of where I come from and what I do (travel, work, parent) I have chosen the responsibility (and potential liability) of having a Texas CHL and being armed in all the legal places that I can be. I view it as just another form of insurance against extremely rare but potentially catastrophic events. From that perspective, I would prefer to be able to carry inside my university office building just like I can outside that building. I would prefer to have the choice, and I’m comfortable with other CHLs making that choice for themselves. I understand that we differ on this matter of policy, but that’s not unusual in academia.
Hi John,
Thanks for your comment. I don’t think it’s an unreasonable desire, to be able to protect yourself, or I wouldn’t have studied and taught martial arts for so many years. My principle concerns are that the training requirements are insufficient, and that the risk is mis-apportioned. In the course of my activism, I’ve met a lot of individuals who are responsible and a lot who are irresponsible. They all believe themselves responsible, and that makes me very uncomfortable.
Thanks for your note.
John
Thanks. I also see that I should have made the above comment in another thread, not this notoriety one. If you ever start a thread about relative risk, I’ll chime in there.
As for notoriety, speaking professionally, the previous posters are correct that, in time, you should have more control over your own agenda. It will come as you get established, and particularly as you get funding to pursue what you are most interested in. Money talks in the Ivory Tower as much as it does in the Pink Dome.
Quick Story: In a previous job, by virtue of my location, I got involved in a dispute involving the economic impacts of water shortages. It got very political because it involved Texas, the U.S., Mexico, and a lot of angry farmers in South Texas. I am not a water economist, and didn’t particularly want to devote the several years of my life to this subject that I ended up spending. Nevertheless, the experience generated attention, and then funding, and ultimately publishable research — all of which helped in getting futures positions/promotions. And now I am freer to focus on things of my own choosing, which is a very gratifying aspect of working in the Ivory Tower. Regards, JR