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Racist-In-Chief
A couple of days ago, Xeni Jardin, writing at Boing Boing, criticized national reporting for not calling Trump’s racist twitter tirade what it was: racism.>On Sunday morning, popular-vote-losing illegitimate president Donald Trump tweeted some awful racist tweets that you can read about everywhere, all the time, because he does white supremacist bigoted stuff constantly and will only continue to escalate it as his day of cosmic comeuppance approaches.»Trump’s totally a racist.»The tweets were explicitly racist.»Everyone knows this.»So why did the big respected major media news outlets everyone turns to for breaking news all decide NOT TO CALL IT RACIST in their reporting, and instead rely on embedded tweets, commenters, pundits, and op-ed contributors to use the r-word?»“Xenophobic,” “provocative,” and “inflammatory” aren’t synonyms for “racist.”»“Racially charged” isn’t a better phrase to use in this case than “racist.”»Just say racist.
Seriously, if you are surprised by all this you simply haven’t been paying attention.
David Graham, writing for The Atlantic, thinks Trump is going all-in on the bigotry apparently because he thinks this is a sound strategy.
Trump uses Twitter to try on new ideas and policy ideas in real time, seeing how he likes them, and then either discarding them or centering them. The current incident began, as my colleague Yoni Appelbaum reports, with Trump tweeting that the Democratic members should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done.” (While Trump doesn’t make explicit whom he means, it’s likely he’s referring to the “squad” of progressive Democrats — all four of whom are American citizens, and three of whom were born in the United States.) By Sunday evening, he had decided he liked the reaction, welcoming a battle over race at the ballot box in 2020.
His doubling down on the whole thing would seem to indicate his willingness to go down this path. Of course, it didn’t work AT ALL in 2018 when he employed the same hateful strategy.
Simply because the president has concluded that open racial disparagement is a winning political tactic doesn’t mean that his calculus is correct, and Trump has made good and bad bets on political outcomes. During the 2018 midterms, the GOP suffered a political battering. Most people viewed this as a rebuke of Trump himself, but the president seems to believe the vote was simply a referendum on Congress.
If he really believes that then his advisers are morons.
You see, Republicans will never admit to racism or call out Trump for his obvious racism because, in fact, they are racists themselves. Amanda Marcotte, in Salon, makes this abundantly clear.
>Telling someone to “go back” is, in the ranks of racist statements, right up there with calling a person the N-word or some other rank slur. Yet, there still appears to be resistance among Republicans to admitting that is racism, which leads many on the left to wonder: If this doesn’t count, then what could possibly count?»The answer, it’s becoming quite clear, is that there is no limit. There’s no line in the sand, no sentiment so ugly, where most Republicans will cave in and admit, OK, that’s racist.»A new poll from Ipsos confirms this. While more than two-thirds of Americans correctly identify the “go back” language as racist, only 45% of Republicans agree with that assessment. Instead, 57% of Republicans agreed that these women should “leave” the country where all four are citizens, and where three of the four were born. A startlingly large majority of Republicans — 70% — also said that the word “racist” is a bad-faith effort to discredit a political opponent’s views.Of course, no one with half a brain will identify themselves as racists but that doesn’t mean they aren’t.
Efforts to educate about the irrationality of racist beliefs are dismissed as “political correctness.” Efforts to stigmatize the expression of racist views are characterized as assaults on “free speech.” Unfortunately, that also means that these kinds of public debates about race only make Trump supporters more fiercely defensive of their bigoted beliefs, which the Ipsos polll registered by showing that Republican support for Trump has intensified in the wake of his “go back” comments.
Jamelle Bouie, in The New York Times, explains this all perfectly: For Republicans only white-skinned people are Americans.
If Donald Trump has a theory of anything, it is a theory of American citizenship. It’s simple. If you are white, then regardless of origin, you have a legitimate claim to American citizenship and everything that comes with it. If you are not, then you don’t.
That’s textbook racism. Republicans who are silent or defend Trump are enablers of this racism. I’m not sure what you call someone who enables racism, but they deserve to be called out.
The Secular Church
Faith Hill (not that one), writing for The Atlantic, has a fascinating story about the rise and fall of secular churches. I’ve often thought a secular church would thrive, but it’s interesting to see how difficult it is to maintain.
