Politics of Hate category archive

Via Job’s Anger.

In a larger piece discussing what is wrong with press coverage of the immigrant situation at the southwestern border, Will Bunch provides a partial answer to one of the questions I raised earlier today:

The surge of desperate young people from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador fleeing gang or drug-related violence, rape and sexual abuse, and economic crises exacerbated by drought or floods made worse by climate change, has increased in the two months since Biden became 46th president with a promise to undo the human rights abuses of the Donald Trump years and make America more welcoming to the region’s refugees. Right now, the number of unaccompanied migrant youths — about 10,000 in the hands of the Department of Health and Human Services, and another 5,000 with Customs and Border Protection — is double the previous record.

Here’s another bit of Bunch’s article (linked above), regarding what is wrong with the coverage of the current situation; I commend the rest to your attention.

The border situation is neither the first crisis facing the new administration nor close to the biggest — not with a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans and the related economic crisis leaving 10 million out of work — but it is the nation’s most visible problem that can be so easily demagogued by Republicans looking to score cheap political points against a popular president, or get lapped up by Beltway journalists eager to go back to the brunch of lazy punditry.

Aside:

It is worth remembering that much of the chaos in those countries is the direct result of Ronald Reagan’s policies.

A psychology professor explains that, as far as clinical psychologists are concerned, “sex addiction” is not a thing.

I am a researcher who specializes in behavioral addictions, specifically sexual addictions. A lot of my research has focused on how religion interacts with sexual behaviors and feelings of addiction. Over the past decade, my research has found that religion and sexual addiction are deeply intertwined.

Right now, there is no diagnosis of “sex addiction” in any diagnostic manual that psychologists consult when working with patients. It’s not a recognized disorder in the mental health community. This may come as a surprise to some, as many people do believe that sex can be addictive.

Follow the link to find out what is a thing.

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

“The struggle over the lexicon is actually the central struggle,” the puppetmaster (Stephen Miller–ed.) behind many of Donald Trump’s cruelest policies told the New York Times last week. And damn if he ain’t right.

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.

Via Balloon Juice.