Tag Archives: Race

* Doubts about Brown v. Board

In the January 13, 2015 Washington Post, Valerie Strauss calls attention to an obscure Supreme Court case that she says may have a greater impact on the educational achievement of black children than any other case since the 1954 Brown v. Board decision.

She republishes a lengthy analysis of the situation by Richard Rothstein.  She often republishes Richard Rothstein’s articles.  As usual, Rothstein has assembled a mountain of data in support of his position; however, unfortunately, a mountain of data matters little if one’s premises are wrong.

Continue reading * Doubts about Brown v. Board

* “Son”

I don’t like Elder Conrad.

At the shelter, they compel us to attend chapel every night. A different group presents each night, following a monthly rotation. Elder Conrad and his group come the second Sunday of each month. In nigh on four years, he’s never said a single thing I felt merited attention.

There is one exception.
Continue reading * “Son”

* Status report: A snapshot of my life right now

On Tuesday 12/02, my therapist asked for a thumbnail summary of my overall situation.

I said, “I have goals, I’m taking concrete steps toward those goals, and I have a ton of hope.”

I know no way to account for this but the exact scenario I set forth in “Chaos overwhelms the poor:” I pay attention only to the concrete here-and-how, and to what I myself can do.  (Related:  Here – Now – Can.)  From the farthest reach of my right fingertip to my right, to the farthest reach of my left fingertip to my left: within that range lies all my responsibility, everything that I can control.  Here, the world appears orderly.  Here, I can order and manage my affairs.  Here I have power.  I can act effectively.  I can easily find hope.

A ton of hope.
Continue reading * Status report: A snapshot of my life right now

What is Cory Booker so afraid of?

Bookmarks:
What is Cory Booker so afraid of?Michele Bachmann and the bogey manWhen a $1 billion divorce award isn’t enoughTed Cruz, plagiarist?“Police wouldn’t be there if you weren’t killing each other.”

Continue reading What is Cory Booker so afraid of?

* My white friends are upset about Eric Garner

Garner grand jury case reaction unifies left and right
Krauthammer: Decision not to indict NYPD officer ‘totally incomprehensible’

Garner was middle-aged, as we are.  He had not just robbed a cigar store, rough-handling the clerk; he was selling “loose ones,” as we all do.  We all buy and sell them all the time.  There’s some risk to it, as in Baltimore this activity in public can get you a $150 ticket (and you must appear for trial).

Death, however, isn’t normally in the scenario.
Continue reading * My white friends are upset about Eric Garner

* “How municipalities in St. Louis County, Mo., profit from poverty”

“[T]he uprising in Ferguson was an inevitable reaction to the institutional racism coursing through the area for decades.” — Jack Kirkland

I’m homeless.  At this writing, I’ve been homeless for exactly 3½ years.

When you meet a homeless man for the first time, you won’t notice his skin color.  Not first.  You’ll notice the condition he’s in.  You’ll notice his clothes, his grooming, his conduct.  Skin color is so far down the list, it might as well be left off completely.

Some disagree. They seem to think race is the only factor in poverty.

Continue reading * “How municipalities in St. Louis County, Mo., profit from poverty”

* Manners a cure for racism, sexism?

Bookmarks:
What conservatives get right about stopping racism and sexism7 Habits of Chronically Unhappy PeopleAbout the Keystone XL pipeline

Continue reading * Manners a cure for racism, sexism?

* “School’s Nation of Islam handout paints Founding Fathers as racists”

I have no background with Todd Starnes. I am aware of his October 27 column, “School’s Nation of Islam handout paints Founding Fathers as racists,” only because Yahoo! News captured it. He plays fast and loose with the facts, which does not reflect well on him or Fox News & Commentary.

(Disclaimer: In a follow-up column October 28, Starnes reports information from a second parent that confirms some of his suspicions and contradicts statements of the superintendent and the teacher.  For other reasons, I have chosen to write this based on the facts as they were known on October 27.)

Sommer Bauer’s third grade son came home from school with a paper that bore an impressive image of Mount Rushmore. The captions made unflattering remarks about the Presidents shown.  The source was a Nation of Islam web page.

Continue reading * “School’s Nation of Islam handout paints Founding Fathers as racists”