Old Habits Die Hard- Alabama and Institutionalized Discrimination

"Hispanic Alabama Schoolchildren Face Bullying In The Wake Of Anti-Immigrant Law"

This should come as little surprise. When a society creates law and policy that reinforce underlying prejudices we often very quickly see this reflected in more open hostility towards people perceived as part of the group.

Of course its a shame that anti-imigrant sentiment has driven politicians of the state of Alabama to do, perhaps, what seems normal in their circles, and create laws that make treating other people like equals impossible or criminal. What generally follows, when one institutionalizes cruelty, is that people become cruel and discriminating towards anything aproximate to the blighted group in question. We're certainly seeing this here.Human decency and fairness take a backseat to policing the overt cultural biases.



UPDATE: Excellent op-ed in the NY Times on the subject here.

And now for some daytripping music. Killer track from Chromatics, "In the City".

"Just Words" - Catwoman and Arkham City's "Bitchin" Problem

Comicsalliance has quickly become one of my favorite places to go for alternative takes on comic book news. It not only has some gorgeous art by indie artists, and clever re-interpretations of some of the more mindbogglingly dense comic book continuities.

 Lately, a writer (Laura Hudson, whom Ive developed a lot of respect for) has been raising the occasional question about gender/sexism and  the comic book industry. Valid questions about whether the depiction of female characters in popular culture as written by, drawn by, and consumed (presumably) men can come off as objects instead of characters...and proceeds to shed light on a lot of evidence why this might be.

An earlier commentary on Catwoman, who is often described as a woman who is "sex positive" and a "femme fatale"(I reference it here), debuted in a new DC comic where she spent numerous pages walking around in a bra being oggled by the p.o.v of the reader before we even see her face. Compartmentalization  and framed by her "t&a" before we get to finding out who we're talking about. Thats just one of the more popularized points of evidence indicating recent sexism in comics that've come out of the dialog.

Fast forward to October 20th, where CA posted an article referencing popular game blog Kotaku's noting that playing the new Batman game as Catwoman involved a whole new "game mechanic". And while it might not be as overt as some as the other above references, it speaks to some glaring problems with the way we deal with "slut shaming" and casual reinforcement of the status quo.

How Not to be a Douchebag- Ideal Types and Covert "Isms"

Now there's a relief. I was beginning to wonder if it was just me... One of the most persistent experiences I've had with online "meet up" sites, and hipster havens like OkCupid is overt and covert racism, biases and disdain generally being wrapped up with a tiny bow and conflated with "preference".

An article from Canadian magazine "Fab"  expresses this bizarre little phenomenon very well:

The negative language so prevalent on Craigslist and Grindr seems to signal that the culture of sexual liberation has been replaced by sexual segregation.

Gay sexual oppression is catalogued painfully on the Douchebags of Grindr blog, which sorts prejudiced profiles based on everything from racism and sexism to self-hating homophobia. But even though we see it everywhere, most people are as willing to admit to the exclusionary aspects of their desires as Lindsay Lohan is to submit to drug testing — statements are qualified by “Sorry, that’s just what I’m into” or “No hard feelings, it’s just my preference.”

Sycamore says that while people have the right to say what they’re attracted to, they have a responsibility to watch how they say it. “On the one hand, people are stating their preference, but on the other, these are not neutral terms. If we were living in a culture where everything was the same, it wouldn’t be a problem. But when sexual preference reinforces dominant systems of power in an unquestioning way, that’s when it becomes problematic.”

Its Officially a Trend- Still More Suicides.

The introductory chapter of the text I'm using this semester deals with the Megan Meier case and yes, I usually have to explain what Myspace is by know. It rather craftily explains the gravity of understanding social problems. Given the decidedly morbid topic, i've spent days tying this into the recent spike in teen suicides (and blogged about it a few times here) ...and have, as of this moment hit the wall. Still ANOTHER dead gay kid.

I believe we're officially way beyond individual issue and way into social problem territory.

 My heart aches for anyone who feels this alienated, this cut off from everyone and everything. I don't have the stomach to look into this more right now. My deepest sympathies to the boy's friends and family. My deepest disdain for a culture that ultimately failed him.

He was adorable and the world will be dimmer for his passing.

Human Costs- Marital Equality and the Long Time Partner

A quick post before scurrying off to campus. This footage from the Campaign for Southern Equality is jarringly effective in its simplicity. Long term partners in NC very earnestly, very tactfully reminding us of the human costs to denying same sex marriage on the state level. (I recommend grabbing a box of tissues)

Herman Cain- Great White Hope.

I'm going to attempt to find the words for how much I resent Herman Cain's established role black conservative translator/striker for the Republican party. He uses race as an issue when it suits his campaign; "Obama has never been part of the black experience", at the same time insisting that racism is by and large a thing of the past.

Several aspects of this unique position Cain puts himself in are problematic. Cain in numerous cases has decried the African American voting public as "brainwashed" for both voting Obama in the last election to leaning Democratic in general. He's reasserted time and time again that the Tea Party isn't racist, but he's falling into the same trap they do when discussing or criticizing the President- instead of valid criticisms of his policy or his direct actions...scrutinize his ancestry. Obviously the Republican base has an axe to grind about liberal policy, but yet we scarcely hear these criticisms over the din of commentary about BHO's racial component. When a number of Republican campaign tactics are steeped in xenophobia (sharia law?! Oh noes!) , wedge issues and general purpose animus towards the out group, it seems particularly wrongheaded to assert that is not a component of the party that thrived upon the Southern Strategy.

Unsurprisingly, this has endeared him to the base, which has long held suspicions that black people were whining about racism, and generally lazy and feckless. Cain stands out as the great exception to this rule, and the fact that he can make this claim confirms these beliefs and lets the overwhelmingly white audience off the hook for holding them. For this, following the Obama/McCain election, the Republican party will embrace Cain, while still comfortably thumbing their noses at the minority group he claims only to differentiate himself from the rest. His role as the buffer against scrutiny regarding racism makes him invaluable. So much so, they'll  gladly hold up affluent conservative black people while reviling affluent liberal blacks all the while. The cognitive dissonance is so massive its staggering, and yet the complexities of race and American culture are such that its business as usual.

Santorum, the "Google Problem", and the analogues of Jim Crow and DADT politics.

Say  what you will about Rick Santorum (and his "google problem")...but the man has a real gift for sticking his foot in his mouth.

Egg on face moment #2,132 is so bad that the Fox News interview in the link almost equals "gotcha" journalism. The commentator gives him a quote from a general against a policy Santorum assumes is DADT for the same biases referenced tirelessly about "military cohesion" and fairly quickly indicates that animus towards people based on immutable characteristics is the driving theme here.

When compared, the mentality of the military on integration was equally opposed when polled as it seemed to be to DADT. A fascinating historical account of both can be found here. Some of the most telling similarities follow: