Ok, I'll be brief. Life is NOT fair. PERIOD. Now, with that said, since you and Lori believe that we have to fix this, please tell me how you intend to change it? What are you, in specificity, going to do to make it better? What are you intending to do differently to achieve the desired outcome, and do you have the stamina it takes to effectuate that? It is both expensive to take on such an endeavor and physically taxing. In very unpolite terms, reality is a (well the word is tantamount to a female dog). There is much about reality I'd like to see changed--and trust me when I say I spend tremendous portions of my personal time trying to effectuate change for segments of a dysfunctional world (vis a vis about ten years in personal volunteer service to shelters for abused children, two years of adoption search and support, and about three years worth of personal time championing for the disabled), but I personally can only do so much, and try as I may, I haven't been able to squeeze 26 hours out of any given day, or get more than 7 days out of any week. This is a question of picking your battles. I am convinced from the countless museums professionals who have sounded in here on this very topic over the last three years that the problem is larger and requires more time and effort than I am personally willing to commit to because, if I choose to take on this battle and fight the definition of museum reality as it stands today, it will keep me from fighting the windmills of things I consider personally more important and dysfunctional. As I proferred heretofore, the residual Hippie spirit is alive and well and slaying as many dragons as I can in one lifetime (to the point I often go to bed quite late and quite exhausted--but that is MY CHOICE and, remember, this is all about choices; some of you chose to go into a field you love with fully warned that it doesn't pay. While you satiated your need to be involved in something in which you believed, you now have problems with the fact that life still requires money and, for the most part, there is no money in Museum work). Since some of you think that this battle needs to be fought, what are you going to do to take action? Whining, from my perspective never cuts it! If you truly believe it's wrong, roll up the shirtsleeves, sit down, be still, figure out an action plan, and then set about communicating it and enlisting solidiers who can help you. The battle is larger than one person. Now, since I consider myself an empassioned disability advocate at this point, I happen to have a slew of advocacy links. If, in fact, you, Lori, and others here want to become advocates for museum compensation change, my goodness, you certainly don't need it, but you have my blessing and my gratitude. There's enough to change in this world for two civilizations and--while one monkey doesn't stop the show--it takes more than one monkey to fix it! If you need tools for advocacy, let me know, either on list or off. If you devise a workable plan that requires letter writing and/or telephone calls to the powers that be that can effectuate such change, let me know. If you need other resources toward this objective let me know. If, however, this is just, for lack of a less frustrated, more polite term, a bitchfest, please don't be offended if I withdraw to fight dragons I believe I can more successfully slay. I am not, in the least, trying to discourage you from taking up the charge and becoming the Anne Sullivan of the museum field (aka the Miracle Worker). In fact, I truly encourage you to take up the sword and begin the battle. What I would expect from people who are truly empassioned about this topic enough to try to change the definition of reality is strategization and teamwork to develop an action plan, specific communications that solicit action with precise, step-by-step instructions of whom to contact and what to say, and feedback as to progress you are making. If you believe I've been sitting on my thumbs and abandoning you, as Lori has just suggestedto me, please step over to my disability advocacy forum http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indecision2000. Not wanting to get too caught up in Vitamin I, I have personally raised about $3/4 of a million for charity, most of which has been on a volunteer capacity, and spent many, many years working in a volunteer capacity for children's groups. I am presently the Mistress of Ceremonies (seven years and counting) for Special Olympics, and my most recent nonprofit work involved several part-time stints raising money so that Los Angeles area children could have musical enrichment programs to enhance their lives and make up for the fact that we, as a society, have effectively abrogated our responsibilities to bring culture and the arts to children. Now, that part-time job was after doing eight hours in Corporaterica. (Translation = 12 hour work days, an hour for lunch if taken, and an hour and a half commute.) Like I have insinuated, I'm tired. I don't feel this is a battle I am willing to invest in, but, with that said, if you feel you can, GO FOR IT! I'll be your biggest cheerleader. I'm not intending to flame any here. This isn't the forum for such kinds of action. As I've said before, future employers are here, and frankly, life is too short. But I won't be made to feel a scofflaw--as was privately insinuated--because this is just not the battle for me. --- susan e <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > Hello List and Lori -- > > I think Indigo Nights has a point -- where is the > money going to come from? > > BUT > > what Lori so eloquently pointed out is something > that I believe is a real > > issue > > facing museums today. If we continue to take > Indigo's point of view, and the > > salaries in museums dosen't increase to a living > wage, museums will be doomed > > to be the kind of archaic, stuffy old tombs that > is the stereotype. Many > > museums today are fetching large grants to rectify > this situation -- to bring > > in diverse audiences AND diverse staff, to change > the view that museums are > > dead places. How can we hope to bring in a diverse > staff when it is a > > profession that only retirees, student interns, > and those with other sources > > of > > a living income can afford to work in? We need to > convince our boards and our > > communities that having quality cultural > institutions costs money and is a > > valuable asset to the community worth spending > that money on. > > > > Susan Edwards > > Seattle Art Museum ===== Indigo Nights [log in to unmask] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! 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