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Comrade Sportsball
Aug. 27th, 2020 08:05 am The NBA and WNBA are more effective than any leftist group in the Western world.
Morning provocation
Feb. 11th, 2014 11:19 amIf a white person brings up The Cosby Show in a discussion*, they are probably a racist.
True or false?
* In a discussion that is not, say, about 80s sitcoms.
True or false?
* In a discussion that is not, say, about 80s sitcoms.
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jvmatucha asked a tough one:In regards to Assimilate, the book you've read and that I'm very much enjoying, can you give me examples of your criticism of Reed's work and of industrial culture in regards to unadmitted mainstream western influences, gender, and ethnicity?
(I'm already working on my own rant! One theme: Industrial, the whitest music on the planet!)
Or just give me a rant about sexism in counter culture music!
So, first up, if I hadn't also read a book about Communist mysticism in Central Europe, S. Alexander Reed's Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music would rate as the best non-fiction book I've read this year, and, indeed, in quite awhile. It's fantastic and I highly recommend it.
Secondly, no post about sexism and racism in industrial music would be complete without a link to Ad•ver•sary's We Demand Better, which is both a great introduction to and critique of some of the issues we're dealing with here. He's also interviewed in the book, by the way.
Thirdly, a disclaimer of my own: I'm white, I'm female, and I haven't personally encountered any more overt sexism or racism within the industrial music community than I have in any other circle I travel in, and possibly a bit less, though that's largely a factor of preferring music identified with radical left politics. (Though not exclusively. I like a lot of really problematic, vaguely right-wing music as well. But there are some bands where I wouldn't go to their shows because they/their audience scare me.) I have encountered individual people who have shitty gender/race/class analyses and are also into industrial, but correlation isn't causation, etc.
( Much rambling. You've been warned. )
So that's it for Blogcember, unless anyone would like to suggest more topics.
God bless, etc.
Jul. 16th, 2013 02:17 pmSo Zimmerman's going to have a book deal, a reality TV show, or a run for office—or all of the above—next, right? I think that's how it works in America.
I'm very much on the go today (and all weekend, argh) so here are two rantlets with accompanying links that have little in common beyond being about phrases I hate.
Broken homes
In the midst of an otherwise quite good "don't pick on teachers" editorial, Peter Mansbridge says:
Which reminds me that I don't think I've ever ranted about how much I hate the term "broken home."
I was one of those pitiable children who came from a broken home—and, as a bonus, a home in which the only parent worked. (A trifecta, even; I have some memories of coming home from school when said parent worked late, making me—at least according to the media, a "latchkey kid, raised by the television." Woe is me!) In fairness, up until I was a certain age, one could conceivably call my home "broken." I'd argue that my parents' separation and later divorce fixed that rather handily, however; my home was certainly a better place to be with a single parent than it was with a traditional nuclear family.
The divorce rate in Canada is approximately 41%, and presumably many of them have children. For the sake of argument, let's say four in ten students I teach come from families where the parents are divorced. I'd bet you anything that those four aren't the ones causing trouble. As much wailing and moaning as there is about absent fathers and such*, of the children I've taught who experience some form of abuse that I know about (i.e., Children's Aid was involved in some way), all but two experienced that abuse at the hands of a father or step-father. So—whose homes are "broken" again?
Can we have a moratorium on "broken home" and "single-parent family" being shorthand for "troubled kid"? It's sexist and heterocentric (after all, it assumes the supremacy of the nuclear family) and obscures the very real problems of high unemployment, poverty, ableism, and marginalization that are typically behind the failure of kids to thrive in school.
Creative class
Looks like this one's been dealt the death blow by the man who coined it in the first place, Richard Florida. The article has its problems (the author is way too gleeful, for one thing, though that's not surprising given what a douchenozzle Florida is), and stops well short of proposing workable solutions. But it's nice to finally see an admission of the failure of what's basically polite class warfare.
