At Amazon, Charles W. Mills, From Class to Race.
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
'Critical Race Weary'
From Buck Sexton:
Much of the recent attention on Critical Race Theory (“CRT”) has been a result of the increase in Zoom teaching during the COVID-19 school shutdowns. Parents became aware of the kind of identity-politics indoctrination forced on their kids. Students who hadn’t even reached high-school age were being told that they were part of systematic oppression based on their skin color. It has been known for a long time that academia is riddled with CRT nonsense, and college campuses have been demanding that students worship at the altar of “Diversity and Inclusion.” But corporate America has also been infiltrated with similar politically correct brainwashing. The Marxist rot of CRT has spread into the executive suites of the biggest and most powerful companies in the world. Case in point: Raytheon Technologies. It’s the second-largest defense contractor in the world, with around 181,000 employees and revenue over $56 billion in 2020. It’s not the kind of place one might expect to be nagging employees about “checking their privilege” or “confronting historical oppression.” This is a place that makes missiles that blow people up, among other things. Yet thanks to an industrious think-tank scholar at the Manhattan Institute named Christopher Rufo, we know that when Raytheon isn’t coming up with new ways to drop bombs on the Third World, its employees sit through some of the most absurd and offensive racial sensitivity training imaginable. Rufo got his hands on the actual training materials from Raytheon’s version of CRT training. He writes in City Journal about some of the most insane PC training modules, such as when:“Raytheon asks white employees to deconstruct their identities and identify [their] privilege. The company argues that white, straight, Christian, able-bodied, English-speaking men are at the top of the intersectional hierarchy – and must work on recognizing [their] privilege” and step aside in favor of other identity groups. According to outside diversity consultant Michelle Saahene, whites “have the privilege of individuality,” while minorities “don’t have that privilege.”Divisive Diversity Deconstruct their identities? Intersectional hierarchy? These are Leftist absurdities, but they have to be taken seriously in so far as they’re part of a vast and growing “diversity and inclusion” complex. There are frauds who travel around from company to company to preach this nonsense, and they’re shockingly well-compensated and culturally influential. In fact, there’s real power now behind CRT. As anyone who has been called into human resources at a Fortune 500 company for a “sensitivity” issue will be able to tell you, the HR policies of major companies now reflect the philosophy of CRT. Employees are expected to abide by the ever-changing dictates of these Diversity Czars or face the consequences. These expectations even extend to the way colleagues are allowed to speak to each other...
Still more.
Yet again, contra Sexton, C.R.T. is not Marxist. See Kimberley Crenshaw, Critical Race Theory.
'Far-Right' Koreatown Protests
Previously, "Koreatown Protests: Cops Fire Rubber Bullets at Violent Demonstrators (VIDEO)."
Now at the Los Angles Times, "How far-right rage over transgender rights at an L.A. spa led to chaos in the streets":
The activists arrived outside the Wi Spa in Westlake Saturday morning, some prepared for the worst. Several wore bike helmets and vests with extra padding. N.W.A.’s “F— Tha Police” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” filled the air. They were met by far-right extremists who over the last few weeks had turned a debate over transgender access at a Korean spa into a rallying cry. It didn’t take long for the dueling protests to dissolve into disarray. By the end, the LAPD had used projectiles and batons and arrested 40 people — mostly for failure to disperse. Several said they sustained injuries at the hands of police. “I knew it was going to be violent. I didn’t know it was going to end up like that,” said Jessica Rogers, a 31-year-old who had come to document the event and support transgender rights and was among those arrested. In the aftermath, the police are facing questions about whether officers used excessive force. But the incident has also exposed the power of a viral video given widespread attention in the right-wing press and social media. The spa has become the latest hot spot for clashes between far-right groups and the left in L.A., kicked off by the video taken by an irate customer in late June. The video showed a woman arguing with Wi Spa employees after she said she had seen a customer with male genitalia in an area that is reserved for women. The Wilshire Boulevard facility has some gender-separated areas with changing rooms and Jacuzzis. The footage was quickly amplified by an international network of right-wing activists, pundits and media outlets, including Breitbart, the Gateway Pundit, RealClearPolitics and TheBlaze, a publication founded by Glenn Beck. Message boards where anti-trans activists gather, including Mumsnet, saw thousands of comments. The spa told The Times Monday that they are required to follow California law that prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers based on race, gender, sexual identity or expression. “Like many other metropolitan areas, Los Angeles contains a transgender population, some of whom enjoy visiting a spa,” it said in a statement, adding that the spa “strives to meet the needs and safety of all of its customers.” Brian Levin, director of the nonpartisan Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, said the protests are indicative of a “democratization of hate” that has allowed far-right groups with a variety of ideologies to come together around flash-point events after they are amplified online and in conservative media...
