Liam Kofi Bright wrote a fascinating article called “White Psycodrama”. (Available here: White Psychodrama Final Version (philarchive.org)) In it, he describes three archetypes involved in the culture wars: Repenters, Repressors, and PoC Intelligentsia. He argues that the culture wars make us all worse and that the only way to improve things is to opt out…
I was in the grocery store and a guy walked past me wearing a Blue Lives Matter mask. I had a strong urge to tell him off right there in the store. Those who know me know that isn’t typical of me. As a rule, I don’t talk to strangers. I certainly don’t pick fights….
Dog Whistle: a coded message communicated through words or phrases commonly understood by a particular group of people, but not by others. Every year, I like to pay attention to lawn signs. My local elections don’t get a lot of press coverage. It’s not like anyone’s polling Newington and handicapping the races. So, as I…
History is an odd subject in the way it combines objective and subjective views. It is full of objective facts. There can be no reasonable argument about whether certain events happened. On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by al Qaeda. Thousands of people died. America responded with things like the PATRIOT ACT…
A lot of white people who support Black Lives Matter have been using a slogan lately. They use it on signs, in posts, in memes, and in tweets. It is, “I understand that I will never understand, but I stand with you.” I get it. I know what it’s trying to say, that as someone…
Racism is a difficult topic to talk about. There are all the obvious reasons. It’s a sensitive subject that can be triggering for many people. Plus, it is hard for many people to be honest, even with themselves, about it. It can expose a disconnect between the person you are and the person you want…
I’m not very active on social media. I use it to promote things I’ve written and things that my friends have created. Maybe once a week, I’ll log in and scroll through people’s posts. Since George Floyd was murdered, I’ve been logging in more often. I’m not exactly sure why. I think it has something…
Anyone who stops to think about it should notice that racism is everywhere in The United States. Strangely, many people don’t seem to notice it. This is something I’ve known for quite a long time, but I’ve never understood it. The evidence is everywhere from our schools to our prisons to our military to our…
I wrote a post the other day where I complained that the nature of academic racial language forces the conversations about race to be too self conscious. As an aside, I also mentioned that this same language is polarizing and alienating. Not that anyone asked, since no one ever leaves comments, but I thought I’d…
A couple years ago, a student was working with me on a history paper. She was a regular and I had worked with her often. She always seemed smart and nice. This day she asked me, “What do you call me?” I hesitated and tried to glance at her folder. I figured I had called…