So beyond the obvious—an influx of artsy young professionals with no kids does not a thriving urban centre make—let's examine the assumptions inherent in the term itself. Are working class people not creative? Are there significant numbers of people who can earn a living through "creativity" without either being supported by their upper class parents or working as a barista at Starbucks? Is the separation of this group of people into a single city or neighbourhood a desirable outcome?
It's dumb enough that Florida said it in the first place, and even dumber that it's spawned a culture of TED Talks and institutional conferences that take the existence of something called a "creative class" as a given. I should hope that this foolishness will stop now that he's admitted it's bunk.
* This usually comes with a big helping of coded racism as well: If black fathers would only stick around, black boys wouldn't join gangs or something.
Broken homes
In the midst of an otherwise quite good "don't pick on teachers" editorial, Peter Mansbridge says:
We send teachers children from broken homes, from abusive homes, from negligent homes. We send teachers children from homes where both parents work, or where the only parent works, or where no parent works.
Which reminds me that I don't think I've ever ranted about how much I hate the term "broken home."
I was one of those pitiable children who came from a broken home—and, as a bonus, a home in which the only parent worked. (A trifecta, even; I have some memories of coming home from school when said parent worked late, making me—at least according to the media, a "latchkey kid, raised by the television." Woe is me!) In fairness, up until I was a certain age, one could conceivably call my home "broken." I'd argue that my parents' separation and later divorce fixed that rather handily, however; my home was certainly a better place to be with a single parent than it was with a traditional nuclear family.
The divorce rate in Canada is approximately 41%, and presumably many of them have children. For the sake of argument, let's say four in ten students I teach come from families where the parents are divorced. I'd bet you anything that those four aren't the ones causing trouble. As much wailing and moaning as there is about absent fathers and such*, of the children I've taught who experience some form of abuse that I know about (i.e., Children's Aid was involved in some way), all but two experienced that abuse at the hands of a father or step-father. So—whose homes are "broken" again?
Can we have a moratorium on "broken home" and "single-parent family" being shorthand for "troubled kid"? It's sexist and heterocentric (after all, it assumes the supremacy of the nuclear family) and obscures the very real problems of high unemployment, poverty, ableism, and marginalization that are typically behind the failure of kids to thrive in school.
Creative class
Looks like this one's been dealt the death blow by the man who coined it in the first place, Richard Florida. The article has its problems (the author is way too gleeful, for one thing, though that's not surprising given what a douchenozzle Florida is), and stops well short of proposing workable solutions. But it's nice to finally see an admission of the failure of what's basically polite class warfare.
So beyond the obvious—an influx of artsy young professionals with no kids does not a thriving urban centre make—let's examine the assumptions inherent in the term itself. Are working class people not creative? Are there significant numbers of people who can earn a living through "creativity" without either being supported by their upper class parents or working as a barista at Starbucks? Is the separation of this group of people into a single city or neighbourhood a desirable outcome?
It's dumb enough that Florida said it in the first place, and even dumber that it's spawned a culture of TED Talks and institutional conferences that take the existence of something called a "creative class" as a given. I should hope that this foolishness will stop now that he's admitted it's bunk.
* This usually comes with a big helping of coded racism as well: If black fathers would only stick around, black boys wouldn't join gangs or something.
Yo, is this racist?
Aug. 1st, 2012 02:36 pmWhen I was in high school, we had to read this anvillicious fantasy about a Chinese dude who gets stranded on some Island of the Ladies, where they bind his feet and completely oppress him. I'm guessing that it was well-intentioned, and written by a well-intentioned dude who probably considered himself a male feminist, but it angered my 17-year-old wannabe PoMo self so much that I argued about Foucault until I got myself kicked out of class.
I get the same vibes, times approximately a million because I don't think the author is all that well-intentioned, when I looked at Save the Pearls. It's one of those post-apocalyptic YA fantasies that is all the rage with Kids These Days. The central conceit is astoundingly original: What if, instead of racism against black people, there was racism against pretty white teenage girls?
Yes. Really.
There's also a cute little video where a white teenager dons blackface because we're making an Important Social Statement here.
