Elsewhere (288)
James Kirkup on modern policing and the case of Harry Miller:
The cop said he was in possession of 30 Tweets by me. I asked if any contained criminal material. He said…. No. I asked if any came close to being criminal… and he read me a limerick. Honestly. A limerick. A cop read me a limerick over the phone. I said, I didn’t write that. He said, “Ah. But you liked it and promoted it.” I asked why he was wasting his time on a non-crime. He said, “It’s not a crime, but it will be recorded as a hate incident”… The cop repeatedly called the complainant “the victim.” I asked how there could be a victim if, as he’d established, there was no crime. He said, that’s just how it works.
Allen Farrington on when accusations of “white privilege” are revealed for what they are:
When challenged to defend her accusation [of “white privilege”], but before she was informed by [David] Webb that he is black, [CNN analyst, Areva] Martin retorted that “this is a whole long conversation I don’t have time to get into.” But if she were confident in her position, she would be able to explain it in plain English. Instead, she assumed that by simply invoking this concept, the discussion would be resolved in her favour. Because she was using the term as an ideological cudgel and not an argument, she didn’t want to explain at all, and was noticeably annoyed when asked to do so. “By virtue of being a white male, you have white privilege” has the appearance of an explanation, but she was really just rephrasing her previous assertion using more words.
As Farrington notes, Ms Martin seems to have assumed Mr Webb’s skin colour based solely on his reference to personal responsibility, which no non-white person would ever invoke, you see. So, no racism there, clearly.
Somewhat related, the second item here.
And Katherine Birbalsingh on the fallout of pretentious racial guilt:
There is a lot of white guilt in the school system… The powers-that-be look at statistics and jump to conclusions. When there are more black boys in detention at a school, it is interpreted as a sign of racism. But maybe those boys deserved that detention? And if they don’t have any discipline they could spin out of control, they could fail their GCSEs and then they’re not going to be contenders for Oxbridge. All these things are connected… The people pushing the racism discourse don’t mean any harm, but they don’t realise how harmful it is for black kids to be constantly told “the world is racist, you’re never going to get ahead.” It gives children an excuse.
Ms Birbalsingh strikes me as a formidable woman, resourceful and tenacious, and for an educator, unusually honest. But when she says, “The people pushing the racism discourse don’t mean any harm,” I think we can raise an eyebrow. If the often-paranoid racial worldview being pushed has such predictably, reliably, damaging effects, and is often difficult to distinguish from active malice – an attempt to cow white students and render them neurotic, while degrading the life-chances of their minority peers – then the motives of those propagating this discourse may warrant a second look.
Update, via the comments:
MC quotes Ms Birbalsingh’s claim that “the people pushing the racism discourse don’t mean any harm,” and adds, “I find this hard to believe… I wonder how they square the contradictions?” Well, personally, I tend to imagine lots of screeching mental feedback and the odd random sobbing fit. Though if you tell yourself continually how righteous you are, and if you surround yourself with people doing the same, and if you’re all reinforcing each other’s vanities, daily, then I suppose it’s easier to ignore certain practicalities.
And so we get Professor Melina Abdullah, who insists that calling the police is a racist and privileged act if the criminal in question happens to be black. Whereas, being granted a license to commit crime with no fear of police involvement, on account of being black, is in no way racist or a sign of privilege. Apparently, those so indulged will flourish as responsible citizens. Or Salon’s Scott Eric Kaufman, who told his readers, emphatically, that young black men “shouldn’t have to” comply with lawful instructions from the police. Mr Kaufman, who is white, dismissed any cooperation with the police as being “servile,” presumably on grounds that being combative and violent will improve the situation no end.
Examples of similarly twisted advice are not hard to come by, at least among educators and the severely educated. And so, the obvious question: If you wanted to degrade or ruin the life-chances of minorities, what would you do differently?
Oh, and we mustn’t forget this eye-widening feat of progressive education.
