by melvin
Mon Jun 15th, 2015 at 01:18:40 AM EST
*dna sample required 5 months prior to entry
Rachel Dolezal, head of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP, was recently outed by her parents as being white. Or "white." Or hell, I just don't know.
Believe it or not, this is consuming a great deal of oxygen here in the home of identity politics. Let the social media wars ensue.
First there was the claim that her situation was analogous to that of Caitlyn Jenner. [No, it isn't.]
Then the griping that she was "taking away resources" from deserving, authentically "black" women. [Absurd and imbecilic. If you think only black people can teach African history at a university level, as Dolezal does, you are a sick racist.]
(I would be nearly crucified for saying this in the US, but perhaps part of the reason Ms Dolezal was so successful at passing is that, per the recent census, Spokane's black population is 2.3% of the city population. Perhaps most of the "authentically black" population had other things to do? Like Carl Maxey, elected mayor in a landlside in 1981 when the city was even less black.)
Then the claim from Dolezal that "Well, we're all originally from Africa." [True, but irrelevant. Or is it?]
Chances are, like most Americans, she is a mongrel. So where's the one drop rule (trigger warning, nausea warning) when you need it?
Complicating matters is the fact that she is a highly regarded activist, recognized over and over by the city and the NAACP.
Ignored in all this is the science that tells us race is nothing but a social construct. There are genetic differences in populations - and more within Africa than outside it. See lactose tolerance or a hundred other topics. But skin color is nothing; it doesn't appear on the screen.
I have not checked the teabag sites in a while. Presumably, they are having a field day. Progressives meanwhile are tying themselves in knots trying to love the sinner - an otherwise exemplary citizen - and hate the sin. Of what? After all, Clinton gets away with calling herself a progressive. Millions of black Americans chose to pass as white and were lauded for it. How is it that these ridiculous matters are a joke one day, and life and death the next? It used to be a common joke in the US: "I'm so old, I remember when Michael Jackson was black."
by melvin
Sat Dec 31st, 2005 at 03:37:52 AM EST
From the front page, with format edit ~ whataboutbob
An article appeared in China Daily for December 27 on the future of gay China entitled "Quiet pink revolution in dark before dawn?" (You've got to love China Daily's headlines.) It is well worth reading in its entirety.
Little over four years ago, homosexuality was still officially classified as a mental disorder in China. On December 16, 2005, China's gays and lesbians celebrated their first national festival.
In fact, the festival was disrupted by the government before it began. But never mind. The China Daily article continues:
by melvin
Sat Dec 24th, 2005 at 04:53:48 AM EST
From the front page (with minor edit) ~ whataboutbob
The Sydney Peace Prize was awarded in November to Olara Otunnu, former UN Under-secretary-General and special representative for Children and Armed Conflict. The text of his acceptance speech can be found here. I would like to expand on one part of his remarkable address below.
by melvin
Tue Dec 13th, 2005 at 10:14:58 AM EST
(Crossposted at DailyKos)
From BBC News:
Extinction alert for 800 species
By Richard Black
Environment Correspondent, BBC News website
Researchers have compiled a global map of sites where animals and plants face imminent extinction.
The list, drawn up by a coalition of conservation groups, covers almost 800 species which they say will disappear soon unless urgent measures are taken.
Most of the 800 are now found only in one location, mainly in the tropics.
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers say protecting some of these sites would cost under $1,000 per year.
Download the PNAS report here. It is excellent. Supporting material is also available.
One thousand dollars per year