It's the kind of concept that a reasonably bright high school kid would come up with ("What if straight people were discriminated against just like gay people are? How would you feel?") and that would be fine, except this is presumably the work of an adult, and loaded with far more problematic imagery—dehumanizing language (coals vs. pearls, mating), the threat of a young white woman forced to have sex with a black man, and the aforementioned blackface. You can't just flip racism upside-down and have it be a serious critique. Obviously, because it's not a problem of simple prejudice where any group can be a stand-in for any other group. I'm preaching to the converted here.
I gather that I'm not the first (or second, or tenth) person to find the whole thing objectionable, because there's a hilarious post by "Eden" (the name of the book's main character) on the site blog:
If you critique this book, you are just like HUAC! I guess that's better than pulling a Godwin, but not by much.
The author seems to be unaware that no one is trying to censor her here. Pointing out that the imagery in a novel is problematic as all get out is not the same as suppressing an author's ability to write said problematic imagery. It's probably even going to help her, given that this is a little vanity press and any publicity is good publicity.
Also, judging a book by its cover is awesome. I moonlight as a book designer. If we didn't want people to judge our covers and buy or not buy the book accordingly, all books would have plain covers with just the title and author.*
The Lurkers Support Me In E-mail! Also, pointing out racism is just like racism.
Basically, this imagery isn't neutral. You can't read it outside of its cultural context, outside of this or this or this. It's particularly difficult for a white author to try something like this, and a good example of why we can't have nice things.
Here's a bit of unsolicited advice: If people are already calling you out, author, it is best to listen to them rather than to post defensive things on your blog. They may in fact have a very good point.
ETA: Ah, I see it's already made sf-drama. Carry on, then.
(Hat tip:audrawilliams)
* See Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed for a nice example of this.
I get the same vibes, times approximately a million because I don't think the author is all that well-intentioned, when I looked at Save the Pearls. It's one of those post-apocalyptic YA fantasies that is all the rage with Kids These Days. The central conceit is astoundingly original: What if, instead of racism against black people, there was racism against pretty white teenage girls?
Yes. Really.
There's also a cute little video where a white teenager dons blackface because we're making an Important Social Statement here.
It's the kind of concept that a reasonably bright high school kid would come up with ("What if straight people were discriminated against just like gay people are? How would you feel?") and that would be fine, except this is presumably the work of an adult, and loaded with far more problematic imagery—dehumanizing language (coals vs. pearls, mating), the threat of a young white woman forced to have sex with a black man, and the aforementioned blackface. You can't just flip racism upside-down and have it be a serious critique. Obviously, because it's not a problem of simple prejudice where any group can be a stand-in for any other group. I'm preaching to the converted here.
I gather that I'm not the first (or second, or tenth) person to find the whole thing objectionable, because there's a hilarious post by "Eden" (the name of the book's main character) on the site blog:
First, consider that the basis of all prejudice is judging a book by its cover. To condemn any book on the basis of its cover is hardly different than condemning a total stranger because of the color of his/her skin. How can you critique or damn a book if you haven’t read it? This kind of blind attack is exactly what creates racism or condemned many progressives as communists in the Fifties.
If you critique this book, you are just like HUAC! I guess that's better than pulling a Godwin, but not by much.
The author seems to be unaware that no one is trying to censor her here. Pointing out that the imagery in a novel is problematic as all get out is not the same as suppressing an author's ability to write said problematic imagery. It's probably even going to help her, given that this is a little vanity press and any publicity is good publicity.
Also, judging a book by its cover is awesome. I moonlight as a book designer. If we didn't want people to judge our covers and buy or not buy the book accordingly, all books would have plain covers with just the title and author.*
And there is reason to support my belief when you consider that the novel has won five literary awards, including the Eric Hoffer Best Young Adult Novel 2012 (Eric Hoffer was a great humanitarian), or that Marianne Williamson called it on her Facebook page, “A fascinating story…for lovers of all ages!” or that dozens of reviewers from the San Francisco Book Review to Fresh Fiction to many book bloggers have embraced it with glowing reviews.
And if you ask if all these reviewers are white then consider that you have a racist point of view.
The Lurkers Support Me In E-mail! Also, pointing out racism is just like racism.
