Research Shows White Privilege Is Real Photo NEW HAVEN — THE recent reunion show for the 40th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” re-aired a portion of Eddie Murphy’s 1984 classic “White Like Me” skit, in which he disguised himself to appear Caucasian and quickly learned that “when white people are alone, they give things to each other for free.” The joke still has relevance. A field experiment about who gets free bus rides in Brisbane, a city on the eastern coast of Australia, shows that even today, whites get special privileges, particularly when other people aren’t around to notice. As they describe in two working papers, Redzo Mujcic and Paul Frijters, economists at the University of Queensland, trained and assigned 29 young adult testers (from both genders and different ethnic groups) to board public buses in Brisbane and insert an empty fare card into the bus scanner. With more than 1,500 observations, the study uncovered substantial, statistically significant race discrimination. The bus study underscores this point.
9 basic concepts Americans fail to grasp This article originally appeared on AlterNet. To hear the far-right ideologues of Fox News and AM talk radio tell it, life in Europe is hell on Earth. Taxes are high, sexual promiscuity prevails, universal healthcare doesn’t work, and millions of people don’t even speak English as their primary language! Those who run around screaming about “American exceptionalism” often condemn countries like France, Norway and Switzerland to justify their jingoism. Sadly, the U.S.’ economic deterioration means that many Americans simply cannot afford a trip abroad to see how those countries function for themselves. Here are nine things Americans can learn from the rest of the world. 1. The modern-day Republican Party would have us believe that those who promote universal healthcare are anti-free enterprise or hostile to small businesses. 2. For decades, social conservatives in the U.S. have insisted that comprehensive sex education promotes unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. 3.
4 Constructive Ways to Deal with Criticism To live and be part of a community at work, home or school means we are sometimes told truths we may not like to know or hear. We get labeled for our shortcomings and judged on our failures and mistakes. While the temptation to block out the unpleasant feedback is strong, we stunt our personal growth and potential by doing so. It’s terribly hard to be on the receiving end of disapproval and negative appraisals, but if we succeed in building our strengths and managing our weaknesses, the world can become our oyster. Take time to cool down, set boundaries, and respond, not react. Disapproving woman photo available from Shutterstock « Personnages » et « dérapages Le mardi 30 septembre 2014, l’Institut d’Études Politiques d’Aix-en-Provence a été le théâtre d’une agression verbale raciste de la part d’un enseignant ayant conduit une jeune femme portant un foulard, accusée d’être « le cheval de troie de l’islamisme », à quitter l’amphithéatre au sein duquel elle suivait son cours. Elle n’a donc pas été exclue à partir d’une loi ou d’un règlement intérieur mais exclue de fait par la volonté d’un acteur éducatif. Le traitement médiatique de cette agression, joliment requalifiée en « incident » ou « accrochage », en simple « dérapage » de la part d’un « personnage », voire en « altercation entre un professeur et une étudiante » [1], met en lumière plusieurs formes de dominations, et tout simplement une remise en cause de la légitimité de la présence en France d’une frange de la population. Il s’agit malheureusement d’une des « affaires du foulard » dans l’enseignement supérieur en France parmi d’autres. Peut on être musulmane et scolarisée ?
Here are 7 things people who say they’re ‘fiscally conservative but socially liberal’ don’t understand A handsome big moustached hipster man smoking cigarette in the city (Shutterstock) “Well, I’m conservative, but I’m not one of those racist, homophobic, dripping-with-hate Tea Party bigots! I’m pro-choice! I’m pro-same-sex-marriage! How many liberals and progressives have heard this? And it’s wrong. You can’t separate fiscal issues from social issues. 1: Poverty, and the cycle of poverty. If you’re poor, there’s about a two in three chance that you’re going to stay poor for at least a year, about a two in three chance that if you do pull out of poverty you’ll be poor again within five years — and about a two in three chance that your children are going to be poor. Also, ironically, being poor is expensive. Second chances, once considered a hallmark of American culture and identity, have become a luxury. Plus, being poor doesn’t just mean you’re likely to stay poor. So what does this have to do with fiscal policy? Fiscal policy affects poverty. 3: Disenfranchisement. 4: Racist policing.
ACTA Treaty Members Map Pour une approche matérialiste de la question raciale Des morts en Méditerranée en passant par les émeutes de Baltimore jusqu’aux menus faits quotidiens de la vie métropolitaine, tout nous ramène à la question raciale. Il nous semble nécessaire de proposer une analyse de fond du racisme qui ne soit pas qu’une réponse à chaud aux événements. On assiste aujourd’hui à une montée de l’islamophobie et de l’antisémitisme. C’est une double vague et il faut réussir à penser les choses ensemble, alors que les séparations sociales sont de plus en plus fortes et les logiques de guerre de tous contre tous incontrôlables. Cela signifie refuser les logiques de concurrence entre les racismes ; mais aussi penser islamophobie et antisémitisme dans toute leur spécificité. Et cela dans le contexte général d’une augmentation de la violence sociale, d’un durcissement des segmentations de classes et des effets du racisme structurel (logement, travail, etc.). Néanmoins, il nous semble que le PIR a glissé. économie-politique de l’islamophobie la vague antisémite
UMD 'tragedy of the commons' tweet goes viral When Shahin Rafikian, a rising junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, first saw the extra credit question on his final online Social Psychology paper, he was intrigued by the prospect of extra points. But he was confronted with a dilemma. "Select whether you want 2 points or 6 points added onto your final paper grade," the prompt read. His professor, Dylan Selterman, was positing a "tragedy of the commons" or "prisoner's dilemma." "WHAT KIND OF PROFESSOR DOES THIS," the tweet read, with a photo of the prompt. The dilemma struck a chord -- though Rafikian has only about 600 Twitter followers, the tweet has garnered more than 3,800 retweets and 3,100 favorites. "I was first upset because I was thinking, 'I know there's going to be some selfish kids in the class,' but I am still hoping that everyone was choosing two points," Rafikian said (he chose two points). "In the past two days, it has turned into a huge philosophical decision-making process among so many people," he said.