You see, the way to reduce disruption and violence in the classroom is to not punish the perpetrators when the perpetrators are black, thereby encouraging a sense of impunity. And when things inevitably escalate, resulting in actual riots, with students’ hair being set on fire and female teachers being punched in the face, the thing to do, obviously, is to berate the injured teachers for their insensitivity. And then hand out panic whistles. Again, the results of this policy, implemented repeatedly, were precisely what you’d expect, what any fool could anticipate, and pretty much what you’d hope for if you were trying to wreak havoc.
As usual, feel free to share your own links and snippets, on any subject, in the comments.
Katherine used to be quite a prodigious blogger at To Miss With Love, got outed and spoke at a Tory conference which put a big black mark against her career. She still blogs occaisionally.
She was on the Rubin Report just before Christmas, worth a listen.
She was on the Rubin Report just before Christmas, worth a listen.
Video here.
I asked why he was wasting his time on a non-crime.
It’s less dangerous than chasing stabby scum and he gets to sit in a warm office.
James Kirkup on modern policing and the case of Harry Miller:
My BTL contribution to the article was:
A poor lad once came a cropper
When questioned by a daft Yorkshire copper;
The plod said “It’s true
That a thing you can’t do
Is make fun of a lass with a chopper”.
When the flatfeet turn up you haven’t seen me for, oh, two or three weeks, all right?
Bonfire of the ‘journalists’: social justice clickbait faces its Waterloo.
We can but hope.
Bonfire of the ‘journalists’: social justice clickbait faces its Waterloo.
I hesitate to gloat, but given the relentless conformity of their output – eerily uniform politics with every intersectional tic – they made themselves interchangeable, generic, and therefore disposable.
… they made themselves interchangeable, generic, and therefore disposable.
To paraphrase the sage of our time, Syndrome, when everyone’s special, no one is.
Without wanting to fall down the quotemine I can’t say that “You’d need a heart of stone not to laugh.” hasn’t been in my mind during this ‘journalism’ (snort) catastrophe.
Harry Miller.
You’re no longer able to face your accuser in England? That’s troubling…
“Down south” is a bit ambiguous.
…they made themselves interchangeable, generic, and therefore disposable.
One journalist lamented how she was sacked while writing an article about a federal worker who, by merely missing two paychecks, could no longer afford tampons.
I laughed out loud.
Women and children, hardest hit. Washington DC was becoming Dickens’ London.
If you’re passing off such preposterous anti-Trump sob stories as “journalism” just like everybody else, then yeah, maybe it’s time to get started on that novel.
Bonfire of the ‘journalists’: social justice clickbait faces its Waterloo.
I think it’s safe to say their influence on the culture has not been entirely positive.
when she says, “The people pushing the racism discourse don’t mean any harm,” I think we can raise an eyebrow.
1) T.S. Eliott above; I think I’d change “Half the harm…” to “most of the harm…”.
2) It may be a BFO, but the harm does not interest them, because it does not affect them, and are thus generally blind to it and, as has been noted, in willful ignorance and/or denial of their part in it.
When there are more black boys in detention at a school, it is interpreted as a sign of racism.
Headmistress Birbalsingh needs to have a conversation with the local Constabulary. More black kids in detention is not interpreted as racism, it is racism.
If someone “of minority” complains about their kid being detained that proves a racial hatred motive in detention. It might not be a crime. Maybe the kid deserved detention, but the fact that he (or she, or they..or xe) is (or are) black, or “Asian”, or Muslim, or whatever, puts the detention under the purview of the ever-vigilant police force.
I expect Ms Birbalsingh will soon issue an abject apology for her offensive speech and then resign her post.
Meanwhile, over at Slate:
Via Ace.
Via Ace.
Hmmmph.
Hmmmph.
Heh. Missed that one. I swear I read most of the comments. I do, I do.
You cannot begin to imagine how triggered I was. A Campari and Night Nurse would put things right. No eggs, though, my therapy armadillo would eat it and it is ovo-intolerant and a vegan.
A Campari and Night Nurse would put things right.
As a bonus, I’ll even throw in some party food.
No, don’t thank me.
No, don’t thank me.
What the hell is that?
What the hell is that?
It’s party food, obviously.
[ Peers closely. ]
I think those are… peas.
The Felonious Tweets would make a good name for a band.
