The Background - Edition One 2/10/19
Welcome to the first edition of the The Background. This is going to be a new feature. A new edition of The Background will be posted every few days. Trump is dominating the news cycle to a degree that is overshadowing many other important stories. The Background is going to be a compilation of stories that are otherwise sliding under the collective radar and should be noted or are thought provoking because they take a new or different perspective on a topic or issue. They may not be brand new, but they will relate to an issue with which we are collectively struggling. Sometimes, they may specifically be pieces published in the last few months or even the last few years, to help give context to something dominating the news since the last edition of The Background was posted. If you feel like it's useful and serving a purpose, please help spread it around. Every Patron and every dollar helps give me more time to devote to this and the rest of the projects and articles here. In time, there may be a Patron version and a truncated public version. Right now, it's going to continue to be public.
Houston Chronicle - TW: references to sexual abuse, rape Does not contain graphic descriptions. 20 years, 700 victims: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as its leaders resist reforms. It looks like Southern Baptist's are going to experience a reckoning on a scale similar to that of the Catholic Church in the US. Related: There is a bill heading into the Senate being called SASCA, in order to help insure victims of sexual assault and rape are treated with the dignity they deserve. Here's the fact sheet for it.
Blackface Is Just One Part Of The Problem
Rolling Stone - Jamil Smith lays out some of the context in the stories behind the story that is currently unravelling Virginia state government. A poll was release by The Washington Post today. The results are interesting. Scene On Radio dedicated to looking at the creation of "whiteness" as a social construct. It includes some of the most respected and well researched academics in the field. It's fascinating and instructive.
The Point Mag - TW: Police violence, racial violence, sexual violence - This is a story about the depths of sadism power can run to when unchecked, where racism isn't confronted, and the question of what it means for the victims of that sadistic behavior to try and get some kind of recompense for their suffering in a system designed to erase even the possibility of racism because it would too deeply damage the system itself.
Revealed: Blackwater Founder Erik Prince's Business Ties With Netanyahu’s Disgraced Chief of Staff
Haaretz - We’re going to have to figure out how to talk about the courtship between Israeli conservatives and the US far right without veering into anti-Semitism. Erik Prince is very close to being a comic book villain, believes in white Christian supremacy, and has a private army. It’s not okay for him to be gaining further wealth and power. The story is not brand new, but it's important to be aware of.
Mom Accused Of Putting Infants Body In Freezer Faces Another Charge
WTVY (Alabama) - Another instance of “hide-a-Nazi.” Carlton Mathis is a member of a white supremacist group in Georgia. He apparently killed a baby, in the most literal sense of that phrase, which law enforcement admits to believing. However, he’s not the one being charged for it. If you haven’t caught on. These people are dangerous... to everyone around them.
One Of Trumps Most Vocal Black Supporters Seemed To Defend Hitler
Washington Post - Candace Owens is one of the new celebrities of right wing, “conservative” media. “Hitler would have been perfectly fine if he kept himself to Germany,” was her assertion. Ignoring the program to rid Germany of all the “undesirables” Hitler has outlined. Candace gained recognition in right wing circles by joining up with Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk is one of characters Bari Weiss (editor and columnist for the New York Times) has pushed as part of the “Intellectual Dark Web,” so named because conservatives love to claim they’re the target of conspiratorial forces that are... criticizing what they actually say. Kirk, Ben Shapiro and Jordan Petersen share in common a fondness for discredited race science, hatred for gender equity, and a hatred for Muslims and Palestinians. Petersen is also an anti-Semite, but Weiss and Shapiro give him plenty of cover for those views, instead choosing to center his aid in spreading racial hatred and fear of autonomous women. For all the complaining about being called fascist and being criticized, it’s important to note the way the conservative movement pushes this ideology to spread. The New York Times is possibly the most well respected news outlet in the Western world, and the English language. Bari Weiss is an editor of their opinions section, and these are the people she is highlighting and trying to get into the mainstream dialog by portraying them as being persecuted by the "intolerance of the left." This is one aspect of the con game which has become right wing media. In November, I posted a lengthy piece about another aspect of that con.
Reisterstown man shot construction worker at neighbor's house after confrontation, police say
The Baltimore Sun - What this article doesn’t tell you is that it's subject was one of the participants in Unite The Right and lead his own little Neo-Nazi group. He has connections to Identity Europa, also a group now calling itself Patriot Front, and one of Richmond’s very own little Nazis through the now defunct Traditional Workers Party. Find the full breakdown on this individual here.
Who’s More Likely to Be Audited: A Person Making $20,000 — or $400,000?
ProPublica - In 2017, people who claimed the EITC were audited at 2x the rate of those who make between $200k-$500k. Also: those who claim it typically make $20,000 a year or less.
How Howard Schultz Left a Bitter Taste in Seattle’s Mouth
Politico - This goes along nicely with a piece I wrote last week about Schultz. The gist here is like Trump, listening to the people from the cities that made someone a billionaire is probably a good idea when they're asking to be president. No one listened to New York when Trump ran, everyone should be listening to Seattle.
You Can’t Design Bike-Friendly Cities Without Considering Race and Class
Citylab - This is something for fellow Richmond residents to specifically take note of, as the city is attempting to expand bike friendly infrastructure. Given what's going on with our state government, it should really have to be pointed out that many of our city and state municipal decisions are made without taking the needs of the whole community into account.