Basically, this imagery isn't neutral. You can't read it outside of its cultural context, outside of this or this or this. It's particularly difficult for a white author to try something like this, and a good example of why we can't have nice things.
Here's a bit of unsolicited advice: If people are already calling you out, author, it is best to listen to them rather than to post defensive things on your blog. They may in fact have a very good point.
ETA: Ah, I see it's already made sf-drama. Carry on, then.
(Hat tip:
audrawilliams)* See Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed for a nice example of this.
My LJ has been rather repetitive lately, all B5 and spinal tumours, so I thought I'd share some interesting, inspiring, and horrifying articles and posts that have caught my eye but that I've been too preoccupied to blog about.
Most of you have probably already read The White Saviour Industrial Complex, one of the many excellent critiques out there of Kony 2012.
In addition to the library workers out on strike (and inside city workers likely joining them soon), Air Canada workers staged a wildcat strike. For obvious reasons I can't join the solidarity actions, but if you can, you should. Also, this is one industry that I feel even the most right-wing, anti-union bigot ought to agree needs to be paid well. I mean, do you want the guy who helps land your plan to be overworked and underpaid?
The largest political protest in Canadian history happened yesterday, with 200,000 students, teachers, parents, union activists, and others striking against proposed tuition hikes. (That article's in French; the English-language press has been stupid about the whole thing. Here's an English article from the CBC, but it downplays the numbers and significance.
Viasymbioid, a heartbreaking article about the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Viahano, Robert Bales is not the victim. (Robert Bales being the murderous scum who slaughtered 16 Afghan civilians, including children.)
Viamarlowe1: Hey, frum parents! Get your daughter a facelift or she'll never find a husband. I posted some pretty shocking links above but there's something about this one that is just a special kind of wrong.
Watch Bruce Schneier trounce the former head of the TSA in a debate about security.
( signal-boosting a petition against forcing American ISPs to police downloads )
ETA: Because the above is pretty grim, watch this video about a blind stray dog living in a trash dump until she's rescued by nice people. It will make you cry but it has a happy ending, I promise.
Most of you have probably already read The White Saviour Industrial Complex, one of the many excellent critiques out there of Kony 2012.
In addition to the library workers out on strike (and inside city workers likely joining them soon), Air Canada workers staged a wildcat strike. For obvious reasons I can't join the solidarity actions, but if you can, you should. Also, this is one industry that I feel even the most right-wing, anti-union bigot ought to agree needs to be paid well. I mean, do you want the guy who helps land your plan to be overworked and underpaid?
The largest political protest in Canadian history happened yesterday, with 200,000 students, teachers, parents, union activists, and others striking against proposed tuition hikes. (That article's in French; the English-language press has been stupid about the whole thing. Here's an English article from the CBC, but it downplays the numbers and significance.
Via
symbioid, a heartbreaking article about the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.Via
hano, Robert Bales is not the victim. (Robert Bales being the murderous scum who slaughtered 16 Afghan civilians, including children.)Via
marlowe1: Hey, frum parents! Get your daughter a facelift or she'll never find a husband. I posted some pretty shocking links above but there's something about this one that is just a special kind of wrong.Watch Bruce Schneier trounce the former head of the TSA in a debate about security.
( signal-boosting a petition against forcing American ISPs to police downloads )
ETA: Because the above is pretty grim, watch this video about a blind stray dog living in a trash dump until she's rescued by nice people. It will make you cry but it has a happy ending, I promise.
JAM THE DEPORTATION SNITCH LINES! STOP RACISM!
http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/637
www.facebook.com/nooneisillegaltoronto
www.twitter.com/noii_to
Joint release from No One Is Illegal in Montreal, Toronto & Vancouver
Over the past three months, the Conservative government has issued multiple lists of migrants that it charges with serious criminality or war crimes, often without evidence. Jason Kenney and Vic Toews have created phonelines across the country dedicating to reporting and deporting people.(More information below)
The Conservatives claim they want to hear from us, so let's make our voices heard! One of the oldest and most important forms of day-to-day resistance is impairment: let's jam these racist snitch lines and make them ineffective and irrelevant. Let us reaffirm that we are opposed to displacement, not migration; we are opposed to occupation, not resistance!
