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I get a ton of emails. It’s not that I’m popular. I have hundreds of students each semester, and many of them have questions that are totally not answered by the syllabus. The weekend is often pretty quiet, but beginning in the morning hours on Monday and lasting until the end of the day on Friday, my inbox is popping. I keep a Gmail browser tab open at all times, and no sooner do I clear my inbox than I see the little (1) appear. And then (2), and then (10) before I know it. I could close the tab, but then I’d just have 50 to deal with when I came back. As somebody with already existing anxiety issues, the constant flood of emails has certainly not been helping.
But I can’t just blame the students who email without checking the syllabus first. In fact, those are a rather small part of the larger email problem. Because for every student email I get, there are at least three mailing lists that at one time I voluntarily signed up for because I thought I needed to hear from that particular organization. This week, I finally arrived at the conclusion that I don’t need to hear from any of them.
At one time, I prided myself on being very selective about the mailing lists I was on. And I still do consider myself selective. But very gradually, one mailing list at a time, it grew out of control. I donated to Planned Parenthood and put myself on that mailing list, because of course I want to hear from them. I volunteered with Battleground Texas, and of course I want to keep up with their efforts to flip the state. While we’re at it, I’d like the Harris County Democratic Party updates, too. Why yes, I do need to hear from the Texas State Historical Association. I’m a card-carrying member of the ACLU, so why would I not want to hear from them? The list goes on...and on...and on. See, I’m very selective. But years of being selective has gotten me to the point where I’m starting to see the benefit of that private email server.
Monday was a breaking point. I was in class for much of the day, so I didn’t get to check my emails for a few hours. I started to get anxious, because I knew the backlog was growing. Finally, when I got a chance, I opened the mail app on my phone…“Downloading 44 New Messages.” Something had to be done.
So this week, my new favorite word has been “unsubscribe.” I love you, Planned Parenthood, and will donate again...but UNSUBSCRIBE. Battleground Texas, you’ve done great work, but you have worn out your welcome in my inbox...UNSUBSCRIBE. New York Times, I really don’t need to know “what to cook this week”...UNSUBSCRIBE. Wendy Davis, no offense, but it has been four years...why are you still emailing me? UNSUBSCRIBE! ACLU, I will continue to carry my card in my wallet and donate to you every year because you’re important AF...but your emails are not. UNSUBSCRIBE! Pep Boys...Freebirds...Kroger...how did any of you get my email address? UNSUBSCRIBE! UNSUBSCRIBE! UNSUBSCRIBE!!!
It is now Friday, and my inbox is quiet in the aftermath of my purge. A lone student email pops up, which I can locate easily because it’s not sandwiched between Cecile Richards and Anthony Romero. Unsubscribing from literally every mailing list I’m on has been liberating. I’m no less informed, but I am a little less anxious.
I’m determined to keep it this way, but I figure it won’t be long before I decide to make an exception...you know, for a particularly important mailing list or two. I’ll be selective, though, don’t worry...
On to the tops…
Top Comments (February 23, 2018):
From justaHippie:
pines of rome lays out an excellent summary of Democrats' efforts, but it's more than just a laundry list. The comment drives home the point that progress is being made and we must not allow ourselves to become discouraged.
From BlackSheep1:
I want to nominate this comment by hannah, from rserven's Scuttlebutt story today. The comment deserves a much wider audience (and applies to many a controversial right).
From Puddytat:
Your Laugh of the Day!
From Ed Tracey's diary on Marcel Marceau, Tara the Antisocial Social Worker started a thread and then BeninSC and jwinIL14 chimed in with punch lines.
From wide eyed lib:
Dart10 perfectly highlights an aspect of the Parkland shooting that many people have overlooked.
From Railfan:
HooInFla sticks the landing for an easy gold with this comment in SantaFeMarie's diary Manafort and Gate undone by converting PDFs to Word files.
Top Mojo (February 22, 2018):
Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works.
Top Pictures (February 22, 2018):
Tonight’s photo quilt is courtesy of jotter!