Piety Through Neurosis

A concerned parent, a white Slate reader, seeks counsel from the woke hive mind:

"My sons have graduated, and their closest friends are still a mix of black, Hispanic, and white kids. I have never been concerned about the kids having any issues around race..."

That’s nice. However, inevitably, the sky soon begins to cloud:

"But one of our sons mentioned recently how irritated he is by the form he has to fill out regarding a college roommate. He has to specify his race, and all of the profiles of potential roommates he views also include race. He says all he cares about is if they are male or female and what their interests are — he doesn’t care about race..."

At which point, sharp-eyed readers may sense where this is heading.

"I’m doing more reading on racism, and if I’m understanding correctly, not caring about race is almost as bad as focusing only on race. Should he care what race his friends are? Is there something we should be doing or talking to our kids about before they go to college, or is it too late? Are they just as racist as someone who only has white friends, or am I worrying about nothing?"

Slate’s purveyor of progressive wisdom, Michelle Herman, knows a rube when she sees one:

"Not caring about or noticing race is a privilege reserved for people who are white."

A bold, indeed sweeping, claim, evidence for which is not forthcoming, presumably on grounds that time is better spent inculcating neurosis - and habitual, exploitable insecurity - all in the name of piety:

"As the sociologist Megan R. Underhill, who studies race and family, has said, “White people aren’t ‘outside’ of race—they’re at the top of the racial hierarchy.” Dismissing or downplaying this reality only perpetuates inequity and violence..."

Again, the precise mechanism by which these things occur, if indeed they do, is not shared with the unenlightened. We must, it seems, take such things on trust. A kind of woke gospel. However, the expectation of fretting and psychological prostration is harder to miss.

You see, by not fixating tediously on every person’s melanin levels and minor variations of physiognomy, by not endlessly categorizing people by their brownness and therefore presumed suffering, and therefore innate nobility and entitlement to favors, you are it turns out, perpetuating violence.

Please update your files and lifestyles accordingly.

[Slate Mag]
[David Thompson]

A Good Monday Morning

Middle Finger Symphony Theater

~ NO TUXEDOS REQUIRED ~

Brought To You By BLUESJUNKY: Chair of Music - Middle Finger Symphony Music Director

~ Thank You WHATFINGER NEWS for the Linkage! ~

Does Jim Acosta Enjoy Being Kicked in the Crotch or What!

TV Networks Begin Their Own Version of a Soviet Gosteleradio

According to an entertainment industry rag called Page Six, a group of big TV networks, including CBS, MTV and VH1, have hired private investigators (politely called risk consultants) to probe their own stars’ social media accounts to root out any racist comments.

Unlike their increasingly antisemitic betters in hollywood, the network's move comes after a spate of celebrities no one I know has every heard of were recently thrown under the bus because of  resurfaced racist posts. Last week, the Bravo network fired Brett Caprioni and Max Boyens for offensive tweets, and on Wednesday the network canned someone named "Peter Hunziker" for a racist Instagram post. Meanwhile, the CW network fired Hartley Sawyer and MTV let go Taylor Selfridge for similar offenses (although Selfridge claims she quit).

Several networks have hired California-based firm Edward Myers & Associates in an attempt to root out and hide the offensive posts of on-air and production talent and shield their bigotry before they’re made public.  Letters have gone out to stars alerting them that the firm, run by Myers, who has worked as an investigator for LA County’s “hardcore gang division,” which handles the most difficult gang murders, and for Jeff Bezos’ private security chief, Gavin de Becker, will begin its probe soon.

On his Web site, this Myers guy describes himself as an “investigation and risk assessment specialist” and offers services such as “surveillance and counter-surveillance,” as well as “intelligence gathering.” Myers may also be probing some TV classics(?) to root out Nazis and bigoted comments, including “Dating Naked,” “Jersey Shore,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Teen Mom,” “Game On,” “Vice” and “Love & Hip Hop.” No word on whether CBS’s “Magnum, PI” is among those being vetted.

POWER TO THE CORRECT PEOPLE!

~ Thank You WHATFINGER NEWS & MJA@IOTWReport for the Linkage! ~

Even the NYT is Making Fun of Bolton's Butthurt Notebook

According to the review in the NYT, written by Jennifer Szalai.

"Bolton has filled this book’s nearly 500 pages with minute and often extraneous details, including the time and length of routine meetings and even, at one point, a nap. Underneath it all courses a festering obsession with his enemies, both abroad (Iran, North Korea) and at home (the media, “the High-Minded,” the former defense secretary Jim Mattis)...." 

Trump decided to call off the strikes at the very last minute, after learning they would kill as many as 150 people. “Too many body bags,” Trump told him. “Not proportionate.”  Bolton still seems incensed at this unexpected display of caution and humanity on the part of Trump, deeming it “the most irrational thing I ever witnessed any President do.”... 

The book is bloated with self-importance, even though what it mostly recounts is Bolton not being able to accomplish very much. It toggles between two discordant registers: exceedingly tedious and slightly unhinged...." 

Bolton's book has been written with so little discernible attention to style and narrative form that he apparently presumes an audience that is hanging on his every word."

"Too many body bags." "Not proportionate." Caution and humanity! Obviously, "misconduct." Impeach that guy!

The marquee claim that CNN has been having an orgasm over all morning, is the Chinese concentration camps comment. But it appears Bolton was not even present at the meeting where he alleges Trump said it. From what's said,  there are no witnesses, no transcripts, no recordings of this alleged comment. There is only John Bolton who wasn’t there saying it happened. For two million bucks.

And of course, he didn't take the opportunity to say this stuff under oath. The picnic that is political life in Washington seldom encounters a skunk of the magnitude of John Bolton.

Your Wednesday Overnight Open Thread

The Monster Has Turned on it's Master

The media’s left-wing outrage machine created a generation of entitled, hypersensitive snowflakes that will now tolerate no dissent.  All must march in lockstep with progressive purity.  And now, suddenly the people who championed this attitude are terrified to find themselves in its political crosshairs.

Enter Matt Taibbi, a pretty hard left contributing editor at what was once long long ago the American iconic music magazine 'Rolling Stone' who is admitting the truth of one long-held conservative position: “The American left has lost its mind.” According Taibbi, progressive leaders have jettisoned their supposed beliefs in favor of fascism and of what we’ve come to know as cancel culture and mob rule.

"Among self-described liberals, we’re watching an intellectual revolution. It feels liberating to say after years of tiptoeing around the fact, but the American left has lost its mind. It’s become a cowardly mob of upper-class social media addicts, Twitter Robespierres who move from discipline to discipline torching reputations and jobs with breathtaking casualness. 

The leaders of this new movement are replacing traditional liberal beliefs about tolerance, free inquiry, and even racial harmony with ideas so toxic and unattractive that they eschew debate, moving straight to shaming, threats, and intimidation. They are counting on the guilt-ridden, self-flagellating nature of traditional American progressives, who will not stand up for themselves, and will walk to the Razor voluntarily..."

It’s certainly not the kind of talk you would expect to hear from the Rolling Stone brain trust. So, what could have ignited this bout of introspection?

SELF PRESERVATION.

The monster has been unleashed. After lamenting the fact that this new breed of lefty fascist is empowering their worst actors to target thought-crime, he discusses the real issue. The Frankenstein's Monster that progressive journalists spent decades assembling has turned on its master. Now, this madness is coming for journalism.

"Beginning on Friday, June 5th, a series of controversies rocked the media. By my count, at least eight news organizations dealt with internal uprisings (it was likely more). Most involved groups of reporters and staffers demanding the firing or reprimand of colleagues who’d made politically “problematic” editorial or social media decisions."

Taibbi makes a fair point about free speech and the over-zealous, intolerant and increasingly violent left. His column is worth reading, if only to witness a dawning realization about what American media has done to itself. 

Dear Professor - Field Report From CHAZ

Unrolled Tweeter Thread from @MattsIdeaShop:

Autonomous Zone Day 1
Dear Professor Whoake, Well, we did it. I can’t believe we are actually dismantling the system! We got the cops out and set up a few co-ops food stands like you suggested. People are very happy. Everyone has really positive status updates. Talk soon.

A.Z. Day 2
Hey Professor Whoake,  So minor set back. A roaming band of homeless steampunks stole the co-ops supplies. We have a few sketchy pieces of fruit and enough water to last until tomorrow when we can resupply. The stores closed tho so I’m not sure where to go? Ttyl

A.Z. Day 2 [dusk]
they took the fruit and water. I don’t understand the steampunk genre. There’s rumors of a rapper warlord wandering around with an ak47. Your classes never taught us how to deal with that. Starting to think need a group of people to enforce our laws...

