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:

At last, shoe drawers. || He draws cities. || How do you draw an X? Anything but #8 is just wrong. || Real–time travel. || “You don’t imagine Romans in socks.” || The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading, Rio de Janeiro. || At all times, dignity. || An animated collage of Google Earth images. (Photosensitive types beware.) || Golden boulder of note. || Sacred substance. || He does this better than you do. || A snug fit. || A work of evil genius. || Knitted village. || These are some of those. || Thrust. || She can’t hear men. || “The Crippens’ marriage was not a happy one.” || Petals and stems. || He chose poorly. (h/t, Holborn) || Pregnant with no vagina. || And finally, instructively, “How to make thin hamster.”

Via Farnsworth M Muldoon, a tale of feminist romance:

A discussion ensues. The teller of said tale, Ms Kelly Jo-Bluen, describes her interests as “feminism, international justice,” and “coloniality.” “White supremacist capitalist heteropatriarchy” is, we’re told, “the problem.”

Consider this an open thread, in which to share links and bicker.

From time to time, I wonder whether I overuse the word psychodrama. And then, within days, I find another one of these:

Christopher Snowdon attempts to feed himself for a day while abiding by the Lancet’s latest nutritional guidelines:

There’s breakfast, and lunch, and a lovely chicken dinner.

Readers are advised that Mr Snowdon is seen handling a dangerous quantity of bacon.