“It is coercion of the strongest kind, because it appears in the guise of a self-evident necessity and is thus not even recognized as a coercive force.” Ludwik Fleck, “Genesis & Development of a Scientific Fact” I started 2017 with a post about making this a “no bullshit” year. Seing it out with a … Continue reading ‘No Bullshit’ 2017 is almost over: Time to ring in #racistinrecovery 2018
Category: race
Usually I slam out a blog post in a Word file and then transfer it over here to the wordpress template and tinker. Then, after I publish it I find more typos and things to tweak. This morning, though, I am going to slam down something spontaneous as John Gorka sings "St. Caffeine" and drink … Continue reading A little flow from the stream of consciousness, with music
This morning, Sweetheart came in and sat at the at the edge of the bed. “There’s coffee downstairs. And it happened after we went to bed last night, but there’s fresh hell,” he said. I sat up. More quickly than I usually do first thing in the morning. “Fifty people were killed and more … Continue reading NRA helps ‘lone wolf’ Las Vegas shooter kill, injure hundreds at concert: how is this ‘not terrorism?’
" On my morning Facebook rounds, I caught this post by one of my offspring: In the way of Facebook, I could see beneath her post that a few other friends had posted articles about it, too. At this point, shocking and seemingly inappropriate behavior is kind of the norm for this year's GOP Presidential Candidate. (His cheerleaders … Continue reading The straight line connecting Donald Trump’s new tallit to “Christians for Islam,” and a best practices suggestion
While Sweetheart and I were somewhere loud and happy Saturday night (a wedding), loud and not-so-happy things were happening close to us. In the morning, my friend Walter, a Baptist minister, posted this selfie on his way to his church. He invoked Nehmiah 1. By then, we’d heard the news. Riots had broken out hours after a police … Continue reading Police shootings, mob violence and the comfort of strangers: A Dispatch from Milwaukee
There are a lot of reasons I miss having a dog. Election season is one. Tuki used to come with me when I voted. She was also my candidate of choice on more than one occasion. I voted for Tuki when it was clear that, compared to the humans on a ballot, she would represent … Continue reading My Write-in Candidate is Dead and Reductive Disrespecters Want Your Brain: An Election Season Guide for the Perplexed
The first time I heard the term “Cultural Intelligence” was in a church basement. The topic under discussion was an update on the redesign of Milwaukee County’s Behavioral Health division; the person updating us was describing an all-too-familiar and depressing reality: The group doing the redesign work is comprised of mostly white, upper middle class, suburban people … Continue reading The Art of Knowing What You Don’t Know: Cultural Intelligence, Tamir Rice and Hope for a More Enlightened 2016
Donald J. Trump is a man his supporters would avoid like gay pride parades if he were saying the things he says while unshaven and pushing all his worldly possessions in a shopping cart. But he wears bespoke suits and lives and works in buildings with his name on them. So instead of being called … Continue reading Up from the grave to denounce a naked emperor
If I ever get pulled over for “fitting the description,” the description will be “garden-variety middle-aged white lady.” It’s been an accurate description for most of my life (with the exception of the age part, which is following the conventional trajectory and means that if I live long enough, I'll be a garden-variety old white … Continue reading Pan-African Nationalism basics, plutocratic cookie pigs and Rabbi Hillel