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RobinsonAndBrown 11 - 18 Mar 2012 - Main.SkylarPolansky
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Robinson & Brown | | | Finally, Brown made me think about the larger question of how much I am willing to sacrifice and how much I am willing to be subsumed by certain values in order to live a “principled” life in the law- if such a thing can be said. Brown’s direct engagement with “the thang” is, for many of us, a terrifying proposition. Furthermore, he lived in a different time, so even if any of us decide to go down that road, our methods will surely differ. Professor Moglen continues to emphasize that we live in the fastest and most abundant part of the global “network” which confers a certain amount of power and privilege. A peer in class then countered that she was skeptical as to how “robust” this privilege really is because we live in a world where there are “systems of misinformation on top of systems of misinformation.” and in a country in which certain groups have more privilege, and thus more power, than others, even in the most subtle ways (How many corporate sponsors would have run to Sandra Flukes defense if she were a black woman?). John Brown makes me feel simultaneously galvanized and helpless, so I am, clearly, sympathetic to both views. And I continue to feel the acute tension between them, as I mull over these characters, and the divergent paths they chose.
-- RumbidzaiMaweni - 04 Mar 2012 | |
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> | I think a relevant difference between Wiley and Brown is the source of their destruction. John Brown is murdered by the system whereas Wiley is slowly killing himself.
When I read about and think about John Brown I am in awe of his courage and willingness to sacrifice his own life for his cause. I look at it and immediately hate myself because I feel like it's something I will never be capable of because I am too scared of losing my life.
But then I look at Wiley - who has pursued money and self preservation through attainment of power - and he too is being killed. Drinking wine to obliterate feeling, drinking caffeine to force the body to work at pique level when it would otherwise be incapable of doing so, working under a level of stress that surely eats away at his insides - all of these tactics chip away what used to be "Wiley" and leave in his place a stunted, split personality. Almost everybody I interact with at law school or in law firms has increased their usage of whatever substance (alcohol, caffeine, aderol, marijuana, melatonin, ambien, etc.) they have always used as a way to regulate normal functioning. But regulating bodily functions in this way is not life - it's a slow death. It's a slower death, and thus more concealed, but one of which I realized I should still be afraid.
-- SkylarPolansky - 18 Mar 2012 | | | \ No newline at end of file |
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RobinsonAndBrown 10 - 06 Mar 2012 - Main.RumbidzaiMaweni
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Robinson & Brown | | | In slight contrast, Robinson is not a straightforward character to figure out, primarily because he always seems to be speaking in a sort of ironic double-speak. This too, is a survival mechanism- as Meagan points out, he has decided to play the game and work within and "grease the wheels" of a system he does not entirely believe in himself. But I think there’s clearly something driving him beyond principles or noblesse. He’s driven by his desire to get close to “the thang” and thinks_ “_criminal law represents civilization’s pathology._”_ He seems almost unabashedly infatuated with the nature of crime- both those who determine what it is and who has committed it, and those who are branded by it. His pontifications about lawyers and prisoners switching places believing it would be “no more than a form of exacting justice” seems to reflect his belief in the very fragile, if not somewhat arbitrary, nature of the entire enterprise. In that regard, I feel like he chose the path he is on neither because he wanted to “do the right thing” nor because he wanted to make money, but because he wanted some way to encounter day-in-and-day-out what it means to be human, because there’s something simultaneously thrilling and grounding about that. I don’t see it as a bad reason to go into criminal law, just one we rarely explicitly consider because it sounds a little off-putting. But though he double-entendre's that he is a "criminal" lawyer- the only crime he has committed, at least in this respect, is finding something in the legal universe that makes him want to get up in the morning and do his job.
Finally, Brown made me think about the larger question of how much I am willing to sacrifice and how much I am willing to be subsumed by certain values in order to live a “principled” life in the law- if such a thing can be said. Brown’s direct engagement with “the thang” is, for many of us, a terrifying proposition. Furthermore, he lived in a different time, so even if any of us decide to go down that road, our methods will surely differ. Professor Moglen continues to emphasize that we live in the fastest and most abundant part of the global “network” which confers a certain amount of power and privilege. A peer in class then countered that she was skeptical as to how “robust” this privilege really is because we live in a world where there are “systems of misinformation on top of systems of misinformation.” and in a country in which certain groups have more privilege, and thus more power, than others, even in the most subtle ways (How many corporate sponsors would have run to Sandra Flukes defense if she were a black woman?). John Brown makes me feel simultaneously galvanized and helpless, so I am, clearly, sympathetic to both views. And I continue to feel the acute tension between them, as I mull over these characters, and the divergent paths they chose.
