Knowledge is Power

Here’s what I know: Prosecuting former presidents is a crapshoot; rich white men will continue to attack black women scholars with impunity and without consequences; Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native, and other marginalized voters are not a monolith but have more issues than race to think about; and bullshit is the key to establishing conspiracy theories.

Wild Cooking Woman 3/25/24

DEI Bullsh*t

Chris Rufo, who spearheaded the attack on Claudine Gay at Harvard and on others, has made plagiarism a brand. Why is this important? “Brands create heuristics that upend rational thinking. Heuristics are cognitive shortcuts that mean we don’t have to think through a problem, or critically assess a source of information.” writes Monyhan.

Don Monyhan makes 4 very important points in his article:

  • These are examples of backlash, of post-George Floyd politics.
  • The goal is to feed a culture of fear within research institutions.
  • The topic of race, and the Black scholars that disproportionately pursue the topic, simply do not belong in elite institutions. 
  • The accusers are interested only in the accusation, not the evidence. 

Bullshit provides passwords, coded language that signals in-group membership.

Fourth Black Female Harvard Scholar Accused of Plagiarism Amid Assault on DEI Initiatives

Lagniappe

Living in SC, I love watching the Gamecocks. What coach Dawn Staley means to South Carolina’s Black fans is…everything.

We have different rules for ex-presidents than everyone else. A New York appeals court said it would accept a far smaller bond of $175 million than the $454 million required by law, and the ex-president has an additional 10 days to do so. We are determined to let him slide by.

Beyonce’s upstaging Usher at the Super Bowl is being overlooked while some white folks struggle with black folks having deep roots in “country” music.

If you haven’t seen Regina King starring as Shirley Chisholm, take time and do it. She looks uncannily like Chisholm, and tells a great story. Politics is not for the faint of heart.

An assault on Crocus City Hall, a popular Moscow concert hall, was the deadliest act of terrorism in the Russian capital in more than a decade with 137 people reported killed so far.

55 Books by Black Authors That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf

It appears Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be the new James Bond. A big change. I was rooting for Idris Elba.

Kevin Hart Receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Different strokes.

Boeing changes leadership after a series of problems with its planes.

Incest is being uncovered by DNA testing. Not that it hasn’t been around. It has, in every kind of family, it was just swept under the rug. Whatever secrets you thought you had aren’t so secret anymore. Get ready for some hard conversations.

Judy Blume and the American Library Association were recipients of the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Critics Circle. Yea!

Read Hammer and Hope for a different perspective.

Have you played the new word game Strands on the New York Times site? Different, and fun.

Ultra-processed foods seem to undermine our physical and mental health just like cigarettes seem to lead to cancer. You knew those cheesey puffy thingies weren’t the best for you, didn’t you? Didn’t you?

Here’s another white Christian nationalist group, the Society for American Civic Renewal, stirring up shit. They wear suits instead of camo or khakis and polo shirts. All male. All white. All nuts. Is Chris Rufo a member?

Texas has a law on the books that allows it to arrest people it suspects of being unauthorized immigrants. What makes a person a suspect? Clothing? Location? Color? Language?

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