Quirk

This is a powerful story and Ted talk. She tells a story and tells of the power of stories, and I hope you will find it worth the sharing.

Oh hey, it's one of those controlled résumé studies--this one is about men vs. women in science, AND it explains that the discrimination against women is perpetrated by women as well as by men. Useful.

I had "reaction #1" described in the article, with a mild tinge of annoyance for the same thing that "reaction #3" people say. The reminder that reaction #4 exists is really sad. :(

Thought I would make a list of charts (political ones) here, that I've posted to Facebook.
The 47 Percent in one graphic

Gay (actually LGBT) rights in the US, state by state

OK that's a short list. I posted this flow-chart too, since I like flow-charts as well as pie-charts, but it's not as good.

There are things you realize, and then you want to unknow them.

Why would there be a "usual policy", in Oakland, of never interfering in a fight but just cleaning up afterwards? Why would someone say that?

Because people get put in jail for getting involved in fights, or even being near them. And that risk can be very high depending on what they look like (including, apparently, what they're wearing or what tattoos they have). There's the communal irresponsibility problem we're probably all familiar with, where everyone thinks someone else will step up--and then there's the exacerbation of that problem by police violence.

Maybe I'll say more about this on Tuesday, when I'm going to show community support for this girl (a friend of friends) who might get 10 years of prison. But, this is really, really bad.

Roommate points out that of course there are other fears and reasons not to want to get involved in fights--like if they might be gang motivated, and you live there. But also that the Oakland police department is very dysfunctional. Stuff is complicated. Also scary.

Two solid posts on white flight, or rather, the racial dynamics of suburban populations. The first one recaps and refines some principles I actually learned about in my Probability and Game Theory summer course when I was 14, going over a report by the Institute for Metropolitan Opportunity. It doesn't use the word "Nash equilibrium", but breaks it down in a less mathy way, and you can see where "white flight" comes in as a factor. It also talks about the politics and poverty levels of "predominantly white", "diverse", and "predominantly non-white" neighborhoods as defined by the study. Crommunist does a good job explaining the report here, and has some criticism of it.

The second post delves into the reasons for these dynamics and their mechanisms. It is, of course, far more complicated than people wanting to live in, or move into, neighborhoods of people who look like them. For one thing there is a difference in what proportions "tolerable diversity" is for white folks, and what it is for people of color. "Affirmative action for white people" comes up here, not as a legal policy of course, but as illegal discriminatory actions of real estate agents. And...well, it's very much worth reading, and is not very long. It also links through to the original report, if you want to analyze further. The final chart took me a couple minutes to read properly, but is vaguely hopeful, about what happened to neighborhoods that were "integrated" in 1980.

I heard about a friend of an acquaintance recently, who was accused of a crime committed on 9/11/2011. He looked nothing like the perpetrator (he had a beard, the other guy didn't), who was photographed driving the accused's truck; he was, however, convicted and jailed. My acquaintance explained that the 10th anniversary thing was brought up and used against him: exacerbating the everyday discrimination against brown-skinned people accused of crimes. That's hearsay, of course, but based on what I've read about trials in the past and what I know about the trial of CeCe MacDonald, it is highly plausible.

I'll leave two links here for your consideration, and ask that you read at least the first one and reflect on it; perhaps you could find an article you connect to, and pass that on to your friends. The first is a poem by a friend of mine, on being brown in a post 9/11 world. When he was ten on 9/11/2001, a white classmate asked him why "his people" did this to "ours". The second is a partly satirical article by another friend, about the ridiculousness of blaming a whole people for the actions of some who look like them. Called On Behalf of all White People, I'm Sorry.

Every day is a good day to raise awareness about suspicion and criminalization of people of color, and their mistreatment in court. But especially today, especially Americans.

I've always liked Ursula K. Leguin's books (for the most part--often they leave me unsatisfied, which isn't such a bad thing) but damn, she is awesome in this interview. In several different ways.

It's slightly more complicated.

(not sure how Natalie Reed manages to write that whole thing within an hour, though I know some parts were stewing for a while. If it hadn't been a quick post it would probably have more precise references and/or links though.)

My cat is named Flux. She was born about November 2008 we think. I like her. I even have a filter for occasional posts about her (by the way, if you want to opt in, either comment on any Dreamwidth entry so I'll get an email notification, or comment on my most recent LJ entry). But I don't really love her.

( How this works )

A link to the shirt I ordered because Flux does some of these things when I'm trying to work.

Another petition here, to drop charges against a harassment victim according to precedent. This one's gathering momentum much faster. Murder charges are being pressed against an African-American trans woman for defending herself.

On a related note, I've started learning about police violence and discriminatory law enforcement against queer people of color, and some history that draws connections WAAAY further than I realized. I may make a series of posts, with cuts, about what I learn on this subject. It's all from one amazing book, though one of its authors has another book coming out very soon.