REPORT JASON KENNEY & OTHERS, WANTED FOR WAR CRIMES AND SERIOUS CRIMINALITY
CALL 1-888-502-9060 and 1-888-242-2100 (press 5 after selecting your
language) all day!
We encourage you to report JASON KENNEY, RICK HILLIER and PETER MUNK who are the subject of a country-wide search for arrest and removal for crimes against humanity and decency.
If you know of other war criminals or people with serious criminality, please email nooneisillegal@riseup.net
1. Name: KENNEY, JASON.
Aliases: Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism;
Minister of Censorship and Deportation.
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: 1968-05-30
Place of Birth: Oakville, Ontario
Last Known Address: Calgary, Alberta
Identifying Features: Demonstrates profound hostility towards refugees, women, queer and trans people, temporary migrant workers, and sponsored family immigrants. His particular disdain of people of colour is exhibited through his drive to cheat, detain, and deport them, but disguised through a disingenuous commodification of “ethnic” food and votes. Crimes include, but are not limited to: inhumane and unlawful imprisonment of children and families fleeing war and violence; unrelenting sabotage of immigrant, refugee, women, queer and trans rights; and stifling civil liberties while fostering hate speech. Kenney has overseen a massive cut in the numbers of immigrants with full status in the country and is presently pushing Bill C4 that will ensure arbitrary detentions of refugee claimants for up to a year. Kenney also supports the illegal occupations of Iraq, Palestine, and Afghanistan.
Report any information on Jason Kenney. Cash rewards maybe available.
Spread and post this wanted poster to your networks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nooneisillegal/6223478904/in/photostream
2. Name: HILLIER, RICK.
Alias: The Big Cod
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: 1955
Place of Birth: Campbellton, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland,
Last Known Address: Afghanistan
Rick Hillier was Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan and was promoted to his present rank and assumed duties as the Chief of the Defence Staff on 4 February 2005. Under his watch, over 15,000 Afghani civilians were killed, thousands more tortured, brutalized, impoverished and displaced. Rick Hiller has since worked for Telus, TD Bank and the United Nations.
3. Name: MUNK, PETER
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: 1927
Place of Birth: Budapest, Hungary
Last Known Address: Toronto, Canada
Aliases: Pinochet's boy
Peter Munk is chairman and founder of Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold-mining corporation. Barrick Gold is responsible for mass displacement, gross human, community and labour right abuses and devastating environmental degradation across the globe. In countries like Australia, Chile, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania, Barrick takes advantage of inadequate and poorly enforced regulatory controls to rob indigenous people of their lands, destroy sensitive ecosystems and agricultural land, support brutal police and security operations, and sue anyone who tries to report on it. In 2009, Munk was named one of “the Top 50 People Influencing Canadian Foreign Policy” by Embassy magazine.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE SNITCH LINES:
* Amnesty International Canada Open Letter: http://www.amnesty.ca/media2010.php?DocID=814
* Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada slams the snitch lines: http://www.lrwc.org/letters2.php?aid=374
* Opposition slams new immigration fraud tip line: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Opposition+slams+immigration+fraud+line/5373419/story.html
* Coalition of Human Rights Groups Oppose Most Wanted Lists: http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Most_wanted.pdf
CONTACT US
www.facebook.com/nooneisillegaltoronto
www.twitter.com/noii_to
nooneisillegal@riseup.net
http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/637
www.facebook.com/nooneisillegaltoronto
www.twitter.com/noii_to
Joint release from No One Is Illegal in Montreal, Toronto & Vancouver
Over the past three months, the Conservative government has issued multiple lists of migrants that it charges with serious criminality or war crimes, often without evidence. Jason Kenney and Vic Toews have created phonelines across the country dedicating to reporting and deporting people.(More information below)
The Conservatives claim they want to hear from us, so let's make our voices heard! One of the oldest and most important forms of day-to-day resistance is impairment: let's jam these racist snitch lines and make them ineffective and irrelevant. Let us reaffirm that we are opposed to displacement, not migration; we are opposed to occupation, not resistance!
