Culture Warriors category archive
Trumpling Freedom of Religion 0
(Link fixed.)
In The Seattle Times, Rabbi Daniel Weiner reflects on the recent anti-Semitic vandalism of his synagogue, in which the words, “Holocau$t is face hi$tory,” were spray-painted on its wall. He responds to persons who believed that he unfairly blamed Donald Trump for the deed. Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added):
There has been much documented about the intersections between Trump associates and the “alt-right” — a cleansing euphemism for white supremacy. Trump’s actual regard for vulnerable populations, Jews among them, is inconsequential to his intoning of the classic “dog-whistles” of anti-minority tropes. If he is truly aware of the implications of his words, it is troubling. If he plumbs the abyss out of mere political expediency, it is equally dangerous, displaying a reckless disregard for truth and propriety unworthy of the office he currently holds.
When you blow a dog-whistle, don’t be surprised when the dogs respond.
American Taliban 0
At the Boston Review, Richard White turns the light of history on the spurious claim that “America was founded as a Christian nation” in considering two recent books on the topic. He points out that those who make such a claim almost always do so in pursuit of a particular political and economic agenda, rather than in pursuit of salvation.
Here’s a bit of his discussion of Steven Green’s Inventing a Christian America: The Myth of the Religious Founding:
The various forms are important; the original myth is not the same as the one currently in fashion. Both see God’s guiding hand behind the nation’s history and regard Christianity as the basis of republican principles. The old myth, however, was optimistic and tried to be inclusive, which was possible in what was still an overwhelmingly Protestant country. It was oriented toward the future and intent on explaining a providential American destiny. The new myth, by contrast, is sectarian and divisive in a country full of Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc., not to mention agnostics, atheists, and the sometimes-inchoate mass who define themselves as spiritual. Rather than look to tomorrow, today’s myth appeals to those who think they have lost an ideal past.
Do read please read the rest. It will help you better understand our home-grown Pharisees.
Turkish Taffy Pull 0
The Local delves into the history of the current strained relations between Germany and Turkey. It seems a bit superficial and anecdotal, but, if you you want to understand some of the headlines coming out of Europe these days, it may be a good place to start.
A Ruse by Any Other Name . . . . 0
There’s nothing new about new about rebranding–“old wine in new bottles” is a cliche, but cliches become cliches because they express a truth succinctly. “Alt-Right” for “white supremacist” is a rebranding effort. The rebranders hope that you will forget that behind the shiny new label is the hate bottled from the same cesspool they’ve been swimming in for centuries.
At Above the Law, Elie Mystal excoriates another contemporary attempt to rebrand bigotry, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/us/politics/trump-travel-ban.html. A snippet:
This might come as a shock to the Witch King of bankruptcy, but “Rebranding” doesn’t work either. Not in front of a judge. You can stick a funnel on a horse and call it a unicorn, Mr. Trump, but you can’t make it s**t rainbows. You’re dealing with educated people now, not just fleecing yokels anymore.
Poor Baby 0
For all their bleating about “personal responsibility,” Republicans always seem surprised to find out that their own actions have consequences.
Shunned 0
The Girl Guides (that’s “Girl Scouts” in USAn) of Canada have had enough of Trump and Republican “mean for the sake of mean.”
The ban does not mention the latest Executive Order by President Trump barring travel to “the States” by citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries, and imposing a 120-day moratorium on accepting Syrian refugees.
“While the United States is a frequent destination for Guiding trips, the ability of all our members to equally enter this country is currently uncertain,” GGC executives Sharron Callahan and Holly Thompson said in an advisory Monday afternoon.
More at the link.
How Stuff Works, BusyBully Dept. 0
Antony Davis and James R. Harrigan explain busybullies, those persons who always know what’s best for you because they just know and sit down and shut up, okay?
A snippet.
First they will say that the thing they don’t want you doing is dangerous to you. When you tell them it isn’t or that you don’t care, they will tell you it is dangerous to others. When you demonstrate that it isn’t dangerous to others, they will tell you that it’s bad for “society.” They will offer exactly no evidence for any of their claims because, in their eyes, moral superiority is its own evidence. But your evidence they will subject to the highest scrutiny before dismissing it out of hand.
Facebook Frolics 0
Case dismissed.
Modamani wanted the US social media giant, represented by Facebook Ireland Limited, to stop the spread of such defamatory fake news, which have been shared countless times.
He was represented by German lawyer Chan-jo Jun, who has previously launched legal action against Facebook, demanding it stop the spread of racist hate speech and other content illegal under German law.
A Jury of Their Fears 0
Elie Mystal applauds the Supreme Court’s decision to look behind closed doors.
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
Such as, for example, alternative facts.
Barefoot and Pregnant 0
Warning: Language and graphic imagery.
Republican Family Values . . . . 0
. . . . of which the preeminent is to be mean for the sake of mean.
Stray Thought, Going Rogue Dept. 0
The uncomfortable truth–the one that no one dares to talk about–is that the United States of America has Trumpled its way to becoming a rogue nation.
The next stop is pariah.
Frankly, if things continue on the course of the past week, I’d not be surprised if civilized nations begin to impose sanctions on the Trumpled States of America within the next six months.
Distressed and depressed. Not surprised.
Tales of the Tarheel Potty Patrol 0
A reminder to Texas and other states whose Republicans have a pervy preoccupation with what goes on behind closed stalls:
Via Job’s Anger.
Forward into the Past! 0
Der Spiegel’s Holger Stark takes a long and complex look at the forces that fed Trumpery. Here’s a nugget.
With his diabolical instinct for the country’s political mood, Trump captured this shift on campaign evenings like the one in Burlington, distilling it to a single maxim that warmed the hearts of many in the United States: “America First.”
The article is well worth the ten minutes you will spend reading it.