Still more.
And notice how leftist media outlets like L.A.T. always label mainstream conservatives as "far-Right." *Eye-roll.*
Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tests Positive for Covid
Man, and she's been vaccinated too.
BREAKING NEWS: Vaccinated Pelosi aide tests positive for COVID after contact with Texas Demshttps://t.co/YGocobVEf1
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 20, 2021
Jeff Bezos Blasts Into Space Aboard Blue Origin (VIDEO)
Absolutely spectacular:
PREVIOUSLY: "Richard Branson and Crew Go Weightless on Historic Virgin Galactic Space Flight (VIDEO)."
What Arizona's 2010 Ban on Ethnic Studies Could Mean for the Fight Over Critical Race Theory
As states across the country impose new rules on the teaching of history and race in schools, a messy, drawn-out battle over a Mexican American studies program in Tucson could offer a preview of what’s to come.https://t.co/5QBI9CjGit
— Coalition for Academic Justice at UArizona (@CAJUArizona) July 17, 2021
Carol Roth, The War on Small Business
Carol Roth, The War on Small Business: How the Government Used the Pandemic to Crush the Backbone of America.
Follow "Big Hair" Carol on Twitter.
'Isn't She Lovely?"
Carol Roth asked yesterday what was the best Stevie Wonder song of all time?
I'm not the biggest fan, but I'd say his best song is "Isn't She Lovely?," or at least that's the one I most enjoy hearing.
Man, the dude can jam on the harmonica!
Watch and listen:
Monday, July 19, 2021
Alice Goffman's TED Talk (VIDEO)
Last night I was rummaging through my stacks and stacks of books --- the overflow of books I own, of which I have no shelf space --- looking for Herbert Gutman's, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925. I actually did find the book, which somehow had found a spot on my bookcases downstairs (the stacks of books upstairs in my bedroom are piled high in the corners next to the bookshelves I have up there).
While this was happening, I confused Herbert Gutman for Irving Goffman, the father of Alice Goffman, who is the author of the bombshell book, On the Run:On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City. The book's controversial, actually. The New York Times had a huge write-up on her in the Sunday magazine: "The Trials of Alice Goffman: Her first book, ‘On the Run' — about the lives of young black men in West Philadelphia — has fueled a fight within sociology over who gets to speak for whom."
Anyway, that's how I ran across Ms. Alice's TED Talk, which is mentioned at her Wikipedia page. The video of her talk posted at the TED website has been viewed over 2 million times, and the YouTube video below almost 280,000 times.
She's gets very emotional, with her voice cracking and her nearly coming to tears as she gets further and further along in her talk --- it's quite compelling.
In any case, now you know the story of how I came across this video.
Watch:
She was denied tenure at the University of Wisconsin (obviously mostly as a result of the book controversy), and she's now a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pomona College, where "unnamed activists calling for her offer to be rescinded due to unsupported and unsubstantiated claims of racism in her work and research methods."
Naturally. *Sigh.*
In any case, enjoy the show!
'Jumpin' Jack Flash'
The Rolling Stones, featuring Ronnie Wood, in 2015:
And the Stones, with the original lineup, featuring the late Brian Jones on rhythm guitar, in 1968:
When asked if he felt guilty about Jones's death, Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone in 1995: "No, I don't really. I do feel that I behaved in a very childish way, but we were very young, and in some ways we picked on him. But, unfortunately, he made himself a target for it; he was very, very jealous, very difficult, very manipulative, and if you do that in this kind of a group of people you get back as good as you give, to be honest. I wasn't understanding enough about his drug addiction. No one seemed to know much about drug addiction. Things like LSD were all new. No one knew the harm. People thought cocaine was good for you." Long-time Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman said of Jones, "He formed the band. He chose the members. He named the band. He chose the music we played. He got us gigs. ... he was very influential, very important, and then slowly lost it – highly intelligent – and just kind of wasted it and blew it all away."
