Coding and Reflecting.
Today, two weeks into 2017, have spent a fair portion of the day encoding letters written by readers from 1971 issues of SPIDER-MAN. I am fortunate enough to be working on the Comic Book Readership Archive (CoBRA) by transcribing and encoding examples of participatory readership. There were many times when my hands grew cold and tired today as I typed for hours on end, but I pressed on. I finished encoding 1971 and was able to move on to another year. Although there are perhaps many hurdles—globally, nationally, locally, and personally—ahead in the year 2017, I work in the belief that I can move onto another year in good time.
So, in the spirit of how I choose to look forward toward 2017 (and in preparation for MLK Day), I shall leave you with this:
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1964. Fair use.
P.S. For more information on that quotation, please see The Book Haven: Cynthia Haven's Blog for the Written Word out of Stanford University.