First, let’s define terms. This posting is not about the academic subject taught in graduate schools. Nobody cares about that, nor is that what angry mobs besieging school board meetings and opportunistic Republican politicians are screeching about. They’re using the phrase to describe K[...]
Archive for the ‘Racism’ Category
December 15th, 2021 - 8:12 pm § in Law and Courts, Racism
Chauvin pleads in 2 civil rights cases
Ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, already convicted of murder in state court, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, to two federal civil rights indictments. In a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Chauvin admitted he violated the civil rights of George Floyd, who he murdered in 2020,[...]
December 9th, 2021 - 10:25 pm § in Law and Courts, Racism
Jussie Smollett found guilty, while black
A jury convicted actor Jussie Smollett of felony disorderly conduct for staging a fake hate crime. “Smollett said two men punched him, kicked him, used racist and homophobic slurs, threw chemicals in his face, wrapped rope around his neck and even yelled out a slogan in support of then-Preside[...]
Recycling Robert E. Lee
In his 2008 book The World Without Us, which tries to imagine what would happen on Earth if all humans suddenly disappeared, Alan Weisman suggested that humanity’s bronze artifacts would be the longest-lasting evidence of our former presence. Other sources (e.g., this article) say bronze can l[...]
Clown parade (video)
“Patriot Front, a group widely considered to be White nationalists, marched at the National Mall in Washington, DC, wearing white masks and carrying plastic shields. CNN’s Laura Jarrett and John Avlon react to the scene.” — CNN, December 6, 2021 Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
Tennessee teacher fired for telling white students their ancestors weren’t oppressed slaves
White privilege is real, and white students do have advantages, but you can’t tell them that if you want to teach in Tennessee. Matthew Hawn (photo, left), a tenured high school teacher who taught a social studies class on “Contemporary Issues” in Kingsport, found that out the hard[...]
Hershey ad triggers GOP official’s racism
The GOP official is Lisa Leisy, who’s campaigning for Janice McGeachin, a white supremacist and rightwing extremist who hobnobs with violent militia groups and is trying to unseat Idaho’s GOP governor in next year’s Republican primary. Read here what provoked her. (Spoiler: The ad [...]
December 3rd, 2021 - 8:40 pm § in Law and Courts, Racism
Why only 7 years for racist slasher?
Ole Hougen, 45, the rough-looking shirtless character in the photo, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for slashing a black man “10 to 20 times” in the head and chest with a 9-inch knife, CNN reported on December 3, 2021 (read story here). Seems lenient to me. The victim, who didn’[...]
Making sense of “MAGA” and the politics of unreason
Retired professor and book author Bill Schneider explains (here) the Republican Party “is becoming a cult” based on the “MAGA” values espoused by Trump. This isn’t new. “Right-wing extremism,” he says, “dates back to the earliest days of the country.&#[...]
November 24th, 2021 - 5:39 pm § in Law and Courts, Racism
Really?
“This is what a public lynching looks like in the 21st century.” — Kevin Gough, attorney (for more of his rants, go here) Three white men in pickups chased a black man on foot, trapped him with their vehicles, then killed him with shotgun blasts. Defending one of the killers, this [...]