REPORT JASON KENNEY & OTHERS, WANTED FOR WAR CRIMES AND SERIOUS CRIMINALITY
CALL 1-888-502-9060 and 1-888-242-2100 (press 5 after selecting your
language) all day!
We encourage you to report JASON KENNEY, RICK HILLIER and PETER MUNK who are the subject of a country-wide search for arrest and removal for crimes against humanity and decency.
If you know of other war criminals or people with serious criminality, please email nooneisillegal@riseup.net
1. Name: KENNEY, JASON.
Aliases: Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism;
Minister of Censorship and Deportation.
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: 1968-05-30
Place of Birth: Oakville, Ontario
Last Known Address: Calgary, Alberta
Identifying Features: Demonstrates profound hostility towards refugees, women, queer and trans people, temporary migrant workers, and sponsored family immigrants. His particular disdain of people of colour is exhibited through his drive to cheat, detain, and deport them, but disguised through a disingenuous commodification of “ethnic” food and votes. Crimes include, but are not limited to: inhumane and unlawful imprisonment of children and families fleeing war and violence; unrelenting sabotage of immigrant, refugee, women, queer and trans rights; and stifling civil liberties while fostering hate speech. Kenney has overseen a massive cut in the numbers of immigrants with full status in the country and is presently pushing Bill C4 that will ensure arbitrary detentions of refugee claimants for up to a year. Kenney also supports the illegal occupations of Iraq, Palestine, and Afghanistan.
Report any information on Jason Kenney. Cash rewards maybe available.
Spread and post this wanted poster to your networks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nooneisillegal/6223478904/in/photostream
2. Name: HILLIER, RICK.
Alias: The Big Cod
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: 1955
Place of Birth: Campbellton, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland,
Last Known Address: Afghanistan
Rick Hillier was Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan and was promoted to his present rank and assumed duties as the Chief of the Defence Staff on 4 February 2005. Under his watch, over 15,000 Afghani civilians were killed, thousands more tortured, brutalized, impoverished and displaced. Rick Hiller has since worked for Telus, TD Bank and the United Nations.
3. Name: MUNK, PETER
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: 1927
Place of Birth: Budapest, Hungary
Last Known Address: Toronto, Canada
Aliases: Pinochet's boy
Peter Munk is chairman and founder of Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold-mining corporation. Barrick Gold is responsible for mass displacement, gross human, community and labour right abuses and devastating environmental degradation across the globe. In countries like Australia, Chile, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania, Barrick takes advantage of inadequate and poorly enforced regulatory controls to rob indigenous people of their lands, destroy sensitive ecosystems and agricultural land, support brutal police and security operations, and sue anyone who tries to report on it. In 2009, Munk was named one of “the Top 50 People Influencing Canadian Foreign Policy” by Embassy magazine.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE SNITCH LINES:
* Amnesty International Canada Open Letter: http://www.amnesty.ca/media2010.php?DocID=814
* Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada slams the snitch lines: http://www.lrwc.org/letters2.php?aid=374
* Opposition slams new immigration fraud tip line: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Opposition+slams+immigration+fraud+line/5373419/story.html
* Coalition of Human Rights Groups Oppose Most Wanted Lists: http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Most_wanted.pdf
CONTACT US
www.facebook.com/nooneisillegaltoronto
www.twitter.com/noii_to
nooneisillegal@riseup.net
Other people's content
Jul. 7th, 2011 05:25 pmPersonally, I would never assign my students 15 pages of homework and then tell them: "By the way, there's a test tomorrow on everything we've done so far."
In the meantime, have some links:
I was going to debunk all of the stupid in this article on the "economy of sex" but I don't have time, so maybe you guys can have at it. I'll say only that I'm pretty certain that the people writing this sort of article are actually getting less sex than I am.
You can chase that with a neat article on Chicago Afro-Futurism.
Here is another reason why high-stakes standardized testing is stupid. Teachers and principals will cheat.
