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Re: Sharon Centanne's STOP CHENEY email to list



Chris ... I thoroughly agree that we consider the human side of the job, but
the original posting was far from what I would call a "kind and gentler"
discussion.  Once the poster entered the area and call people "rapist,
pillagers, etc.," polite conversation ceased.  There is no discussion.

Your statement "I realize that I work in a heightened political environment
(labor union) but I have also worked in academic archives, historical
societies and a major urban public library, and they are also very political
workplaces" is partialy true, but in the many years that I have worked in
the private and public sector it was called "office politics".   In the
federal section I believe it's called the "Hatch Act" that precludes
communication and activities that you want to establish on this list.

Even after people within the federal government, who I thought asked very
nicely to reduce the political discussion because of limitations imposed by
law, the discussion continues.

Oh, I have tried to respond to you other message directed to me, but your
server must be turned off after hours as the message bounced back.


Bob Dalton, CRM
Dalton Consulting
----- Original Message -----
From: <UFTARCH1@AOL.COM>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2001 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: Sharon Centanne's STOP CHENEY email to list


> May 25, 2001
>
> Hi Peter (Kurilecz),
>
>     Hmmm, very interesting. Don't men usually tell women to be objective
and
> not subjective?  But, Peter, the field of archives is completely
subjective
> in terms of  decisions of archival value and collections maintenance.
>
>      My comments about Sharon's, and others, right to express their
political
> views in our professional online archives forum was characterized by you
as:
>         1. not factual
>         2. unobjective
>         3. not directly related to archives profession
>
>     And, you remind us that:
>         1. archivists don't resolve or clarify history
>         2. intrusion of politics may result in the loss of funding re:
> donations
>         3. the archivist must remain neutral
>
>
>     I just really disagree with your points above.
>
>     Briefly, I was only arguing for allowing archivists to discuss
pressing
> social concerns online.  A good example:  remember the discussions related
to
> cultural heritage loss re: Yugolavia/Bosnia and the destruction of
passports
> and other important government records?     We discussed on the listserv
> efforts to lobby our government officials and National Archives to  speak
out
> against this tragedy.
>
>     Re: archivist's subjectivity.  I learned in academic study
(journalism,
> history and especially women's studies courses) that identifying your
> subjectivity is preferable to  maintaining a false, or fake objectivity.
I
> try to always identify my subjectivity to researchers using my archival
> collection and ask for researchers'  perspectives/ subjectivity regarding
> their topics.  I also identify my subjectivity in my exhibits,
presentations,
> and other historical projects I work on.
>
>     I realize that I work in a heightened political environment (labor
union)
> but I have also worked in academic archives, historical societies and a
major
> urban public library, and they are also very political workplaces.    I
guess
> we just disagree on where politics and archives intersect.  I'm would
still
> encourage archivists to speak out on issues that directly affect our
archives
> and facilities.
>
>     Finally, the archivist as acquirer and appraiser and processer and
> describer of collections most definitely does resolve, clarify or
complicate
> historical discussions. Not to mention that most (not all, of course)
> archivists are also historians in their own right with historical training
> and an interest in historical analysis.  In my opinion, remaining neutral
> never helps us to carry out our responsibilities effectively, but being
> passionate advocates or enthusiastic activists does.  (I have been
involved
> in efforts to save women's movement-related historical materials in NYC
for
> the past 8 years and this history would be lost otherwise.)
>
>     One last thing--    I think that Chris Jackson said it best in an old
> message to the listserve --
>         Re: Sonny and Cher and more (4/12/99)
>     I am inclined to believe that if this list is anything worthwhile it
is
> more than simply mail and notes...We are also a community. A community
where
> issues are discussed and points of view debated.  As part of all this we
also
> sometimes are lighthearted, tell jokes (some terrible) or recount stories
we
> hope others will find intersting or amusing.
>     Perhaps an inevitable part of such a community is that at times some
of
> us will find other's enthusiasm greater than ours.  So be it.  That is the
> price we pay for being human.  I would much rather belong to a warm,
caring
> community than to a trains-run-on-time-I-don't have-time-to-delete
community.
>     I realize this list-serv is designed as a device to enable us to be
> better archivists, but I have zero interest in belonging to a list which
> ignores the human side of the job.  If we become a humorless group which
> actively seeks out to destroy whimsicalness then we are just as pathetic
as
> our public image and deserve the disinterest and scorn we sometimes
attract..
>
>     Touche, Chris.
>
>                                        Lucinda
>
> Lucinda Manning
> UFT Archives & Records Center
> United Federation of Teachers
> NY, NY   10010
> 212-598-9213
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
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>
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>
> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>