“That Conversation about Race” category archive
Why I Put Quotes around “Social” in “Social” Media 0
Because far too often, it’s anti-social.
Susan Cousins describes a recent experience on Twitter:
Follow the link for the rest of the story.
A Day in the Life 0
At the Hartford Courant, an American child of Indian immigrants to the United States describes the casual stereotypes and bigotry (some would call them “microaggressions,” but they are still aggessions) that she encounters every day.
If it doesn’t tear your heart out, it’s because you don’t have one.
What’s in a Word? 0
Actually, as the Angry Grammarian points out at the Inky, quite a lot. He discusses the current federal administration’s efforts to remove the language of hate and bigotry left behind in regulations, policies, and pronouncements by its predecessor. Here’s a bit of his article; follow the link for specific examples
Language of persecution and hate permeated government websites, press releases, and laws for much of the last four years. As the Times detailed, it’s because of Miller’s linguistic influence that President Biden has had so much work to do since taking office to change the language of government to reflect values of dignity, equity, and fairness. Biden’s team is making quick progress undoing the damage.
Craven Images 0
Trevor Hughes reports on the use of Christian symbols by right-wing extremists, whose credo is antithetical to a Gospel of love in any form (as their actions repeatedly prove), but which is entirely consistent with Leonard Hitchcock’s analysis of what he refers to as “Christian Nationalism.”
Here’s a bit from Hitchcock’s article; follow the link for the rest.
A broader underlying motivation is a deep resentment of cultural change and the ongoing collapse of a hierarchical social order in which their ranking might not have been very high, but it was secure, and lots of people were below them. For CNs, Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again,” signaled an intention to return to a past with which they were comfortable, a past in which the class and racial barriers between people were still intact, where Black people and immigrants, gays, atheists and women “knew their place,” and where white Protestants knew that they were the “real Americans” and were in charge.
Still Rising Again after All These Years, Santayana Redux Dept. 0
George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
I herewith propose the Hawley corollary:
Know Them by the Company They Keep 0
E. J. Montini suggests that Arizona’s Congressman Paul Gosar’s actions belie his words.
Cancel Culture, Unreconstructed Style 0
As Leonard Pitts, Jr., points out (see below), until white America is willing to confront its past, it will continue to deny its present.
Leonard Pitts, Jr., Channels The Who . . . 0
. . . and tells America to look in the mirror.













