This is What Revolution Looks Like by Chris Hedges

Occupy the NYSE: Huge Crowd Overwhelms Financial District to Kick Off OWS Day of Action by Sarah Jaffe

On state violence, white male privilege and “Occupy” by Nancy A. Heitzeg

Stephen Colbert celebrates the demise of Occupy Wall Street (video)

An open letter to the 1 per cent: You cannot evict an idea whose time has come by Derrick O’Keefe

Racial Fractures and the Occupy Movement by Bridget Todd

I never heard of Dennis Prager until an article of his popped up in my Facebook feed last week.

He has a lot of opinions and thoughts about schools and the education system. Hey, so do I!

I’m going to reproduce his article from July 2010, found here, and intersperse it with my commentary. This should be FUN!

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Whites See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game that They are Losing.

So. A study came out recently saying that white folks in the US felt that anti-white discrimination was a huge problem and that anti-Black racism is hardly a problem at all anymore. While I understand that people do all sorts of studies on topics that I don’t give a shit about, my only question is was this a slow news day or something?

So white people minimize racism experienced by Black folks? Wow, stop the presses. And white folks still frame race issues in the US as Black/white? Sounds like some people don’t want to join the 21st century, which is well underway people, get with the program. Read the rest of this entry »

I know I’ve blogged about this before, but recently a friend, Steve K, informed me about a TED talk by Courtney Martin, the editor of feministing.com, the largest feminist blog in the world.

I rarely read feministing, mostly because I prefer the lens of anti-racism/anti-oppression to the lens of white feminists, but I enjoyed her talk. I found the three paradoxes that she framed her talk around, interesting.

1. Rejecting the past, then promptly reclaiming it

2. Sobering up about our smallness and maintaining faith in our greatness

3. Aiming to succeed wildly and being fulfilled by failing really well

I wholeheartedly agree with #1 and #2.

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Go read this, NOW.

10 Conversations on racism I’m sick of having with white people

Super wow.

#4 has a particular impact for me, given my recent experience in a part-time employment context in which I was forced/compelled to leave. This is an employer who is known as a lefty organization. Grrrr.

Bold added.

4) Being Expected To Take It

Stop me if this sounds familiar.

“Ho hum Neo, that’s just the way So&So is. And they’re not going to change, so you’re just going to have to accept how they treat you, even if it is demeaning. And you know, do it with a smile.”

“Well Neo, that’s just the way things are, yes we live in the land of freedom and democracy and equality but you’re going to be discriminated against. You just have to accept it. And you know, do it with a smile.”

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