ASK Musings

Note: I’m not reading social media today because April Fool’s Day is the worst. But I’m still posting things, so enjoy!

Racism

“Now, she’s going back to prison for casting a ballot illegally — for five years. Mason was indicted on a charge of illegal voting in Tarrant County, Tex., last year and found guilty by State District Judge Ruben Gonzalez on Thursday, despite her protestations that she simply was not aware that she was barred from casting a ballot and never would have done it had she known.” Texas woman sentenced to 5 years in prison for voting while on probation (by Meagan Flynn for Washington Post)

Misogyny

“All afternoon, I was furious. I cursed out loud — alarming the woman sitting next to me at my co-working space — as I read Goldberg characterize Williamson’s belief that a quarter of the female population should be killed as simply a “controversial aspect” of an otherwise “ideologically interesting” career. He didn’t even have the bravery to use the words ‘women’ or ‘abortion’ — just “extreme tweeting”, as if calling for the hanging of millions of women was some sort of Mountain Dew-fueled quirk rather than abhorrent and dangerous extremism.” On The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, and hiring men who want women dead (by Jessica Valenti)

“The Atlantic’s recent personnel choices are a case in point. The magazine has just hired two new columnists, one on the left, one on the right. The left columnist, Ibram X. Kendi, is the author of Stamped from the Beginning. The monograph is a groundbreaking, painstaking history of the development of racist and anti-racist ideas in America that challenges comfortable notions of progress against bigotry. It won the National Book Award. The right columnist, Kevin D. Williamson, is a writer formerly at National Review who has referred to a nine-year-old black child as a ”primate.”” Bad Ideas Aren’t Worth Debating (by Noah Berlatsky for Huff Post)

Higher Education

“Students have controlled the building since Thursday. The occupation came a day after university President Wayne Frederick admitted Wednesday that he fired six staff who allegedly pocketed financial aid grants while also receiving reduced tuition.” Howard University students occupy campus building in the wake of massive financial aid scandal (by Joshua Eaton for Think Progress)

Native Rights

“Although there is no official data detailing the rates of missing and murdered Native women, communities on and off reservations maintain that the number is very high. As reported by Rewire.News, nearly every Native American family has a story of a female relative who has gone missing or been murdered. On some reservations, women are murdered at more than ten times the national average.” States Inch Closer to Better Reporting on Violence Against Native Women (by Mary Annette Pember for Rewire)

“Whitehorse also shared her story in the recently completed film Amá, in which British filmmaker Lorna Tucker documents the history of the IHS’ sterilization program, a part of the U.S. government’s shameful neo-eugenics policies during the 1960s to late 1970s. Amá is the Navajo word for mother. The story of sterilization of Native women is a history that has been overlooked for far too long, explained Charon Asetoyer, director of the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC) in South Dakota. Asetoyer of the Comanche Nation is featured in the film.” ‘Amá’ and the Legacy of Sterilization in Indian Country (by Mary Annette Pember for Rewire)

“Comedy“

““People see something they don’t like and they expect it to stop,” Gervais says in “Humanity.” “The world is getting worse. Don’t get me wrong, I think I’ve lived through the best 50 years of humanity. 1960 through 2015, the peak of civilization for everything. For tolerances, for freedoms, for communication, for medicine! And now it’s going the other way a little bit.” “Dumpster fire” has emerged as the favorite emblem of our present moment, but that Gervais quote feels both more apt and more tragic a metaphor: The Trump/Brexit era is a rich, famous, white, middle-aged man declaring the world to be in decline the moment he stops understanding it.” The World Is Evolving and Ricky Gervais Isn’t (by Lindy West for The New York Times)

Horrific Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Action

“The Trump administration officially withdrew an Obama-era rule that would set higher standards for the treatment of animals whose meat could be sold as organic. The rule, created under the United States Department of Agriculture, would require poultry to be housed in spaces large enough to move freely and fully stretch their wings. Livestock would be required to have some access to outdoor space year round.” Trump Administration Eliminates Animal Welfare Rules (by Nicole Goodkind for Yahoo)

“While on its face, the bill appears to protect sex trafficking victims, in practice any website where sex work is discussed or advertised could face legal consequences in criminal and civil courts. Advocacy groups for sex workers and sex workers say the bill would endanger sex workers and fail to protect trafficking victims.” Sex workers would be endangered by Senate bill, advocates say (by Casey Quinlan for Think Progress)