Forcorwin77, in hopes that it will bring a much-needed smile to your face: zombie bikinis.
Finally, viapwrdfblog, "I want to be an aid worker":
In the meantime, have some links:
I was going to debunk all of the stupid in this article on the "economy of sex" but I don't have time, so maybe you guys can have at it. I'll say only that I'm pretty certain that the people writing this sort of article are actually getting less sex than I am.
You can chase that with a neat article on Chicago Afro-Futurism.
Here is another reason why high-stakes standardized testing is stupid. Teachers and principals will cheat.
For
corwin77, in hopes that it will bring a much-needed smile to your face: zombie bikinis.Finally, via
pwrdfblog, "I want to be an aid worker":WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN
Jan. 25th, 2010 09:05 amVia dmlaenker, we have an early contender for 2010's Worst Person On the Internet. This one's going to be hard to beat, folks. Every single sentence in that post is carefully crafted from pure, 100% American homegrown fail.
ETA: Bahleeted, but Google never forgets.
dmlaenker, we have an early contender for 2010's Worst Person On the Internet. This one's going to be hard to beat, folks. Every single sentence in that post is carefully crafted from pure, 100% American homegrown fail.ETA: Bahleeted, but Google never forgets.
Tags:
WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN
Jan. 25th, 2010 09:05 amVia dmlaenker, we have an early contender for 2010's Worst Person On the Internet. This one's going to be hard to beat, folks. Every single sentence in that post is carefully crafted from pure, 100% American homegrown fail.
ETA: Bahleeted, but Google never forgets.
dmlaenker, we have an early contender for 2010's Worst Person On the Internet. This one's going to be hard to beat, folks. Every single sentence in that post is carefully crafted from pure, 100% American homegrown fail.ETA: Bahleeted, but Google never forgets.
Problematic
Oct. 13th, 2009 06:48 amWho else here finds People of Walmart deeply problematic?
Bonus fail: Teh wimminz and teh gheys are ruining teh Syfy! Okay, I think the (hee hee hee) Spearhead blog is about to become my favourite thing. Hat tip:dimethirwen.
Spearhead. Get it?
Bonus fail: Teh wimminz and teh gheys are ruining teh Syfy! Okay, I think the (hee hee hee) Spearhead blog is about to become my favourite thing. Hat tip:
dimethirwen.Spearhead. Get it?
Problematic
Oct. 13th, 2009 06:48 amWho else here finds People of Walmart deeply problematic?
Bonus fail: Teh wimminz and teh gheys are ruining teh Syfy! Okay, I think the (hee hee hee) Spearhead blog is about to become my favourite thing. Hat tip:dimethirwen.
Spearhead. Get it?
Bonus fail: Teh wimminz and teh gheys are ruining teh Syfy! Okay, I think the (hee hee hee) Spearhead blog is about to become my favourite thing. Hat tip:
dimethirwen.Spearhead. Get it?
Tags:
QOTD: China Miéville on RaceFail
Jul. 13th, 2009 03:07 pmYes, I heard about RaceFail '09 some time after the event, and rather regret not having been there while it was going on. The category of Political Correctness is so nebulous that it's rarely very helpful, particularly because it is often used disgracefully as a stick with which to beat anti-racists or progressives. In the broader sense, I absolutely do think that the implicit politics of our narratives, whether we are consciously "meaning" them or not, matter, and that therefore we should be as thoughtful about them as possible. That doesn't mean we'll always succeed in political perspicacity—which doesn't mean the same thing as tiptoeing —but we should try. So for example: If you have a world in which Orcs are evil, and you depict them as evil, I don't know how that maps onto the question of "political correctness." However, the point is not that you're misrepresenting Orcs (if you invented this world, that's how Orcs are), but that you have replicated the logic of racism, which is that large groups of people are "defined" by an abstract supposedly essential element called "race," whatever else you were doing or intended. And that's not an innocent thing to do. Maybe you have a race of female vampires who destroy men's strength. They really do operate like that in your world. But I think you're kidding yourself if you think that that idea just appeared ex nihilo in your head and has nothing to do with the incredibly strong, and incredibly patriarchal, anxiety about the destructive power of women's sexuality in our very real world. These things are not reducible to our "intent"—we all inherit all kinds of bits and pieces of cultural bumf, plenty of them racist and sexist and homophobic, because that's how our world works, so how could you avoid it?