Visiting a Sunday Assembly near me might be fun.
David Tennant Cursing for One Minute
y'all dirty bitches here's david tennant cursing for one minute straight
— charlie vickers supremacy💍 (@halbrandthinker) July 23, 2019
nsfw, obviously kskdkdk pic.twitter.com/hU0mD9iypU
Both surprisingly cathartic and entertaining.
A true artist can make an F-bomb have some gravity, but here it’s like a compilation of Shakespeare’s favorite insults. The accent helps.
Unhittable
This pitch might have broken physics. pic.twitter.com/9M62Y5gzRt
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2019
We need to call Montgomery Scott because I think this pitch broke the laws of physics.
The Gentlest of Rain
Nicholas Bate with 100 words –
The gentlest of rain on the oldest of pebbles on that most misty of mornings. A Saturday, a thermos of coffee and damp. Damp, damp, damp. But secure in a ‘proof’ and secure in a thought or two. A dog observed as a stick is thrown and a walker steps out along that shore. Both free for the time-being. Elsewhere, anxiety for the fete: stalls ready, cakes unwrapped and children restless in a world dominated by the addictive electron. Moods change, thoughts come and go but rain is always right. Decide your destiny, select your freedom and abandon your fate.
The “addictive electron” is a nice description.
Tailgating
Seth Godin on finding your own lane.
It doesn’t make you go any faster.
It doesn’t make the leader go any faster.
Tailgating creates frustration, limits your choices and isn’t safe.
If you want to make a difference, you’ll probably need to find your own lane.
The Process
I’m terrible at meeting my goals. I set monstrous goals and always fall short. What I should do is take the time to figure out the process of achieving the big goal. What are the smaller goals that I can do every day to finish a big goal?
Time to make a real plan. Execute the plan day by day. Achieve success. Seems easy enough.
Apple Moving in on Podcasts
Jason Snell, writing for Macworld, has a few thought on the news that Apple plans to fund original podcasts:
The great thing about podcasts—and I say this as both a listener and a creator of podcasts—is that it is, like the web, a free and open ecosystem for content. You can listen to any podcast in any podcast player. If Apple creates podcasts that can only be listened to in Apple’s own app, it is furthering a potential future where your favorite shows are scattered across multiple services and siloed in different apps.
The idea of a cable package of podcasts is the same problem people are having regarding all the streaming packages. People don’t want to pay for all the shows they want to watch by paying for 12 different streaming services that offer everything. The very idea of Apple-only or Spotify-only podcasts is understandable, but it will kill the current ecosystem.
Carve Out the Clutter
I want to simplify my life. This is difficult for me. One of the best things I can do is a self-evaluation to clear out the chaos. However, being honest with myself is troublesome. I’d rather have someone else tell me the hard truths. Ultimately, that feels expensive.
Simplifying also means thinking about the costs that come in the form of time, pressure, stress, as well as finances.
It all takes thinking time and preparation time. I’m not sure when I can carve out the clutter to get to the simple.
It’s hard to walk the line of being informed, being outraged at the news, and not caring. I don’t get on Facebook much anymore because it’s designed to suck my attention, and I don’t want to be sucked in anymore. It’s easy to stay on the 24-hour news cycle and get outraged. Just as easy, you can watch a wasteland of “reality” TV. Better yet, get into arguments on the internet or spend all your time telling others what’s wrong with them.
I have more important things to worry about. I prefer my focus to be laser beam tight. I pay attention to what’s important.
Are you?
I’m terrible at meeting my goals. I set monstrous goals and always fall short. What I should do is take the time to figure out the process of achieving the big goal. What are the smaller goals that I can do every day to finish a big goal?
Time to make a real plan. Execute the plan day by day. Achieve success. Seems easy enough.
Are You Paying Attention?
It’s hard to walk the line of being informed, being outraged at the news, and not caring. I don’t get on Facebook much anymore because it’s designed to suck my attention and I don’t want to be sucked in anymore. It’s easy to stay on the 24 hour news cycle and get outraged. Just as easy, you can watch a wasteland of “reality” TV. Better yet, get into arguments on the internet or spend all your time telling others what’s wrong with them.