Nice warm office, no wrestling with drunks…I bet the cops fight each other to get on Tweet Patrol!
Re the cheetah picture: I saw it earlier, read the description, and still don’t get it.
It’s party food, obviously.
Not just any generic “party food”, it is SuperValu™ party food, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha party food of choice. Humbled as we are by your magnanimity by this new Epicurean treat, truly we are not worthy.
truly we are not worthy.
Oh, come on. It’s got peas.
It’s practically salad.
Oh, come on. It’s got peas.
Yes, but they are hand grown by blind nuns in the Andes using only the finest llama manure compost, in a fine ragout of Yangtze river dolphin and Assam Hare.
I can’t believe it is only 25 Euros for a half hogshead.
“Good for 10 people”
FWIW: Beto O’Rourke has been outed as a Furry
Re the cheetah picture: I saw it earlier, read the description, and still don’t get it.
I get the feeling Pogonip isn’t familiar with the world of furries. I’ll leave that conversation to someone else.
“Bonfire of the ‘journalists’: social justice clickbait faces its Waterloo.”
Rumors abound on Twitter that the quondam ‘journalists’ are now being hired by NGO activist organizations, albeit I suppose at a pay decrease (although I don’t know; some of those George Soros-funded organizations pay nice coin to the Kulturekampfers).
So, now they are OFFICIALLY ‘activists’, instead of just ‘activists masquerading as journalists’
Which has been one of my abiding beefs; not only do journos give the left in the outside world a pass due to a feeling of common cause, they want to avoid becoming unemployable if they need another job.
They can beat up on Republicans all day, because they don’t have a resume in with them. Democrats, not so much.
I believe I would prefer that food before it’s been through the party.
I believe I would prefer that food before it’s been through the party.
[ Makes agitated shushing noise. ]
Chef will be furious. And she’s a big woman. Broad-backed.
And she’s a big woman. Broad-backed.
Strong like bull, smart like tractor, swift like fence post.
Former NKVD.
“Good for 10 people”
Bad for everyone else?
FWIW: Beto O’Rourke has been outed as a Furry
Link?
Why am I not surprised? Seriously, I would not be surprised at all.
Bonfire of the ‘journalists’: social justice clickbait faces its Waterloo.
Well, Jack Dorsey and his Twitter moderator-minions are fighting the good fight on their behalf: anyone even jokingly telling these activists with bylines to “learn to code” are being suspended or banned for “targeted harassment”.
“Good for 10 people” refers to the size of a Soylent Green container.
Meanwhile, over at Slate:
I hate to bring traumatic psychology into it again[1] but I see an awful lot of similarities between the self-destructive coping mechanisms of people with Complex PTSD and this kind of foolishness. In the same way that drugs, cutting or risky and violent sex don’t actually do anything to resolve the underlying PTSD, reading someone’s bad Rule 34 furry porn isn’t going to do squat to resist a Presidential political agenda. But both groups will absolutely insist it does, because they’re emotionally invested and dealing with the real issues would mean acknowledging how badly damaged they truly are.
[1] No I don’t
“Good for 10 people”
The question is, which 10 people is it good for? Oh and where might one find them?
Seems to be a rather random way to market a food product.
…refers to the size of a Soylent Green container.
What is the secret of Soylent Green?
What is the secret of Soylent Green?
Oregano and Worchestershire sauce.
dealing with the real issues would mean acknowledging how badly damaged they truly are.
As a genre – and they’ve pretty much become one – these acts-of-resistance pieces aren’t exactly indicative of mental health.
[ Added: ]
And we mustn’t forget this compendium of sanity.
Strong like bull, smart like tractor, swift like fence post.
Your peasant roots are showing kulak. To the urban cognoscenti it’s “smart like streetcar.” 😉
In my town Saturday night the police caught two fellows driving stolen trucks (firearms were stolen in one incident), an armed robber, and dealt with several assaults as well as an overdose. Along with an average of 15 files each officer had on their plate made up of thefts, frauds, and many missing people I don’t think any of them had time to check Twitter for thought crimes.
Hmmmph.
No refunds; credit note only.
The harrumphing about the Slate tweet would have more emotional impact if the screen grab didn’t include the original date of its publication.