Gun Violence

“Speaking at an Axios event Friday focused on the gun debate, Hogg was asked about where the news media tripped up in its coverage of the tragic shooting at his Parkland, Florida school that left 17 people dead. “Not giving black students a voice,” Hogg responded, via Axios. “My school is about 25 percent black, but the way we’re covered doesn’t reflect that.”” Parkland Student David Hogg Says Black Classmates Weren’t Given a Voice by Media (by T. Marcin for Yahoo)

“While the heroism of these students is without question, we shouldn’t forget that the Parkland activists are part of a broader choir of youths — from Columbine to Ferguson to Baltimore — who have harmonized their voices to plead for an end to gun violence in all its forms. Unfortunately, many of us have difficulty hearing each voice equally. The ears of our nation have still not been trained to hear the prophetic voices of poor youths of color.” The young voices we aren’t hearing in the gun-control debate (by Michael McBride for Washington Post)

“Yet there is something else here too, something more than scapegoat-ism. Video games do not lead to direct violence, we believe that firmly. But that doesn’t mean that the way guns and violence are portrayed in our favorite hobby cannot test our consciences or that we cannot be critical of their depiction. Across social media, developers, players, and critics have tried to work out their personal positions in this messy intersection of culture and violence. That messiness is what makes these conversations important. It is valuable to dig into those conflicting feelings, to try to understand our particular dilemma as lovers of a medium in which guns are the uncritical device on which so much action turns.” Let’s Talk About Guns and Video Games (by Austin Walker for Vice)

““No one understood the extent of what had happened,” she added. “No one could believe that there were bodies in that building waiting to be identified for over a day. No one knew that the people who had gone missing had stopped breathing long before any of us had even known that a code red had been called. No one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this would reach or where this would go. For those who still can’t comprehend, because they refuse to, I’ll tell you where it went: right into the ground, six feet deep.”” Emma González Spends 6 Minutes, 20 Seconds In Silence To Remember Parkland Shooting (by Jenna Amatulli for Huffpost)

Racism

“But white male anger is steeped in a lie. It is fighting for what they were never going to have. For the promises that were never going to be fulfilled. White men are the only people allowed to fully believe in the American dream and perhaps that is the cruelest thing to have ever been done to them and the world that has to suffer their anger as they refuse to let go of a fantasy that we were never allowed to imagine ourselves in.” The Anger of the White Male Lie (by Ijeoma Oluo)

“The site describes itself as a “platform for creators, by creators… We believe that creators of all stripes should be able to earn a living doing what they love!” MakerSupport limits fundraising to supposedly creative ventures, from podcasts to YouTube videos to “robotics projects,” and explicitly forbids users from raising money for “personal expenses.”” ‘This is all we’ve got’: Young white supremacists are down to their last fundraising platform (by Casey Michel for Think Progress)

“Among the young girls the reader meets in Pushout, there’s “Mia” (not her real name, as Morris used pseudonyms for all girls interviewed). Mia talked about how a “juvie” teacher assumed that when she asked for other tasks in class, that the girl didn’t complete her work. But Mia told Morris that she had raced through the assignment. Said Mia: “Then I’m like, ‘Can I write or draw?’ Something? I mean, it’s a whole hour to go.’ She was like, ‘No, you can’t do anything. You’re always getting done before the whole class. You know what, get out.’ …. I’m like, ‘Because I do my work, I’m actually trying to do my work now, and now you want me to get out? Hella shit.’”” ‘I’m Not Slow’: Black Girls Tell Their Experiences of School ‘Pushout’ in New Book (by Cynthia Greenlee for Rewire)

“On Wednesday, The Washington Post headlined its profile of Conditt by referring to him as “frustrated,” and led with an idyllic description of the bomber’s hometown, before offering a gentle account of his “quiet and shy” demeanor. The New York Times shed light on Conditt’s “tight-knit” and “deeply religious” family. And the Associated Press led with the perspective of Conditt’s uncle, who described the killer as “smart and kind.”” The double standard on how the media is talking about the Austin bomber (by Elham Khatami for Think Progress)

Sexism in Healthcare

“Feministing Editorial Director Maya Dusenbery pulls back the curtain on the history and current state of the medical profession to explain why women with chronic illnesses are not receiving the care they need. It’s a book every person working in health care should read and all those who identify as women should take with them to the doctor. As Dusenbery writes, “the problems explored in this book don’t solely affect cis women. All women—cis or trans—are affected.” Therefore, we must be our own best advocates in this imperfect (at best) system. Her book is a crucial advocacy tool for individuals as well as those seeking wide-scale change.” It’s Not All in Your Head: New Book Sheds Light on ‘Bad Medicine and Lazy Science’ Harming Women (by Katie Klabusich for Rewire)

