Steve King and the Dehumanization of Others
Yesterday Congressman Steve King told constituents that the U.S. should only choose the best immigrants to accept into the nation the way one chooses “the pick of the litter”.
Category Archives: Philosophy
Obama’s “Real” Father and Lazy Thinking
http://anomaly.realgravity.com/flash/player.swf
Conspiracy Theories in America
This supercut comes from “Dreams from My Real Father” a movie being pushed that purports to tell the “real” story of Barack Obama and his background. It’s easy to point out the extreme stretches of logic it would take to believe that Obama’s real father is Frank Marshall whose parentage was covered up by his grandfather who was secretly in the CIA. Why his CIA pops could cover up his birth but not prevent his daughter from having a child with a communist is an obvious question but I digress. We could spend all day debunking the “logic” on display here. What people tend to have a tougher time with is seeing through similar jumps in logic about conspiracy theories that are beneficial to their worldview. The odds that there are secret meetings by the world’s most powerful people collude to keep everyone else down are similar to the odds that there are secret meetings between black and Jewish people to overthrow white people. Conspiracy theories provide an easy out for the question of why things are the way they are. Acting as a deus ex machina for the thousands of little decisions and interactions that seemingly govern our world.
- C.S.
x-posted @ TheYBC
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Bayard Rustin, Barack Obama, and Homophobia in the Black Community
After President Obama’s announcement yesterday I’ve been thinking about the LGBT community, the black community and how they intersect in doing so I’m reminded of Bayard Rustin. As someone who started the Freedom Rides, was an early practitioner and Martin Luther King Jr.‘s teacher of non-violent resistance Bayard Rustin holds an enormous place in the history of black folk here in the United States. Rustin like many black folks was also gay. This didn’t stop him from helping to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference although it did lead to him being forced from it’s leadership in 1960. Repeatedly Rustin was ostracized for his sexuality among those of his race even while joining them in fighting for the equal rights and respect as a man that they’d deny him. It seems the advocates of inequality have chosen to replicate this choice on a national level among religious African Americans and LGBT people. In far too many cases religion has won out over ethics and have led us to choose to impose our beliefs on fellow citizens in violation of the rights that should be shared equally among every person. This is one of the reasons that I don’t subscribe to the belief that black people in America are in some way more noble, enlightened or fair than the rest of Americans we are people with biases and motives just the same as the rest. While our place in society and history are unique our hearts and minds operate according to the same principles that have reigned since time immemorial. Yesterday President Obama became the first American President to support same-sex marriage. While I highly doubt this will cost him any votes among African Americans as it has been suggested I’m hopeful it will push forward the conversation about Black LGBT folk and homophobia in our community.
cross-posted @ TheYBC
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How Race Interacts with Justice
Salon has an excellent interview with American law scholar Kenneth Mack on the way race and the law intersect and define each other. Here’s a quote on civil rights lawyers and their personal experience in the black community at the time.
“What did you learn about the relationship between race and the law by writing it?
By looking at the civil rights struggle through the lives of black civil rights lawyers we learn about the contested nature of racial identity, even in an era where segregation was supposed to make race into something fixed, not fluid.”
I think this speaks to how we think of race as an unchanging dynamic today even though it’s been in fluctuation since the concept was created. Also it works to disabuse people of the notion that there was an overwhelming consensus in the Civil Rights Era as it’s been properly defined when our heroes of yesteryear had many of the intra-community pressures and differences that people still hold today. The interview is great and I’d recommend folks to go read the whole thing.
The color-blind scales of justice?
x-posted @ theybc
- C.S.
No, you’re from Houston. 5 Misconceptions that we have about Africa
Let me take this time to disabuse some friends of other stereotypes regarding Africa as well.
- No, you can’t “just go back to Africa” especially if you’ve never been.
- No, you won’t be greeted with open arms in pan-Africanist brotherhood, the people there don’t know you.
- No, everyone does not refer to each other as “King”, “Queen”, “brother”, or “sister” or any variation thereof you’ll probably be referenced to as “the American” or “white man” if they don’t know your name.
- You are a Westerner from a Western country without regard to the color of your skin. Given that, you probably hold all the patronizing and self-serving notions in regards to Africa that is common among Westerners. Check that.
- Yes, you can get robbed, beat up, cussed out and discriminated against in Africa. It’s a continent and it’s full of people not mystical beings who hold the key to a perfect humanity. Africa and Africans aren’t here for your preferred social theories.
cross-posted @ theybc
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Revenge of the Nerds
All people are inherently self-centered. This is a truism that people apply easily to others but really can’t apply to themselves without constant work. What makes this even harder for some is when they count themselves among a group of people who see themselves as perpetually wronged. Today we are going to talk about just such a group, nerds. Yeah the free ride is over nerds. I’m calling you on your bull and I took AP classes like a Klansman who once dated a black girl I’m one of you so don’t even try to say I’m just picking on you, I’m not trying to hear it. Nerds are people who are constantly portrayed as sexless losers who are constantly picked on in high school. What makes this a problem is that as nerds grow up they gain a ton of privilege but never shed the mindset that they are perpetually under-appreciated. This leads to all kinds of self-centered behavior that basically boils down to being one of the worst kinds of asshole. The one who blames their on everyone else. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tales From The Metro(rail)
Image via Wikipedia
So recently I’ve moved to D.C. to pursue opportunities in my field, Government, as a Fellow, fancy I know, at a fundraising shop. Yesterday I left a fundraiser with a free tray of fruit, because I’m still broke. I made my way from the absolutely beautiful house we used as a setting for the shindig and headed to the Eastern Market Metro Stop. Whilst paying for my metrocard, who made public transportation so expensive, I thought “hmm I should eat these pineapples before they get warm” no one like lukewarm pineapples. As I took my seat to wait on the train I opened up the lovely tray and this is what happened.
