Radio Chthulucene 87.9 FM

From our class readings, the one that stuck out to me the most was Glissant’s “The Opacity of the Thinking of the World.” I found it particularly striking because it considers something that I often ponder—the idea that others are not necessarily entitled to you. I often think about this topic in relation to social media, because in online spaces people seem to want to know everything about a person even if they don’t even know the person. This forces people to have to defend themselves by revealing parts of themselves that maybe they would have been more comfortable being private to avoid untrue, unjust accusations. Sometimes I feel this has created a culture where many, conscious of it or not, feel the need to be constantly “performing” because there are so many eyes watching, analyzing, criticizing.

 I think the right to be able to keep one’s beliefs, motivations, and even understanding of creations to oneself can be tangentially linked to the right to have time and space. There seems to be a culture of immediacy that favors instant responses, for example to text messages, and a person always able to give up more of their time to a higher cause, for example working overtime for a fatter paycheck. This, to me, is not sustainable. Yes, humans are social creatures, but it is hard to be constantly interacting with the world and others without a time to rest, recharge, and reflect. Alone time is also critical for personal growth as it is nigh impossible to better understand oneself when surrounded by other presences all the time.

In relation to my radio, I wonder now if I should have it in a quiet spot. A spot not often frequented because why not indulge in my right to share my thoughts while also keeping them to myself? Sometimes it feels good to talk into the void.