November, 2014 archive
Where Nobody Knows Your Name 1
In The Nation, Adrien Chen skewers Gabriella Coleman’s recent paean to Anonymous (usually referred to as “the hacker collective). She traces it from its roots in 4chan (which is not a nice internet place to be), describes its frat-boy mindset, and derides its “hactivism” as adolescent prankery for the same of prankery. In short, she doesn’t have a very high opinion of Anonymous.
I commend the article to your attention.
Buried within it is this gem, which aptly describes what George Smith commonly refers to “the culture of lickspittle” (emphasis added):
Darren Wilson’s War 0
At The Guardian, Matthew Pratt Guterl argues that there are lessons to be learned from the statements of the cop who gunned down Michael Brown for being. A snippet:
Do follow the link.
Afterthought:
The attribution of super-human qualities to “the other” ipso facto dehumanizes the other; it characterizes bigotry in all its manifestations. This says nothing about the bigot’s target and everything about the bigot’s need to make his own fear and hatred appear rational, not just to other persons, but also to himself.
The baddest bad guy will never admit that he’s a bad guy. Oh, he may boast that “I’m bad” before the bar fight starts, but, down inside, he always believes that he’s in the right.
Everybody Must Get Fracked 0
Gayle A. Sulik of Denton, Texas, explains why she voted for a successful referendum to ban fracking in Denton. Here’s a bit, in which she describes the frackers’ tactics:
As a sociologist, the phenomenon was fascinating. As a citizen and resident, it was scary to see a politically supported industry focus its attention so squarely on putting the kibosh on informed enfranchisement.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Play politely.
Preliminary investigation indicates that three children were playing in or near a structure on the property at NE County Road 1055 when a child shot the boy.
Another child marked by the ammosexuality fetish . . . .
Black Friday Frolics 0
Warning: Language.
It’s How You Look at It 0
At Philly dot com, Elmer Smith points out that perspective is important. (Put another way, persons see what they expect or want to see.) A bit (emphasis added):
It’s a bull’s-eye view of the kind that too often ends with an unarmed black youth killed or maimed by a white policeman whose lethal reaction is fueled by fear.
Any situation seems ominous when seen through the narrow perspective of a gunsight. Every move is menacing, every gesture threatening.
“The Lost Cause” 2
One more time, when you hear persons romanticize “the Lost Cause,” be sure to ask them to explain clearly just exactly what cause was lost.
“Path to Citizenship” 0
Peter Schuck and Rogers Smith point out that the idea of “citizenship” is relatively new and not nearly so straightforward or settled a concept as some would want to believe. That murkiness, indeed, manifests itself in the thinking of those whose willingness to offer a path to citizenship tends to vary depending on the complexion of those who would desire to walk that path.
Here’s a bit; follow the link for the rest.
Even before our Declaration of Independence, philosophers of democracy rejected this rule. Democracies consisted of citizens, not subjects, so their membership should be grounded in rules derived from their elected .officials and their own choices about their loyalties.
Notably, John Locke and the “public law” theorists advanced liberal, consensualist ideas about national membership: Parents could transmit their own consensually derived membership to their children no matter where the child was born – known as jus sanguinis, or the law of blood. In certain situations, states could de-nationalize disloyal citizens, and citizens could renounce their ascribed membership.
Divide and Cower 0
China Hand considers the politics of racial hatred. A snippet:
Maybe it is good politics to abuse African Americans, goad and provoke them, escalate the fear and anger on both sides, force an angry reaction and respond with a fear-laden counterreaction, so an economically disadvantaged community has its hands full staying out of jail and not getting shot, and isn’t thinking about forming common cause with other disadvantaged or less-advantaged groups to stick it to the rich guy in the next election.
In other words, it’s not Fear of a Black Voting Bloc; it’s Fear of a Unified Lower & Middle Class Voting Bloc.
Do read the rest. It provokes thought, and a snippet cannot do it justice.