OK, I looked up Furry. Why all the snickering about cartoon animals? Did I not read enough?
Pogonip,
Let me see if I can help…When a “man” who likes to dress up like an aardvark, with long ears and a tail and such, and a “woman” who likes to dress up like a llama (I understand this involves a lot of spitting…don’t ask) like each other very, very much…or maybe just a little …ah, sorry. I just can’t.
OK…maybe this video will help…
https://youtu.be/eN-bFqO6hpQ
Well played, Pnip. Next time, make sure you flutter your eyelashes all sweet and innocent-like.
There is a lot of white guilt in the school system… The powers-that-be look at statistics and jump to conclusions. When there are more black boys in detention at a school, it is interpreted as a sign of racism. But maybe those boys deserved that detention?
As a life-long, bleeding heart-liberal, friend of mine (she serves on a school board in New Jersey) told me…teachers discipline at different thresholds of patience, so it’s not fair because the ones regularly disruptive get called out at the slightest misbehavior, while behaving students who rarely act out are given a break. And since it’s near-impossible to fire teachers, you can’t discipline teachers into doing their job, so there’s no consistency in classroom decorum and expected behavior–and that’s not fair! Also, they (she) has completely bought into “higher rates of discipline/detention is racism” assertion–I think because the board members are exasperated by the blow-back that occurs when explaining that differences are due to differences in conduct. They just want that conversation to go away.
The Bonfire of the Journalists article at the Spectator has a photo atop it–I thought it was Hillary Clinton, until I read the caption. Good lord, a Hillary Doppelganger…
At the end of the Bonfire article…
In a hundred years time they will exist as a footnote. It will mention them as companies that made Facebook and Google that little bit wealthier.
Get over yourself. Those digital media companies are barely a footnote today. Facebook and Google will be in the footnotes, if they’re remembered at all. “MySpace” anyone? TheGlobe.com? Friendster?
The UK is now, officially, Airstrip One.
OK, I looked up Furry. Why all the snickering about cartoon animals? Did I not read enough?
What I’ve wondered is if anyone has yet thought to show up at a furry convention dressed as a tick or a flea . . . .
Differences in school conduct are produced by the oppressive system of white supremacy. Differences in academic achievement, same thing. Differences in career choices. Ditto. Perhaps there is a pattern here.
What I’ve wondered is if anyone has yet thought to show up at a furry convention dressed as a tick or a flea . . . .
Somebody would be aroused.
I’m not being completely fair: I have been told that most furries are not into fursuit orgies and all that stuff. (But erotic furry comics seem to be a non-trivial part of the subculture, if a random walk through a science fiction convention dealers room is a guide.)
Well that explains all the problems.
I have been told that most furries
are not intocan’t afford fursuit orgies and all that stuff.FTFY.
it’s not fair because the ones regularly disruptive get called out at the slightest misbehavior, while behaving students who rarely act out are given a break
How is that not fair?
The people pushing the racism discourse don’t mean any harm
Like our host, I find this hard to believe. Although… if you look at the outcomes of Black Lives Matter, you might think it was an evil racist plot to get hundreds of young black men slaughtered. Yet I do not believe the black people involved in BLM did want that. I wonder how they square the contradictions?
Like our host, I find this hard to believe… I wonder how they square the contradictions?
I tend to imagine lots of screeching mental feedback and the odd random sobbing fit. Though if you tell yourself continually how righteous you are, and if you surround yourself with people doing the same, and if you’re all reinforcing each other’s vanities, daily, then I suppose it’s easier to ignore certain practicalities.
And so we get Professor Melina Abdullah, mentioned recently, who insists that calling the police is a racist and privileged act if the criminal in question happens to be black. Whereas, being granted a license to commit crime with impunity and no fear of police involvement, on account of being black, is in no way racist or a sign of privilege. Apparently, those so indulged will flourish as responsible citizens.
Or Salon’s Scott Eric Kaufman, who told his readers, emphatically, that young black men “shouldn’t have to” comply with lawful instructions from the police. Mr Kaufman, who is white, dismissed any cooperation with the police as being “servile,” presumably on grounds that being combative and violent will improve the situation no end.
