> Quinn, from someone who is normally so confident in oneself
> as you are, your previous post was something of a surprise
> and only shows that there is, indeed, a bit of the vulnerable
> portion of humanity in you :-)

What bothers me the most about all of this is that I feel that I have
*let* this bother me ... that I cannot just shake it off.

I should be able to, since I've certainly been up against worse.

And others certainly have had their share of worse events.

But for some reason, when I accepted my free degrees, I became a
"fraud" and a "con-artist" -- even though I had served
the time.  I
didn't expect everyone to like this ... but I don't even cross the
street unless I have the green light or the "man" on my side ... so it
stung me deeply to be publicly flogged on those grounds.

In my moral defense ... I *was* accepted as regular faculty at an
accredited university based upon my entire CV, which CERTAINLY
includes those degrees, and the need for those degrees to be
accredited was explicitly *waived*. That is ... it's not as if I don't
hold them -- they are recognized at par -- because of my publication
history, experience, and testimonials on my behalf. I am allowed to
call myself Dr., I have no reduction in pay, I am a full professor,
have no probationary period, and so on. My syllabi, I am told, have
been sent to other faculty as a model. There may be some healing going
on as a result of this validation of my expertise ... ;-) we'll see.

I'll pull out of this feeling ... but I can't help but feel that some
sniper (yes, sniper) is going to take another shot at me one day.
Someone's going to walk up to one of my children and say, "Do you know
your father is a FRAUD, little girl?"  That kind of thinking is
perhaps retarded.  My daughter, 12, has already made it CLEAR to all
concerned that she wants to be a writer. She's even planning her
post-secondary education around that dream ... fine arts programs, et
cetera.

So maybe I need to invest in some emotional Kevlar. (Or however that
brand name is spelled.)

--
Quinn Tyler Jackson
http://members.shaw.ca/qjackson/
http://members.shaw.ca/jacksonsolutions/

--- Rachel's Little NET2FIDO Gate v 0.9.9.8 Alpha