Elitists

– “‘Just take a drive around the area. You’ll see lakes low, rivers dry and hillsides parched,” Manion said, adding that she is appalled by people who tolerate leaking sprinklers and the resulting cascades of wasted water. “There are people, they aren’t being responsible,” she said. “They’re just thinking of their own lives.”’ Rich Californians balk at limits: ‘We’re not all equal when it comes to water’ (h/t @AllisonKilkenny)

Racism

– “We don’t say enough about how the racism of White women—who often escape scrutiny because the public face of racism is The White Man—harms people of color. We forget how the aggression of police when encountering Black bodies is often tied to the idea that these people present a danger to the fragility of White womanhood and how the word of a White woman will nearly almost always be believed over that of a Black man or Black woman (or a Black child, which is frightening, considering how many White women are teaching Black kids that they don’t necessarily value or believe in.)” The Infallibility of Miss Ann (Or, the Last Rachel Dolezal Thinkpiece Ever) (h/t @AngryBlackLady)

– “In other words, the nature and language of gender identities does not translate into conversations around race; there is no such thing as “transracial” in terms of a person who identifies as a race other than what was assigned at birth. But “transracial” does mean something else, and the people who identify with that word, adoptees raised in a family of a different race, are speaking out.” The Real Meaning Of ‘Transracial’ (via @ThinkProgress)

– “Telling your kid that everyone’s the same, that nobody’s better than anyone else, that everybody’s friends with everybody, accomplishes nothing. You can say that kind of stuff all day and all night — and believe me, white liberal parents do — but if that’s all you do, when a researcher sits your kid down and asks your kid whether black people are as nice or as smart or as pretty or as good as white people, they’re going to get answers that are going to make you cringe. Because there’s bigotry floating around in the air in our society. Not anywhere near as much as there used to be, but a lot. And your kid is going to pick that up. And if that’s all your kid picks up, it’s going to stick.” How to Teach Your White Kids to Fight Racism (via @StudentActivism)

– “U.S. media outlets practice a different policy when covering crimes involving African Americans or Muslims. As suspects, they are quickly characterized as terrorists and thugs (if not always explicitly using the terms), motivated purely by evil intent instead of external injustices. While white suspects are lone wolves — Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley has emphasized that this shooting was an act of just “one hateful person” — violence by black and Muslim people is systemic, demanding response and action from all who share their race or religion. Even black victims are vilified.” Shooters of color are called ‘terrorists’ and ‘thugs.’ Why are white shooters called ‘mentally ill’? (h/t @zerlinamaxwell)

– “In times like this, White people are quick to throw their hands up and dissociate themselves from racism and the person accused of the racist act. But how many of them can say they have actively worked to challenge the racism in the people around them? How many folks have sat quietly as Uncle Jimbo tells the story of the time he put that one nigger in his place at work? How many so-called liberal Obama voters couldn’t be bothered to even google “Black Lives Matter” to see what folks were talking about in August of last year? How many of the women with more Black exes than Rachel Dolezal refuse to say a word when they see a Black child being manhandled by an aggressive White cop—but may later become the mother of Black children themselves?” White Silence Kills 9 in Charleston (via @jamilahlemieux)

– “Thus, for the sake of my own self-care, I make no apologies for the fact that the only public conversation about racial issues I’m willing to have on social media is one that is explicitly anti-racist and rather advanced in terms of the level of knowledge and awareness that I expect from my interlocutors.” 20 Things You Need to Read Before You Talk to Me About Race (h/t @alwaystheself)

– “At what point can we stop denying and debating simple truths? At what point can we start acknowledging that the simplest explanation is probably the correct one? The US, my country, is a racist country. It’s a country built on white supremacy and the lie of freedom and opportunity – a place where white people live measurably safer, freer, more validated and prosperous lives, where the dehumanisation of black people was literally written into the constitution by slave-owners we are expected to worship, yet where even saying the words “white supremacy” is taboo. Why? Why can’t we just speak the truth?” My country is a racist country – built on the lie of freedom and opportunity (via @thelindywest)

Sexism

– “I write this preamble because this is a column about the sexism plaguing Brazilian soccer, but I want to be clear that this is not a South American issue, or an “over there” issue: It’s a global issue. Women’s soccer is not only the story of a sport. It’s the story of a fight for access and opportunity and respect, often against the very people who are supposed to be developing the game.” Soccer’s Enduring Sexism and the Magnificence of Marta (via @EdgeofSports)

– “Google Search will now accept requests from those looking to have links to their photos removed, although Google cannot remove the actual photos from wherever they’re hosted. But, if Google can cut access to the images, there’s less of a likelihood that the images will be seen. The requests will be similar to Google’s existing form to request the removal of sensitive information.” Google Will Begin Unlinking Revenge Port from the Internet (via @PopSci)

– “Perhaps the grimmest irony among many here is that even in female-dominated fields, often the fastest way to advance is to be a man. A recent study found that male nurses make an average of about $5,100 more than female nurses annually, and men make more than women in other female-dominated fields such as education and social services, too. In a series of interviews with male nurses and librarians, men reported feeling like they had been “fast-tracked” into leadership roles. Men also reported feeling that they were perceived as more competent, that people were more forgiving of their mistakes, and that older women in the field took on motherly roles toward them.” What’s the Best Way to Get Ahead in a Female-Dominated Profession? (h/t @legalvoice)

– “Science is based on observations, which are the same thing as universal proof. Even I know that, and I’m just a woman whose brain is filled to capacity with yoga poses and recipes for gluten-free organic soap. Once, I was lured into a trap in the woods because I followed a trail of Sex and the City DVDs for three miles into a covered pit. Do you really think I could do something as complicated as thinking about science?” I’m a female scientist, and I agree with Tim Hunt (h/t @stavvers)

Terrorism

– “An officer from a large metropolitan area said that “militias, neo-Nazis and sovereign citizens” are the biggest threat we face in regard to extremism. One officer explained that he ranked the right-wing threat higher because “it is an emerging threat that we don’t have as good of a grip on, even with our intelligence unit, as we do with the Al Shabab/Al Qaeda issue, which we have been dealing with for some time.”” The Growing Right-Wing Terror Threat (h/t @AnilDash)

– “While the media may try to construct Roof as some kind of lone anomalous monster or extremist who committed an horrific hate crime in a vacuum, he is not an extremist. He is a terrorist, but he is not an extremist.” Dylann Roof is not an extremist (via @ztsamudsi)

Police Abuse

– “Every state in the US fails to comply with international standards on the lethal use of force by law enforcement officers, according to a report by Amnesty International USA, which also says 13 US states fall beneath even lower legal standards enshrined in US constitutional law and that nine states currently have no laws at all to deal with the issue.” All 50 US states fail to meet global police use of force standards, report finds (h/t @deray)

Media Representation

– “I am 41 years old, and this was the first mainstream movie I’ve ever seen with a single lead (as opposed to, say, The Heat or Tammy, in which Melissa McCarthy shared the leads with Sandra Bullock and Susan Sarandon) who looks and moves like me. I kind of can’t even begin to describe what that feels like. Film Corner: Spy (via @Shakestweetz)

Health

– “Brad was only 7 years old when he was infected with E. coli bacteria, which caused his kidneys to shut down. He needed more than 5 dozen blood transfusions to stay alive — and he got them, thanks to donors. “My son, when he was in the first grade, took 66 units of blood products, and I considered it my personal debt to repay,” said Richard.” 25 years later, dad matches 66 pints of blood given to save son (h/t @BloodworksNW)