David Stojcevski's horrifying death in jail, explained During his 17-day stay in jail, 32-year-old David Stojcevski lost 50 pounds, hallucinated, and experienced seizures and convulsions. It was all caught on a security camera that jailers were supposed to regularly watch. But no one helped — and Stojcevski died. Now, the FBI is investigating the death, according to Detroit News. The horrifying death of Stojcevski in the Macomb County, Michigan, jail — first reported by Local 4 — is drawing national attention as the latest example of horrific neglect and brutality by the criminal justice system. But beyond the gruesome images and FBI investigation, Stojcevski's death speaks to a much larger problem in the criminal justice system: In many cases, jails aren't staffed, trained, or resourced to deal with cases like Stojcevski's. Stojcevski clearly suffered over 17 days — and died Local 4 Macomb County sheriffs picked up Stojcevski in 2014 after he failed to pay a $772 traffic ticket for careless driving. Jails are notoriously overcrowded
How Photography Was Optimized for White Skin Color Color photo of the emir of Bukhara; Sergey Prokudin Gorsky, 1911 At a very, very basic level, this is how common photographic film works: film is thin plastic covered in a layer or layers of photosensitive chemicals. When exposed to a very small amount of light — like the tiny amount that hits it when a photographer presses the camera’s shutter button — a subtle image, invisible to the naked eye, forms on the film. Color film is coated with many layers of chemicals, with chemicals keyed to different colors in the different layers. The black-and-white photos taken through a red, green, and blue filters, comprising an early color photograph. Color film was invented quite a bit later. The proportion of the different colors in the photo -- the photo’s color balance -- was partially determined by the concentrations of chemicals in the film; and partially by the various chemicals used in processing the film and printing from it. Defining the Norm Shooting a Dark Horse in Low Light
glogin?mobile=1&URI= Photo With Greece’s economy and its future in the eurozone both teetering, the usually astute has dredged up the sorry old trope that is to blame for everything, proving yet again that even a Rhodes Scholar and former cabinet secretary is clueless about the role Wall Street firms play for their clients. “People seem to forget that the Greek — which is becoming a European and even possibly a world economic crisis — grew out of a deal with Goldman Sachs, engineered by Goldman’s Lloyd Blankfein,” Mr. Reich, the labor secretary in the Clinton administration, wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday, before Greece’s prospects for reaching a deal with its creditors started to improve. “Several years ago, Blankfein and his Goldman team helped Greece hide the true extent of its debt — and in the process almost doubled it.” Mr. Some countries reduced debt by selling state-owned companies or assets. Every Wall Street bank was eager to help. No one complained at the time: Greece was happy.
Dr Bruce Scott: Turn your illness into a weapon - mental distress from a socialist perspective Dr Bruce Scott explores the definitions and ideas attached mental health, and offers a socialist perspective THIS short and preliminary article was written as a response to an article that came to my attention that was posted on the CommonSpace website concerning 'mental health' and the fact that it was recently Mental Health Awareness Week. It is laudable that the aforementioned CommonSpace article, many such similar articles, and 'mental health' campaigns show concern for the 'mental health' of our citizens. However, I have serious reservations with the concept of 'mental health' which are routinely overlooked. The biological model of 'mental health' is not watertight and it remains a highly dubious concept. First, the discourse of 'mental health' or 'mental illness' is not all it is cracked up to be. Second, the cognitive imperialistic discourse of 'mental health' (e.g., cognitive behavioural therapy) is misleading and excludes other discourses of conceptualising mental distress.
En France, la parole raciste se libère La parole raciste s'est banalisée l'an dernier, notamment à l'égard des musulmans et des Roms, analyse un rapport annuel sur la lutte contre le racisme, l'antisémitisme et la xénophobie publié mardi 1er avril. "Sur le long terme, le racisme en France diminue, le temps des ratonnades est révolu, mais le racisme qui se développe aujourd'hui est plus sournois et n'est plus réservé aux franges extrêmes. Il pénètre toutes les couches de la société", a commenté Christine Lazerges, présidente de la Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'Homme (CNCDH). Les boucs émissaires aujourd'hui sont d'abord les Roms qui ont été stigmatisés, y compris par le gouvernement, et ensuite les musulmans arabes", a-t-elle précisé lors d'une conférence de presse. Ils sont aussi plus nombreux à considérer que l'intégration des immigrés fonctionne mal (63%, +7 points par rapport à 2012). "Plus le niveau culturel est élevé, moins on est raciste"
How Goldman Sachs Profited From the Greek Debt Crisis The Greek debt crisis offers another illustration of Wall Street’s powers of persuasion and predation, although the Street is missing from most accounts. The crisis was exacerbated years ago by a deal with Goldman Sachs, engineered by Goldman’s current CEO, Lloyd Blankfein. Blankfein and his Goldman team helped Greece hide the true extent of its debt, and in the process almost doubled it. And just as with the American subprime crisis, and the current plight of many American cities, Wall Street’s predatory lending played an important although little-recognized role. In 2001, Greece was looking for ways to disguise its mounting financial troubles. As a result, about 2 percent of Greece’s debt magically disappeared from its national accounts. Then the deal turned sour. Greece wasn’t the only sinner. But Greece was in the worst shape, and Goldman was the biggest enabler. Even with the global economy reeling from Wall Street’s excesses, Goldman offered Greece another gimmick.