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> | -- RumbidzaiMaweni - 04 Mar 2012 |
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RobinsonAndBrown 9 - 06 Mar 2012 - Main.LissetteDuran
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Robinson & Brown | | | With respect to us, I think that the point to take here is that we have options. We can sit and be naïve—let the world continue and only get up when everyone else has—or we can do something about what we see is unjust. The “what” we do is very particular to who we are and what we can do as individuals. We would need to make informed choices that make sure that our steps help us to develop and mature as attorneys. The problem is that too many of us are way too far from “the thang” and live a life not fully exposed and as a result have a harder time seeing injustices. | |
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< | It is much easier to sit back and judge than to do something. I think Wylie put it best when he said that he said he was cynical but not a cynic. I think that we are critics but not critical. We can point to methods we think are right or wrong without looking at the message or at least offering an alternative. Instead we are content with the contribution of criticism instead of actually trying to wrestle with the concepts that make us uneasy. | >
> | It is much easier to sit back and judge than to do something. I think Wiley put it best when he said that he said he was cynical but not a cynic. I think that we are critics but not critical. We can point to methods we think are right or wrong without looking at the message or at least offering an alternative. Instead we are content with the contribution of criticism instead of actually trying to wrestle with the concepts that make us uneasy. | | | In our discussion of Brown we focused too much on the violence used instead of talking about the importance of taking action and dealing with resistance or the non-action of others. I think that focusing on when to stop does not make sense when (for the most part) we have not started. Thus I would not ask what but I’d ask would you (try to) do something if today 20 million+ people were slaves? |
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RobinsonAndBrown 8 - 05 Mar 2012 - Main.RumbidzaiMaweni
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Robinson & Brown | | | Wiley is a character that is easy to feel some distaste towards and, to a certain extent, compassion. He is a character that has chosen to work within a system that he does not entirely believe in, but- like many of us- he had his reasons for going in and he has his reasons for maintaining the course. But rather than feel either distaste or compassion, I’ve found myself feeling more intrigued by his own internal “splitting”- how he is simultaneously aware of it on a conscious level and continues to do it on a subconscious level- and the ways in which he has chosen to subsume any frustration or cynicism he may feel into snideness, and rationalize the rest of it away. When thinking about those who will work in legal institutions that are inherently hostile towards them, or people like them, in order to get that much vaunted, second-to-none “legal experience” on the path to pursuits they might find worthier, I wonder whether Wiley has chosen a valid or healthy survival mechanism, and what tools we should think about cultivating now in order to survive in and make the most of these environments down the road. | |
<
< | In slight contrast, Robinson is not a straightforward character to figure out, primarily because he always seems to be speaking in a sort of ironic double-speak. This too, is a survival mechanism- as Meagan points out, he has decided to play the game and work within and "grease the wheels" of a system he does not entirely believe in himself. But I think there’s clearly something driving him beyond principles or noblesse. He’s driven by his desire to get close to “the thang” and thinks_ “criminal law represents civilization’s pathology.”_ He seems almost unabashedly infatuated with the nature of crime- both those who determine what it is and who has committed it, and those who are branded by it. His pontifications about lawyers and prisoners switching places believing it would be “no more than a form of exacting justice” seems to reflect his belief in the very fragile, if not somewhat arbitrary, nature of the entire enterprise. In that regard, I feel like he chose the path he is on neither because he wanted to “do the right thing” nor because he wanted to make money, but because he wanted some way to encounter day-in-and-day-out what it means to be human, because there’s something simultaneously thrilling and grounding about that. I don’t see it as a bad reason to go into criminal law, just one we rarely explicitly consider. | >
> | In slight contrast, Robinson is not a straightforward character to figure out, primarily because he always seems to be speaking in a sort of ironic double-speak. This too, is a survival mechanism- as Meagan points out, he has decided to play the game and work within and "grease the wheels" of a system he does not entirely believe in himself. But I think there’s clearly something driving him beyond principles or noblesse. He’s driven by his desire to get close to “the thang” and thinks_ “_criminal law represents civilization’s pathology._”_ He seems almost unabashedly infatuated with the nature of crime- both those who determine what it is and who has committed it, and those who are branded by it. His pontifications about lawyers and prisoners switching places believing it would be “no more than a form of exacting justice” seems to reflect his belief in the very fragile, if not somewhat arbitrary, nature of the entire enterprise. In that regard, I feel like he chose the path he is on neither because he wanted to “do the right thing” nor because he wanted to make money, but because he wanted some way to encounter day-in-and-day-out what it means to be human, because there’s something simultaneously thrilling and grounding about that. I don’t see it as a bad reason to go into criminal law, just one we rarely explicitly consider because it sounds a little off-putting. But though he double-entendre's that he is a "criminal" lawyer- the only crime he has committed, at least in this respect, is finding something in the legal universe that makes him want to get up in the morning and do his job. | | | | |
<
< | Finally, Brown made me think about the larger question of how much I am willing to sacrifice and how much I am willing to be subsumed by certain values in order to live a “principled” life in the law- if such a thing can be said. Brown’s direct engagement with “the thang” is, for many of us, a terrifying proposition. Furthermore, he lived in a different time, so even if any of us decide to go down that road, our methods will surely differ. Professor Moglen continues to emphasize that we live in the fastest and most abundant part of the global “network” which confers a certain amount of power and privilege. A peer in class then countered that she was skeptical as to how “robust” this privilege really is because we live in a world where there are “systems of misinformation on top of systems of misinformation.” John Brown makes me feel simultaneously galvanized and helpless, so I am, clearly, sympathetic to both views. And I continue to feel the acute tension between them, as I mull over these characters, and the divergent paths they chose. | >
> | Finally, Brown made me think about the larger question of how much I am willing to sacrifice and how much I am willing to be subsumed by certain values in order to live a “principled” life in the law- if such a thing can be said. Brown’s direct engagement with “the thang” is, for many of us, a terrifying proposition. Furthermore, he lived in a different time, so even if any of us decide to go down that road, our methods will surely differ. Professor Moglen continues to emphasize that we live in the fastest and most abundant part of the global “network” which confers a certain amount of power and privilege. A peer in class then countered that she was skeptical as to how “robust” this privilege really is because we live in a world where there are “systems of misinformation on top of systems of misinformation.” and in a country in which certain groups have more privilege, and thus more power, than others, even in the most subtle ways (How many corporate sponsors would have run to Sandra Flukes defense if she were a black woman?). John Brown makes me feel simultaneously galvanized and helpless, so I am, clearly, sympathetic to both views. And I continue to feel the acute tension between them, as I mull over these characters, and the divergent paths they chose. |
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