As I’ve been pushed for time this week, I’m afraid you’ll have to assemble your own pile of links and oddities in the comments. I’ll set the ball rolling with a brief history of dog-headed men, some upscale teepees, an indoor levitating thundercloud that looks a bugger to dust, an updating global map of airport Wi-Fi passwords, and via Simen, an impending shipment of Russian bread that may contain trace impurities.  

Play nicely. And use coasters. I’ll be checking in later.

When you enter a space – any space – as a man, you carry with yourself the threat of harm.

Melissa Fabello, the queen bee of Everyday Feminism, teams up with Aaminah Khan to once again remind any male readers that there’s something fundamentally wrong with them, and all men currently striding about the planet:

The socialisation of men is such that even a good man – a supportive man, a respectful man, a trusted man – has within him the potential for violence and harm because these behaviours are normalised through patriarchy. 

For those who find the above less than compelling, Ms Fabello and Ms Khan obligingly link to an earlier Everyday Feminism article, in which a male contributor, Jamie Utt, a “diversity and inclusion consultant,” recounts slamming a table in exasperation and consequently being chastised by his female partner, before rending his garments and rushing to the conclusion that,

My actions exist in the context of patriarchy. And patriarchy is violent. Full stop.

This is followed by a series of equally adamant reiterations – “Cis-masculinity is fundamentally oppressive and violent” says he. Apparently, a single incident of exasperated table-slamming is damning evidence of patriarchal brainwashing, proof that the author has been “socialised to be abusive,” along with all other men. However, the gender-damning meaning of female table-slamming, or door-slamming, or general fits of irritation, or any number of aggressive and passive-aggressive displays indulged in by women, remains oddly unexplored. Instead, Mr Utt equates this apparently all-pervasive patriarchy with “related systems of oppression like white supremacy.” Adding, “It’s important that I situate myself within my positionality.”

This being Everyday Feminism, Ms Fabello and Ms Khan are no less bold in their statements:

We know that even the men that we love, never mind random men who we don’t know, have the potential to be dangerous.

Though Ms Fabello and Ms Khan don’t acknowledge it, it seems that ladies have made great strides on that front too, with some taking advantage of the customary reluctance among men to repay female aggression in kind.

But in a world divided into the oppressed and the oppressors, the former learn to fear the latter as a defence mechanism.

Ah, the subtleties of “social justice.”

Dave Huber at The College Fix reports: 

The University of Michigan unveiled a five-year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan on Thursday to which the school will commit $125 million.

All other possible uses of said money having been exhausted, presumably. What with the investment in a $13,000 vibrating nap machine for the soothing of emotionally fatigued students. And the $400,000 spent on relocating one tree. 

According to the Michigan Daily: 

The university is piloting a culture training programme for students that will ultimately include the entire freshman class in five years. The training will require a preliminary assessment to evaluate the students’ cultural sensitivity levels.

WrongThought™ will be detected. Worldviews will be harmonised. Intrusive condescension will be the norm.

Participants will receive a unique training programme based on assessment results targeting specific areas for cultural development. At the end, students must take a follow-up assessment and receive a certificate for completion.

The university’s “strategic plan” for “diversity, equity and inclusion” tells us that the political correction on offer is “increasingly in demand… among employers,” and that “the ultimate goal” is to subject “all incoming students” to this or similar corrective processing. The document also boasts of encouraging “many voices.” Though as the stated object is to “shift cultural perspectives” and to “adapt” any behaviour deemed insufficiently sensitive and therefore improper, readers may wonder whether diversity of opinion will be the ultimate result.

As some of you may be interested in this kind of thing, I now have a Gab account. I’m not entirely sure what to do with it as yet, but there we are.

Micro-actuators of note. (h/t, Damian) // Maslow 2.0 // The cunning stunts of Buster Keaton. // Attention, barren women. Prepare to be overjoyed. // Yes, it’s big and pink. What are you going to do about it? // Sketching perspective with the help of elastic. // The trees of Slope Point, New Zealand. // Arrange your succulents pleasingly. // Why voices squeak during puberty. // How to look punk, 1977. // A brief geographical history of the Roman Empire. // 80s knitwear of note. Avert your eyes. // No, like this. // “Notice that wall.”// Coral, accelerated. // Hummingbird courtship. // Aerodynamic cycling. // Things old people do. // Somewhat imperfect designs. // Drops of water. // The perils of self-service checkouts. // And finally, forgetfully, it’s a good job his wife has skillz.