Koreatown Protests: Cops Fire Rubber Bullets at Violent Demonstrators (VIDEO)
At the Los Angeles Times, "LAPD makes arrests after protesters clash over transgender rights at Koreatown spa":
Dueling protests outside a Koreatown spa over transgender rights Saturday prompted a large police response and resulted in more than a dozen arrests. LGBTQ activists gathered outside the Wi Spa on Saturday morning to counter a protest against transgender access to the spa’s facilities. The Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly in front of the spa near Wilshire and Rampart boulevards around noon when the two groups of protesters began to clash, according to police and videos posted on Twitter. LAPD Det. Meghan Aguilar said authorities declared the unlawful assembly after protesters began throwing projectiles, including at officers. Videos posted to social media show police in riot gear shooting bean bag rounds and 40-millimeter hard-foam projectiles at protesters. It was not immediately clear how many protesters were in the area. Protesters demonstrating against the spa’s policy waved signs saying “Save our children” and “Stop defending pedos.” “Most people did leave the area, but currently there are a number of arrests made for failure to disperse,” Aguilar said. No injuries have been reported. A reporter from the Guardian US who was covering the protest wrote on Twitter that she was chased and “thrown to the ground by right-wing anti-pedophile protesters.” The demonstrations, similar to those that occurred at the spa earlier this month, were apparently spurred by a viral video taken by an irate customer at the spa in late June. The woman in the video, which was posted to Instagram, complains to staff at Wi Spa that a man had allegedly walked into the women’s section and showed his genitals to young girls. The customer the woman complained about reportedly identified as a woman. “He is a man,” the woman can be heard saying. “He is not a female. There are girls down there, other women who are highly offended by what they just saw and you did nothing. You sided with him.” Wi Spa defended its policy in a statement to Los Angeles Magazine. “Like many other metropolitan areas, Los Angeles contains a transgender population, some of whom enjoy visiting a spa,” the statement said. “Wi Spa strives to meet the needs of all its customers.”...
Keep reading.
And watch, at ABC News 7 Los Angeles, "Video shows LAPD officer shoot protester with rubber bullet at close range," and "Dozens arrested after LAPD sends alert warning of unlawful assembly during Koreatown spa protests."
Thousands Upon Thousands Protect Strict New Coronavirus Restrictions in France (VIDEO)
This should be happening here! Covid protests, hehe.
It's da bomb, lol.
At the New York Times, "In France, angry protests, rising infections and record vaccinations":
More than 100,000 people took to the streets across France over the weekend to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s tough new vaccination strategy, which will restrict access to restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, long-distance trains and more for the unvaccinated. Demonstrators in Paris and elsewhere vented against what some called Mr. Macron’s “dictatorship” after he announced that a “health pass” — official proof of vaccination, a recent negative test, or recent Covid-19 recovery — would be required for many to attend or enter most public events and venues. At the same time, however, his policy seemed to have the desired effect: Record numbers of people flocked to vaccination centers in advance of the new rules coming into effect next month. It made for a striking split-screen image as millions lined up for vaccines — so desperately sought in much of the world suffering outbreaks but with little access to doses — as an increasingly strident group from both the far left and far right decried Mr. Macron’s policies as government overreach...Keep reading.
Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, Critical Race Theory
This is the key introductory text. It's pitched, really, at the undergraduate level.
At Amazon, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction.
(For the advanced graduate-level, nearly impenetrable text, see Kimbery Crenshaw, Critical Race Theory.)
Ben Carson Slams Critical Race Theory
This is excellent, except for Carson's claim that critical race theory is "Marxist."
There's plenty of Marxism in the schools, especially in the humanities and social sciences, but this ain't it.
It's not so, according one of the leading founders of critical race theory, Kimberly Crenshaw, in her foundational anthology, Critical Race Theory.
And Carson's at Fox News, "Dr. Ben Carson: Fighting critical race theory – this is how we stop this blatantly racist ideology: We cannot allow CRT to rob American children of that same hope that was instilled in me."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
