Day 13

While reading, I was shocked. There was a passage that I bracketed and wrote “wow” next to. The slave morality is something that I (whether I wanted to or not) could identify strongly with. Although not completely.

I think pity is a terrible attribute and do not regard it as a strength. Not because I think that individuals are below my pity, but because they are above it. To pity is to condescend.  Also, I dislike weakness in many cases and value competence. I want to be competent and I want to be around people who are competent. Not the people who say things like, “I’d look for a job, but the job market sucks so I probably won’t even get one. It’s just wasted effort” or those that can’t make up their mind because they’re trying to avoid offending people.

I am often weak and incompetent. But I try not to be.

Nietzsche claims that they are not mutually exclusive (or at least I interpreted him to claim that): “…and at times they occur directly alongside each other – even in the same human being, within a single soul”.  I was trying to find the neutral ground, or the in-between of the slave and master morality. Because I don’t think that someone can be just one. I thought of myself and although I identified with the slave morality, there were parts that I disagreed with, but could sympathize with in the master morality.

Someone said it’s all perspective. That makes sense to me. From outward appearance one may have both, but it matters what the individual considers herself to be in.  Joe’s example of Martin Luther King Jr. was interesting.  But if they are interchangeable depending on the situation then it seems to me that it takes away from the strength of the perspectives, but can also be used as insight into oneself. I am feeling this way because – I am being oppressed. I am feeling this way because – I am powerful.

Side note:

What is 27,943 divided by 19? Take time to figure this out using your own head, without the aid of electronics. If you have done it(or attempted it) then you understand how my mind has been feeling all week. But unlike this math problem, there is no solution. So I’m constantly holding pieces in place, subtracting chunks, and trying to find an answer.  My brain feels like it’s running on a treadmill, set on high: going nowhere and doing it quickly.

I love it though.

Even still, I’m excited for the weekend. I plan to go home after class and sleep. Preferably for a long time.