History shows us over and over that atrocity doesn't come solely from a single malevolent entity, unregenerate in their inhumanity, but also from ordinary people making imperfect choices in the face of an imperfect world. And so perhaps the path to a less imperfect world is to accept that those who oppose what we think … Continue reading Life Through a Pain of Glass
I started planning a post on the subject of 'cool' or 'real' girls, and who has the (or at least a) valid definition. However, my boundaries and theses kept moving until in the end, I realised I was asking the wrong question. Instead, my question (and that of others) might better be: why does it … Continue reading Why Does Anything Matter?
*Gling* Jake turned, shoulders tense. “Morning, Jacob.” Sheriff Marcus strode into the shop, fragments of eggshell crunching beneath his boots. “Thank God you’re here. We’ve been...” Jake waved an arm at ‘Blasphemer’ scrawled across the window. Marcus sighed, then held out a letter. “Council’s withdrawn your business license.” “What! But I’m the—” “Listen. Maybe it’s … Continue reading Among Decent Folk
Do black lives matter? Of course they do. But my reaction to the movement of the same name is less definite. Because the movement is less definite. My experiences while living in an area of Bristol with a strong African and Asian presence left me, as someone who doesn't speak an non-European languages and presents … Continue reading No Person’s Land
Someone pointed me at this video as a great demonstration that minorities can't be racist. Unsurprisingly, I find it instead supports a middle ground: minorities can be racist, but have fewer opportunities both to be unregenerately prejudiced and to be prejudiced at all. https://youtu.be/dw_mRaIHb-M Rahman's satire of Western history is both accurate and amusing; and … Continue reading Turn-About Isn’t Fair Play
This morning, the rather skilled Loren Eaton poked me about Manchester's Beetham Tower. His post is embedded below, and my thoughts follow. Cities are creatures of stone, speaking in noise, shape, and colour, as humans speak in noise, shape, and colour. Just as we might have feelings about a person because of their accent, their … Continue reading Uncanny Cliffs
The tendency to leap to the worst conclusions revealed in this talk almost made me abandon Twitter altogether: If the lede reads like verbose click-bait, that is because it is; despite my hope it wouldn't. I attempted to create a tweet that both expresses my thoughts and had space for a link to the video; … Continue reading First Is All That Matters?
Caitlyn Jenner's decision to present as female has been in the news recently, as have reactions to it from various people and organisations. And, being interested in equal rights, those perspectives have been a frequent feature of various of my social media streams. My stance on her right to become more comfortable with herself hasn't … Continue reading A Pareto of Prejudice
Yesterday's Guardian contained an article by Eva Wiseman exposing the difference between critics' descriptions of male and female departures from the mainstream: what in a male artist might be termed insight or genius is often labelled quirkiness when displayed by a female artist. While I don't agree with the gender binary, I definitely agree there … Continue reading The Stories That We Tell Ourselves
Over the last few days, many of the blogs and persons I follow have made reference to this article which suggests "douchebag" as an appropriate pejorative label for white people. While I agree with much of it, there is one area I strongly contest: increasing prejudice as a social good. The article make the very … Continue reading Membership of Humanity is Not Restricted