Examples of similarly twisted advice are not hard to come by, at least among educators and the severely educated. And so, again, the obvious question. If you wanted to degrade or ruin the life-chances of minorities, what would you do differently?
Oh, and let’s not forget this one.
Because the way to reduce disruption and violence in the classroom is to not punish the perpetrators when the perpetrators are black, thereby encouraging a sense of impunity. And when things inevitably escalate, resulting in actual riots, with students’ hair being set on fire and teachers being punched in the face, the thing to do, obviously, is to berate the injured teachers for their insensitivity.
And then hand out panic whistles.
I think I need to report to the correction both having laced at this.
Attention, readers. Are you “excited” by Snapchat? Do you have a “wide-eyed love of pop culture and lifestyle trends,” and a “deep understanding of the pop-cultural landscape”? Do you have an “ability to conceive of ideas”?
If so, I have just the thing.
If so, I have just the thing.
‘Content Gimp’. 😀
If so, I have just the thing.
WTF is “emotional intelligence”, other than maybe the ability to get weepy eyed and hysterical over trivialities ?
Meanwhile, in an otherwise mildly interesting article, we find at NASA, a reason for being conflicted.
OK, first let’s make the wild assumption that the art, whatever it is, can survive the 81,000 years (at best current speed) it takes to get there:
1) We then must assume that there is anyone on Proxima b, and that they don’t only see in the ultraviolet even bees can’t see and can actually make sense of what was sent;
2) OTOH, shooting some of the crap art that has been produced of late into space is a good idea, unless it is performance “artists” in which case the Proximians might come hit us with a death ray in retaliation.
3) I think this is probably not the best use of NASA’s budget, OTOH, it keeps someone who thinks there is a “crucial dialogue” off the streets.
Tim Newman, here.
White guilt on brown acid, poetry style.
White guilt on brown acid, poetry style.
So which is scarier – the delusional poets, or the clowns applauding them?
So which is scarier…
A long time ago, back in college, a member of congress was vying for nomination for president and came to campus to give a speech. Being young and bored I went, and in the middle of this person’s (leftist) talk, a note was handed to the speaker saying that some people elsewhere had been shot, whereupon the speaker went into a typical lefty tirade, and a campus riot broke out starting with the people who were in the audience, and shut the school down (no classes – the upside) for a couple of days.
The barking seals in the audience are the Tannerite™, the loon poets are the bullet that makes the Tannerite™ go boom.
Vital health tip of the day.
(Meanwhile at the autopsy…)
“Hmmm, three bullet wounds to the chest and abdomen, and a fractured skull from when the car crashed through the barrier and sank in 100 feet of water…
Manner of Death, I’ll put “natural causes”; Cause of Death, “fried chicken”. She might have had a chance if only she had had the fish and chips instead.”
It’s good to know that mass immigration policies are considered a success…
I’ve been reading Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe which is just the thing for those with low blood pressure.
Early on he mentions a precis to a 2010 report* in the UK which glowing mentioned the amazing ability of immigrants to be gainfully employed and more than earn their way. Conveniently swept under the carpet was the fact that they were mostly highlighting immigrants from such third-world hot-spots as Liechtenstein and France while glossing over actual third-world immigrants who were almost entirely unemployed and unemployable.
Watching it happen again 8 to 9 years later with the same lies still being used (see the thread at Tim’s) is… very invigorating.
*the actual report told the truth, begrudgingly, but strangely it was not touted in the news. Funny that.
WTF is “emotional intelligence”
I was “educated” in it at work about 10-15 years ago. They showed us pictures of people and we were supposed to guess what emotion that they were expressing. Just pictures mind you. Just one frame. Just like what would happen in real life. See IRL there would be no context or such. I objected to this as bullshit but hey, after much explanation and the suggestion, again from my doctor, that I might need to talk to a shrink for thinking there was anything there for me to object to, and since no one else seemed concerned about it, I came to understand (but not so secretly refuse to accept) such things. Now it’s everybody else’s turn. So suck on it. It’s good for you.
I asked why he was wasting his time on a non-crime.