Link 'ere. Hat tip:
bcholmesQOTD: China Miéville on RaceFail
Jul. 13th, 2009 03:07 pmYes, I heard about RaceFail '09 some time after the event, and rather regret not having been there while it was going on. The category of Political Correctness is so nebulous that it's rarely very helpful, particularly because it is often used disgracefully as a stick with which to beat anti-racists or progressives. In the broader sense, I absolutely do think that the implicit politics of our narratives, whether we are consciously "meaning" them or not, matter, and that therefore we should be as thoughtful about them as possible. That doesn't mean we'll always succeed in political perspicacity—which doesn't mean the same thing as tiptoeing —but we should try. So for example: If you have a world in which Orcs are evil, and you depict them as evil, I don't know how that maps onto the question of "political correctness." However, the point is not that you're misrepresenting Orcs (if you invented this world, that's how Orcs are), but that you have replicated the logic of racism, which is that large groups of people are "defined" by an abstract supposedly essential element called "race," whatever else you were doing or intended. And that's not an innocent thing to do. Maybe you have a race of female vampires who destroy men's strength. They really do operate like that in your world. But I think you're kidding yourself if you think that that idea just appeared ex nihilo in your head and has nothing to do with the incredibly strong, and incredibly patriarchal, anxiety about the destructive power of women's sexuality in our very real world. These things are not reducible to our "intent"—we all inherit all kinds of bits and pieces of cultural bumf, plenty of them racist and sexist and homophobic, because that's how our world works, so how could you avoid it?
Link 'ere. Hat tip:
bcholmesRaceFail '09
Mar. 5th, 2009 06:01 pmIt's still going on? Seriously?*
I assume you guys all know where I stand on this sort of asshaberdashery. Other people have spoken far more eloquently than I have already.
* I mean, I know that race fail never ends, but haven't people learned anything?
I assume you guys all know where I stand on this sort of asshaberdashery. Other people have spoken far more eloquently than I have already.
* I mean, I know that race fail never ends, but haven't people learned anything?
RaceFail '09
Mar. 5th, 2009 06:01 pmIt's still going on? Seriously?*
I assume you guys all know where I stand on this sort of asshaberdashery. Other people have spoken far more eloquently than I have already.
* I mean, I know that race fail never ends, but haven't people learned anything?
I assume you guys all know where I stand on this sort of asshaberdashery. Other people have spoken far more eloquently than I have already.
* I mean, I know that race fail never ends, but haven't people learned anything?
It's too late for me to weigh in, even if I wanted to, and really, I don't want to beyond what I've left in comments in other people's LJs.
However. I am trying to pick up the Novel Of Doom again*. Not that I envision becoming a famous bestselling author or anything like that, but I have books in me that shall, I hope, one day come out. Not to mention what must be at least several books worth of blogulation—I do seem to write an awful lot of stuff.
All of this is to say, dear friends, that if at any time it appears that I'm not wearing pants, I'd much rather know than not. You'd tell me, right?
* I mean, seriously. It is halfway done, at least. I know how it ends. I also pretty much know what happens in the middle, and my only excuse for not having finished it a year ago is that I haven't been in the correct frame of mind to write it.
However. I am trying to pick up the Novel Of Doom again*. Not that I envision becoming a famous bestselling author or anything like that, but I have books in me that shall, I hope, one day come out. Not to mention what must be at least several books worth of blogulation—I do seem to write an awful lot of stuff.
All of this is to say, dear friends, that if at any time it appears that I'm not wearing pants, I'd much rather know than not. You'd tell me, right?
* I mean, seriously. It is halfway done, at least. I know how it ends. I also pretty much know what happens in the middle, and my only excuse for not having finished it a year ago is that I haven't been in the correct frame of mind to write it.