Day 3
U know what? F*** you “Professor” Yeah. I slept in a hut made from a torn down street sign & a CVS shopping cart. Pretty sure someone used me as a toilet. I have to pay armed guys to charge my device now. paid $13 just to be sure I could text u this 🖕🏼 I’m changing majors.

Day 4 
no escape. a gypsy bartered me to the s/e sector warlord in exchange for the bagel store's wifi password. my warlord's name is Indigo Peaceblade. I recognize him from the Starbucks on Clark Ave. i think his real name is bryce. my job's to collect feces for farm soil.

day 5
the farm has been lost. A meth head took it over and challenged everyone to mortal combat for the farm. Yes, it’s basically just a small pile of soil on top of some cardboard but it’s our small pile of soil on top of cardboard. At least it was. He had two bamboo spears.

day 6
camp was raided by a quartet of unicyclers. i fled during the fracas. While roaming a neutral zone i was confronted by a man known as Big Juice. He controls a very large supply of batteries. He has deals with many warlords. No one touches Big Juice. i'm under his wing.

~ Thank You MJA@IOTWReport for the Linkage! ~

Unicorns and The Summer of Love. CHAZ/CHOP Creates Conflict Resolution Council

A post appeared on Reddit yesterday that lays out the new Conflict Resolution Council at the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in Seattle, where anarchists and antifa types have blocked off an area of city streets because you're a racist and mom had to air out the basement. The mayor thinks it’s the 'Summer of Love', and City Council allowed them to take over the police precinct building, so they must have some purpose. It’s a leaderless movement, of course, but nonetheless a purpose does exist. Allegedly.

In this Summer of Love utopia, apparently conflicts have arisen. Is there a “warlord,” or is he simply a fellow traveler who wants the best for humanity? Luckily, one of the folks living in the street commune took to Reddit to provide us the answers:

"Basically, Fox News has been saying Raz Simone (a resident artist) is our “leader” or “war lord” and he’s designating himself as the police force. This is all nonsense. Raz Simone is a peaceful supporter of the movement and a powerful shepherd, however he’s no more of a leader than you or me. The Zone has no leadership. We have a decentralized local governance structure, and we oppose all hierarchical structures."

Well, that clears that up. Except that conflicts have still continued, which means that a Conflict Resolution Council sprung up. Mind you, this is no hierarchical structure (the leaderless leaders oppose those). Here’s how it will work:

"We will form a unique system called the Conflict Resolution Advisory Council. We hold a community democratic vote to appoint three people to the Council. 

To eliminate prejudice, we elect one Black man, one Black woman, and one white woman. Each person should undergo at least one 45 minute sensitivity and political training session which we can help organize. Whenever there is an internal conflict in the Zone, it will be put to the Council. Both people will have an opportunity to present their side of the story to the Council to review. The Council members will decide on a fair resolution and provide it as advice. 

Initially the Council will be advisory only. In the future the system could evolve to become more mature with binding resolutions, impositions, retribution, enforcement, and imprisonment. 

The appointed people will hear out and settle any internal disputes within the Zone. We’re not suggesting that this Council members become leaders or judges, only referees in case of internal conflicts."

Some of the comments led the Redditor, moeys91, to find their process a bit unfair, so they had some fun and helped them to be more PC by adding some edits to the Council explanation. These are gold.....

Edit 1: After receiving feedback about inclusiveness we shall include in the council one Black man, one Black woman, one trans Black person, one non-binary Black person, and one white woman (5 4 people). 

Edit 2: On more feedback we will add to the Council 1 Asian non-male, 1 Native American non-male, and 1 Latinx non-male, and then 4 additional Black men and women to balance it out. In total there are 3 + 4 + 4 = 11 members. 

Edit 3: We’ve received some feedback about including disabledpersons (mental and physical) and homelesspersons on the Council. 20% or 40% of the Council should be persons with lived experience of disability. At least 10% should be experiencing involuntary homelessness. 

Edit 4: We realize LGBTQIA communities are being under-represented in the Council so far and are working on proposals to rectify this. The final composition of the balanced Council will likely include 10-50% people who identify as LGBTQIA. 

Edit 5: We have agreed to add 3 more seats, two of which are to give a voice to the disadvantaged LGBTQIA community, and one to give children equal representation and fairness. The new seats include one for a LGBTQI-identifying Black disabledperson, one for a LGBTQI-identifying Black homelessperson, and one for a non-white or mixed race child between the ages of 8 and 15.

These edits perfectly illustrate how tied up in knots these people could get when they try to fill out their intersectionality bingo cards..... 

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