Low hanging fruit, my friend, just low hanging fruit. Always preferable to getting a ladder.
OK, I looked up more furry stuff.
O_O
Caramba.
Caramba.
No refunds. Credit note only.
I’ve been reading Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe which is just the thing for those with low blood pressure.
I bought that for my (73 year old) father for Christmas. He made it all the way through, which, as a beneficiary of his estate, has inconvenienced me somewhat.
…which, as a beneficiary of his estate, has inconvenienced me somewhat.
Apologies.
Although I experienced the high pitched whine and vague top-of-the-head rattling sensation sometimes associated with an unhealthful increase in blood pressure, along with a perhaps unconnected red curtain of blood descending before my eyes, the effects are not guaranteed for everyone.
In your case may I suggest purchasing something out of Laurie Penny’s oeuvre for his birthday or Father’s Day, whichever is sooner, to get the job done. So to speak.
Caramba.
I once saw, on a table displaying various funny animal cartoon zines, an item titled “Sexy Skunk”.
The comic strip Pogo was supposed to be satire, not a how-to manual. 🙁
Heh. Wait ’til y’all find out about Bronies.
Wait ‘til y’all find out about Bronies.
I’ve always said you looked like someone with a dodgy browser history.
4Chan’s /b/ board is an encyclopedia of online depravity.
Go there for the funny, stay for the WTF-AYKM.
When you REALLY shouldn’t cuddle the wildlife: a tourist in Australia thought it might be a cool idea to take a video of a pretty little octopus. Thing is: the tiny blue-ringed octopus contains enough venom to kill over twenty people… And is especially prone to stinging when, y’know, plucked out of the water…
TimT,
It’s probably safe to assume ALL wildlife in Australia is deadly, and will attempt to kill you at the first opportunity, including the kangaroos.
Us Australians certainly like to put that story around to make our country sound more exotic and dangerous…. we even have a song: ‘Come to Australia! You might accidentally get killed!’
Death held out a hand. I WANT, he said, A BOOK ABOUT THE DANGEROUS CREATURES OF FOURECKS-
Albert looked up and dived for cover, receiving only mild bruising because he had the foresight to curl into a ball.
After a while Death, his voice a little muffled, said: ALBERT, I WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD GIVE ME A HAND HERE.
Albert scrambled up and pulled at some of the huge volumes, finally dislodging enough of them for his master to clamber free.
HMM… Death picked up a book at random and read the cover. “DANGEROUS MAMMALS, REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS, BIRDS, FISH, JELLYFISH, INSECTS, SPIDERS, CRUSTACEANS, GRASSES, TREES, MOSSES, AND LICHENS OF TERROR INCOGNITA, ” he read. His gaze moved down the spine. VOLUME 29C, he added. OH. PART THREE, I SEE.
He glanced up at the listening shelves. POSSIBLY IT WOULD BE SIMPLER IF I ASKED FOR A LIST OF THE HARMLESS CREATURES OF THE AFORESAID CONTINENT?
They waited.
IT WOULD APPEAR THAT-
“No, wait master. Here it comes.”
Albert pointed to something white zigzagging lazily through the air. Finally Death reached up an caught the single sheet of paper.
He read it carefully and then turned it over briefly just in case anything was written on the other side.
“May I?” said Albert. Death handed him the paper.
“‘Some of the sheep, ‘” Albert read aloud. “Oh, well. Maybe a week at the seaside’d be better, then.”
. . .we even have a song: ‘Come to Australia! You might accidentally get killed!’
Ah, Deathworld.
There are certainly some oddities in the Australian wildlife. Cute little Antechinus, in its mating season, becomes so sex-crazed that it will have sex ‘until it disintegrates’. Echidna sex is pretty weird also (and not just the mystery of how they deal with all those spikes): female echidnas lead all the males around in a queue; they wait their turn… and then all the sperm from each male echidna will gang up and fight off the sperm from other male echidnas!
Not to mention the weirdness of the monotreme order to which only echidnas and platypuses (no other mammals) begin: they’re mammals, but they lay eggs. And they’re found in Australia and NZ. Nowhere else. WTF???