“That Conversation about Race” category archive
Courting Disaster under the Rule of Flaw 0
At Above the Law, Joe Patrice reports that, for some fool reason, Americans’ faith in the Supreme Supremacist Court, not to mention (which, natch, translates as “to mention”) lower courts is–er–somewhat in decline.
The Tales They Tell 0
To answer Curtis’s question, darn straight they do.
I went to all-white school under Jim Crow.*
They told us a lot of lies and even more half-truths about life in the old South.
And the lies live on.
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*At least, it was all-white until I think it was the tenth grade when one I’m sure very carefully chosen black girl joined the senior class; the next year, a few more black students joined the junior and senior classes, and so on.
Karen Karen-Like 0
Meet a Karen who flies the fiendly skies.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Michael in Norfolk decodes de code.
Foxy Shady 0
(Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
Afterthought:
- But they all look alike.
Said the racists.
I know.
I’m a Southern boy who grew up under Jim Crow and was there when schools were desegregated.
I heard–and still hear–the racists say it, if not explicitly, then implicitly (see above).
America’s original sin of chattel slavery continues to poison our polity and empower those who would do evil.
The Privatization Scam 0
In the Charlotte Observer, a doctor speaks out on how the privatization scam is harming public school students with disabilities in North Carolina. Here’s a bit of his article; follow the link for the rest.
The lawmakers who voted for vouchers should know private-school funding with public money is not popular with voters. Across the country, ballot measures to publicly pay for private schools failed in 2024.
That’s why all our Republican legislators and Democratic Reps. Carla Cunningham, Michael Wray and Shelly Willingham waited until after the election to overturn Gov. Cooper’s veto. They knew it would be unpopular with voters and may cost them.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Mrs. Betty Bowers hears a Thanksgiving rhyme.
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*Mark Twain.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
Farron points out that the Trump administration plans to target not just immigrants, but naturalized citizens.
The Answer: Hate Feeds on Itself 0
The quandary:
Follow the link for the rest of the quandary.
The Privatization Scam 0
Minnesota charter schools to Minnesota: Give us the public’s money, but don’t expect us to tell you what we do with it.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
I wish I could say I found this surprising, but, in these times in which one of our two major political parties has chosen bigotry and hate as part of their platform, I can’t say that I do.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
The Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini hears a rhyme swirling from the past.
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*Mark Twain.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Michael Parker, writing at The Philadelphia Inquirer, hears a rhyme from Down Under.
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*Mark Twain.
“The Past is . . .Not Even Past.”* 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Monnica T Williams discusses how racist stereotypes rooted in attempts to justify America’s original sin of chattel slavery have become accepted as fact in medicine. Specifically, she cites test used to diagnose asthma, a condition she must deal with. A couple of excerpts:
- A repiratory test called spirometry measures how well a person’s lungs are functioning.
- For Black people, the predicted normal values are adjusted 10–15% lower than for White people.
(snip)
A groundbreaking study by Diao and colleagues, published this year in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that gold standard race-adjusted equations in lung-function tests underestimate the severity of Black patients’ lung problems and overestimate the severity of White patient lung problems, reinforcing inequalities in healthcare. These race-based calculations normalize lowered lung function for Black people, making them seem healthier than they are. In contrast, White people’s results are based on more sensitive classifications, leading to better access to care, support, and disability benefits.
Her entire article is worth your while. It illustrates how deeply racist stereotypes created to justify chattel slavery and theft of labor permeate and pollute our polity–even tainting so-called “hard” science–to this day.
As if the last election was not proof enough.
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