Me – Me, Chad Stanton
Surprisingly Well Dressed Junkie – A junkie with the Bubbles look and alcohol on his breath, except dude had on a blazer, clean white shirt, jeans and and some wingtips
*Surprisingly Well Dressed Junkie enters and sets next to me*
*I start eating pineapple chunks (Junkie or not I’m eating these dxmn chunks)*
SWDJ: Yo can I get one of those joints?
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The Moment When…
The Moment When:
I understand that I have neglected my blog duties and focused on another. I apologize, but I have finally found a post that I was motivated to write. I won’t tell you where or when I decided to write this blog (trust me. You don’t want to know), but I thought it would be nice… and funny.
There are many times in your life when you have that crucial eureka moments. The ah ha’s are sometimes laughable when the realization or solutions have been right in front of your face. So here is a list of “the moment when…” incidents that you may have experienced.
- The moment when… you realize that your cell phone is at home, and you’re too far to turn back around.
- The moment when… you pour cereal into the bowl and realize you have no milk.
- The moment when… you get in the shower then you have to go to the restroom.
- The moment when… you’re studying for a test and realize it’s the wrong chapter.
- The moment when… you continuously search for your phone then realize you’re on it.
- The moment when… you a movie you’re watching gets really good then your dvr tells you that two of your favorite shows are set to record.
- The moment when… you wake up and realize your alarm is going off in one minute.
- The moment when… you’re going hard on someone and find out the stranger sitting next to you knows the person very well.
- The moment when… you’re about to retweet someone, and you realize it would be too messy.
- The moment when… you look for the “like” button on twitter.
- The moment when… you look for the “retweet” button on facebook.
- The moment when… you sit on the toilet and realize there’s no toilet paper.
- The moment when… you’re going hard on that song and notice someone’s been standing there the whole time.
- The moment when… you pick up the soda can and are surprised that there’s nothing left.
- The moment when… you open the fridge and realize someone has eaten your food.
- The moment when… you applied for graduation.
- The moment when… we won the national championship
- The moment when… you pull up and realized you forgot the one thing you went to the store for.
- The moment when… you think this is the worst birthday ever, then you open up that last gift!!!!
- That moment when… you change that class to pass/fail.
- The moment when… you meet your friend’s sig fig, and they’re not as cute as you imagined.
- The moment when… you realize Purple Rain is on tv.
- The moment when… you finally delete someone’s number.
- The moment when… you see three missed calls or text and none of them are from anyone you want to hear from.
- The moment when… you realize God has really blessed you with a great group of friends!
What is your moment!?!?
-Warnecessary
Black History 24/7 #7: “Gone Too Soon”
This is dedicated to the little boy from Gary, Indiana, who never stopped til he got enough… and even then, he kept on, ’til his [life] force stopped.
I’ll be the first to admit it – I laughed when Katt Williams made his “Michael [Jackson] forgot he was a nigga” jokes. Probably because, like most people in America at the time, I appreciated who Michael WAS… not who he had become.
Then, in 2009, the announcement came: after years of being embroiled in scandal, avoiding the relentless scrutiny of the media (who still hadn’t gotten the message he’d issued out to them years ago via one of the most clever music videos ever), and a six-year hiatus since the release of his last album… Michael Joseph Jackson was going on tour one more time. The This Is It tour would finally give those of us who’d never yet had the chance to see the man in person – and you lucky bastards who actually had attended a Michael Jackson concert previously – one final opportunity to see a live Moonwalk.
On June 25, 2009, the unthinkable happened. Literally, Michael was there one minute… and gone the next. Read the rest of this entry »
[KL:Consideration]: Reciprocity: The Foundation of Our Happiness
The King’s Law on Consideration
I - To consider or not to consider, that is the “?”
II - Let’s be honest about honesty…
III - Honesty’s Gray Area
IV - Egocentrism and Honesty
V – The Consideration of Time
VI – The Consideration of Self
VII – Consideration Accounting 101
VIII - Reciprocity: The Foundation of Our Happiness
The trade of consideration is scarce these days…. so how do we make good decisions about who to trust with our most coveted asset, our consideration? And furthermore, how can we ensure that the return of our consideration will continue to make/keep us happy? (YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN TO THE “SKIP” MARKER IF YOU ARE A LAZY READER…)
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These two questions were asked last time… and I must now be honest with you all… these are technically “trick questions”… there is no single resolute answer, but you knew that.
Read the rest of this entry »