Sex Workers

“Still, Dixon and his colleagues say Demand Abolition’s involvement encouraged King County to significantly boost enforcement efforts and change the way they prosecuted people who bought sex. And in 2018–after the World Health Organization and Amnesty International have endorsed research and policies showing that decriminalizing sex work, including buying sex, actually keeps sex workers safer—King County’s involvement with Demand Abolition raises questions about why prosecutors are still increasingly criminalizing the demand-side of sex work.” King County Took Money From an Anti-Prostitution Organization. Then “Unprecedented” Felony Prosecutions of Sex Buyers Began. (by Sydney Brownstone for The Stranger)

Tr*mp Administration

“Herridge’s narrow reading of the order appointing Mueller as special counsel does not match its text. Mueller’s appointment gives him express authority to investigate “any links and/or coordination bet ween the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump” and “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.”” Minutes after blockbuster report on Russia investigation, the knives are out for Rod Rosenstein (by Judd Legum for Think Progress)

“[McCabe] insisted he had done nothing wrong in organising the October 2016 interview, saying “it was the type of exchange with the media that the Deputy Director oversees several times per week”. He said of the subsequent justice department investigation that he tried to answer the questions “truthfully and accurately” and “when I thought my answers were misunderstood, I contacted investigators to correct them”.” FBI ex-deputy director Andrew McCabe sacked days before retirement (BBC)

Correcting Past (and Present) Wrongs

“The history of slavery in the United States justifies reparations for African Americans, argues a recent report by a U.N.-affiliated group based in Geneva. This conclusion was part of a study by the United Nations’ Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, a body that reports to the international organization’s High Commissioner on Human Rights. The group of experts, which includes leading human rights lawyers from around the world, presented its findings to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday, pointing to the continuing link between present injustices and the dark chapters of American history.” U.S. owes black people reparations for a history of ‘racial terrorism,’ says U.N. panel (by Ishaan Tharoor for Washington Post)

“What Mason found in short was that until the 1970s National Geographic all but ignored people of color who lived in the United States, rarely acknowledging them beyond laborers or domestic workers. Meanwhile it pictured “natives” elsewhere as exotics, famously and frequently unclothed, happy hunters, noble savages—every type of cliché. Unlike magazines such as Life, Mason said, National Geographic did little to push its readers beyond the stereotypes ingrained in white American culture.” For Decades, Our Coverage Was Racist. To Rise Above Our Past, We Must Acknowledge It (by Susan Goldberg for National Geographic)

Gun Violence

“The walkouts, which came 10 days before a march on Washington that could draw hundreds of thousands of students to the nation’s capital, are unprecedented in recent American history, not seen in size or scope since student protests of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. Supporters say the walkouts and demonstrations represent a realization of power and influence by young people raised on social media who have come of age in an era of never-ending wars, highly publicized mass shootings and virulent national politics.” Thousands of students walk out of school in nationwide gun violence protest (by Joe Heim, Marissa J. Lang and Susan Svrluga for Washington Post)

Elections

“A whistleblower has revealed to the Observer how Cambridge Analytica – a company owned by the hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, and headed at the time by Trump’s key adviser Steve Bannon – used personal information taken without authorisation in early 2014 to build a system that could profile individual US voters, in order to target them with personalised political advertisements.” Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach (by Carole Cadwalladr and Emma Graham-Harrison for The Guardian)

Politically Motivated Murders

“Marielle Franco, 38, was a groundbreaking politician who had become a voice for disadvantaged people in the teeming favelas that are home to almost one-quarter of Rio de Janeiro’s population, where grinding poverty, police brutality and shootouts with drug gangs are routine.” Protests held across Brazil after Rio councillor shot dead (by Dom Phillips for The Guardian)

“Investigators have said the three blasts that killed two people and wounded two others could have been hate crimes since all the victims were black or Hispanic. But they also said they have not ruled out any possible motive. Draylen Mason, 17, was killed and his mother wounded when a package bomb was opened Monday in their kitchen. The teen’s grandfather is Norman Mason, a prominent dentist in east Austin. He was friends with Freddie Dixon, stepfather of 39-year-old Anthony House, who died in a similar attack in another part of the city on March 2, said Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the NAACP.” Families of 2 Austin package bomb victims knew each other (by Will Weissert and Paul J. Weber for AP)