Dear Orangepeeler,

You've been looking exhausted these days! And cranky! Sometimes I don't get you. You are so quick to feel so strongly about everything. Why can't you lighten up? The fate of the world isn't on your shoulders! So what if you meet assholes? They aren't everything that's wrong with the world. Nor do they symbolize what's wrong, as asshole-y as they can get. If you really want to look for monsters, check out the structural adjustment programs put forth by the IMF and the World Bank. Look at the MNCs spewing pollution and exploiting labor for profit. Get worked up about the macrological workings of global capitalism and bourgeois nationalism, not about the people who unconsciously reflect neoliberal values and policies (even as they purport to analyze them...). Moreover, get worked up in a practical way, through more effective conduits than your emotions.

Yours,
P.Q.S.

. . .

From an orangepeeler: Thanks for thinking of me, P. I really needed it. This course has been a real head-flipping doozy, you know? You're right, I've been feeling rather than working with the material. Anyways, I am hoping you would elucidate: what the hell are these "effective conduits"?

. . .

Dear Orangepeeler,

I think you have to sort out those "effective conduits" yourself. I can't do all your guesswork. This isn't fantasy, you know. It's your life. You'll realize what you need to do the more you start to think beyond your emotions and your class privilege. Now get a move on!

Much love,
P.Q.S.

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