Donald, The Anti-racism Daily newsletter that pops into my inbox every morning around 3am provided excerpts from and links to five of Dr. King’s speeches: Letters from a Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963)Beyond Vietnam (April 4, 1967)The Role of the Behavioral Scientist in the Civil Rights Movement (September 1, 1967)The Other America (March 14, 1968)I’ve … Continue reading On this MLK Day most Whites are still only scratching the surface of racism
Dog Whistles
Our hearts were broken into even smaller pieces today
Donald, What to say? I don’t know. The in our faces events of the day have been scrutinized and parsed every which way from Sunday and there are still countless declarations swirling about the necessity for more scrutiny and parsing about how it was that the mob breached the Capitol, how it was that we … Continue reading Our hearts were broken into even smaller pieces today
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it still doesn’t lead to just indictments of killer cops
To: The Race Baiter I’m still reading Jill Lepore’s tome “These Truths: A History of The United States.” I’m all of 24% through it and have about 31 hours left to go. It’s fascinating and devastating, in equal measure. I keep coming across quotes and circumstances from 150 or 200 years ago that feel like … Continue reading A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it still doesn’t lead to just indictments of killer cops
Mass hysteria on steroids
To: The Tool It’s clearly not a new phenomenon in either our longer-term collective history or when it comes to you and your base, but given the phenomenal degree of nutso-ness (a totally technical term, btw) I’m not finished unpacking mass hysteria. Here’s the definition that my Google algorithm delivers (from Wikipedia): “In sociology and … Continue reading Mass hysteria on steroids
Vulnerability shouldn’t be a luxury
To: The Sorest, Most Messed-Up Loser Ever Yesterday our intern chaplain preached and near the end of her sermon our senior minister said in the chat that she thought it was one of the best sermons ever. It was a truly wonderful sermon on an incredibly challenging portion of the lectionary – Mathew 25: 14-30, … Continue reading Vulnerability shouldn’t be a luxury
Recency bias
President* Trump, It used to be pretty frequently that I’d chew on something I felt the need to write to you about for several days, trying to figure out how to approach it or how to articulate it effectively. Lately, though, I’m finding I just don’t have the mental capacity or the stomach to think … Continue reading Recency bias
Trumpian twisted nihilism and some antidotes
President* Trump, Isn’t it interesting that news about the huge, life-affirming ‘Get Off Our Necks’ Commitment March is now nowhere to be seen but articles about the death of an apparent Trump supporter in Portland whose last act was to spray bear mace at protestors are everywhere? And isn’t it interesting that news of the … Continue reading Trumpian twisted nihilism and some antidotes
Gaslighting (or he keeps looking straight into the camera without blinking)
President* Trump, I learned today that not everyone knows what “gaslighting” means so because it’s such an important weapon of yours I thought it would be a good idea to define it (and don’t worry, I know you know what it is so this isn’t for you): verb gerund or present participle: gaslighting manipulate (someone) … Continue reading Gaslighting (or he keeps looking straight into the camera without blinking)