I have more important things to worry about. I prefer my focus to be laser beam tight. I pay attention to what’s important.
Are you?
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
Ringo joined Paul on stage. It was magic.
They played “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Helter Skelter” and shut up those aren’t tears in my eyes.
Peace and love everybody.
I Don’t Care How Successful You Are
Jamie Varon, in an Instagram post, tries to redefine what a good life looks and feels like.
I kinda sorta love this.
Chuck Klosterman is Here for the Weirdness
Bryan Walsh, in the new GEN publication on Medium, has a fascinating interview with Chuck Klosterman ostensibly about his new book of short fiction, Raised in Captivity: Fictional Nonfiction. Of course, it dives into the commercial challenge of short stories, the sophistication of readers, consuming text, and a career writing.
My favorite quote is at the end.
I feel incredibly fortunate that I entered journalism when there was essentially no internet and I will leave when the internet is all there is. I completely saw this evolution and experienced it in totality. I think if there’s ever a point in my life when I want to write about it, I’ll be in a good position to do so. So, I’m glad. Is it weird? Of course it’s weird, but I’m glad that I was there for all the weirdness.
My Cousin the Major Leaguer
Donnie Kwak, writing in The Ringer, has a fun, inspirational story about the newest St. Louis Cardinal, Tommy Edman.
In short: Tommy is a rookie with a total of 55 MLB plate appearances. These are early days yet, and pro sports could care less about your feel-good stories. But seeing Tommy shine on the biggest stage has already brought me so much joy. For his entire life, he singularly dedicated himself to get to the highest level of his profession, and through practice and hard work and perseverance, he reached it. His family’s euphoria while watching him thrive is amplified by the elation of countless Cards fans after a big Tommy play. They’re cheering for Tommy—and in some tiny way, they’re cheering for his mom, his dad, for all of us. Long may it continue. My cousin made it to the big leagues, and I wouldn’t bet against him sticking around.
What a warm, joyful story.
Binge Watching to Appointment Viewing
M. G. Siegler has an idea for Netflix.
What if a show like Stranger Things started as a binge show, but then morphed into weekly, appointment viewing as it proved its popularity? So, once Stranger Things became a sensation after season 1, and people were nice and hooked, season 2 would go to the installment-model, with a new episode coming out at the same time each week. Or, if Netflix wasn’t confident enough in a show after just one season, they could wait to switch to the new model for season 3 (two season “trials” seem to be the norm for Netflix).
Or, if Netflix wanted to benefit from a long, holiday weekend (as they did with Stranger Things season 3 which was released on the 4th of July), they could release say, half the season all at once, binge-ready, and then stagger the rest of the episodes over several weeks to get the same effect. There’s actually a lot you could do here, once folks are hooked!
Again, I know this is antithetical to Netflix’s model. But I think this blend has potentially huge benefits. Both for us, as viewers, for the shows themselves, and for Netflix! Also, while this idea eight years ago proved to be a good one, I’m still waiting on that Firefly reboot, Netflix. Thanks.
The blend model is interesting.
You Can’t Make A Person Change
Mark Manson with another of his long essays. This time it’s about change and how you can’t make anyone change. This is profoundly insightful and so, so me.
You can’t make somebody change. You can inspire them to change. You can educate them towards change. You can support them in their change.
But you can’t make them change.
That’s because making someone do something, even if it’s for their own good, requires either coercion or manipulation. It requires intervening in their life in a way that is a boundary violation, and it will therefore damage the relationship—in some cases more than it helps.
Personally, I need to make some serious changes. No one can make them for me.
Robot Umpires
Johnny Flores Jr., reporting for Yahoo Sports, has a story about the future of baseball.
On Wednesday, the independent Atlantic League, which is a partner of Major League Baseball, debuted the electronic strike zone during its All-Star game, making it the first American professional league to do so.
Home plate umpire Brian deBrauwere wore an earpiece that was connected to an iPhone in his pocket. The earpiece relayed balls and strikes after receiving it from a TrackMan computer system utilizing a Doppler radar and deBrauwere called them as he received them.
It worked pretty flawlessly. I can’t wait for it to come to Major League Baseball.