Stalin was a Georgian - my relatives from that part of the world were from Baku (and Jewish). Although some of them did meet Stalin.
And this is just the first of many things that Stalin and Jimmy Carter had in common. Several years ago, I had a student from (former Soviet) Georgia in one of my rhetoric classes. The subject of Stalin came up once in class. After class had ended, she came up to me and expressed surprise that Stalin had such a bad reputation. She literally had no knowledge of the crimes he'd been accused of, conceding only that he had executed "bad people, like robbers and murderers." She also had a huge and barely concealed crush on me.
In all seriousness, she was absolutely beautiful. But like most student crushes on teachers, the crush evaporated as soon as the trimester had ended. True story: Her: I really loved your reading last night. Me: You did? Great! Thanks. Her: Yes. It was really wonderful. Me: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Her: I loved it. Me: Thanks. Her: I sat in the front drawing pictures of you the whole time. Me: Her: Me: Her: Me: Um, okay. Her: [Blushing] I've, um, got to go.
Man, I should have been a TA. And I'm glad to hear she waxed the facial hair. Because yes, Georgian girls can be really attractive. And you didn't for a second believe that reading was wonderful, did you? You probably assigned her Ulysses - how in the world were you going to score after that? You could have at least assigned Fanny Hill.
In literally every single class, at least one student had a crush on me, and some even went as far as asking me out. (I dated a former student for a month or two as well.) In most cases, however, the trimester ended and <POOF> so did the crushes, which is fine. It's not like I really wanted to date any of these kids anyway. It was actually part of a bi-weekly a poetry reading that my MFA program did. And you're right--I should have assigned Fanny Hill. Molly Bloom's soliloquy at the end of Ulysses is very, very filthy stuff, actually.
I finished college early - I'd have even been younger than some of these students had I been a TA. Man, I totally missed out. As if anyone gets that far.
So did I (finished high school early, actually), but even with the year off I took, I was only 22 when I started teaching. It was kind of odd when I had older students, especially those who had been in the Army or whatever. One day you'll see the light, my friend!
Old man. I'd have been 20. I have, some time ago, by the fire that consumed any Joyce books that I owned.
Did you go straight to law school after college, or did you take some time off? I can't imagine being too young to drink legally in grad school. Since I can't think of a comeback, I'll just mention again that I once dated a former student.
I went straight through and its not all that bad. It was a bit annoying as the city I lived in carded surprisingly heavily. But it was only 3 months or so. Man did everyone think it was hilarious when I turned 21 - I've never drank more in my life. So you DID assign Fanny Hill!
If I not mistaken, didn't you used to go by the screen name Ted Cikowski? And didn't you send me a PM about six months ago complaining to me about how I had mentioned your name in a post as an example of a conservative poster? And suggested that I shouldn't make specific references to other posters in my posts? Then I find this post where you are naming four other posters by name and insulting them by calling them "crazy". That's incredibly hypocritical of you. If you aren't the poster who used to go by the name Ted Cikowski, then I apologize.
Why is it when liberals say they don't like deficit spending or the War in Iraq, people say liberals hate America? But when a conservative says they don't like US tort law or the War in Kosovo, people say conservatives are just optimists who want to improve the country they love?
I asked you to give examples of what you were talking about, I didn't care either way. And yes, the four I mentioned deserve to be insulted. I never said you shouldn't insult anyone. You deserve to be insulted for your hideous taste in music, for example. Go die in a fire.
I guess if it's too tough to follow your own rules, it's easier to change the rules to fit your behavior. Way to go!
Do you still have the PM? I never claimed that insulting people was wrong, I asked you to give me an example of why you insulted me. I didn't care either way. I just wanted an example. So I had no rules, I still have none. Thank you for playing.
I have it. This is what happened. Out of boredom one day I put my name in the search and found this post by you: My reply was:
I'm pointing out the inconsistencies associated with Bill and Karl saying that all liberals hate America becasue they disagree with this or that. However, when they disagree with a policy here or there, they don't see themsleves as people who hate America. They see themselves as people who want to improve a great country. Here's an idea...I think the vast majority of people who live in America like America. Right and left. There are extremes on both sides but for the most part, we all like America but disagree with policies and laws here and there. It's OK for liberals to dislike deficit spending and still like America. It's OK for conservatives to dislike US tort law and still like America.