I've been reading a lot of true crime books lately as well as finishing up a series of paintings I call "The Seven Deadly Sins." Currently, I'm reading Sebastian Junger's A death in Belmont, and my painting of "Lust" in the series seems especially apropos. You see, the book is about the sex-crazed Boston Strangler who terrorized parts of Boston during the 1960's. Blue collar crime...and lust. Here's a summary of the book: A fatal collision of three lives in the most intriguing and original … [Read more...]
Understanding White Privilege – its sociological origins.
July 22, 2018 By Leave a Comment
In an effort at understanding white privilege from an historical perspective, I wrote a post back in January. In this post, I'm into understanding white privilege from a sociological perspective. For a variety of reasons, one engaging perspective of this sort by sociologist Alan G. Johnson starts off with the notion that the British were instrumental in the development of the idea of racial superiority. According to Johnson's perspective, the British were not the first to believe that … [Read more...]
Am I privileged? Try these exercises.
July 7, 2018 By 2 Comments
I'm writing a book about how the American criminal justice system treats "privileged" murderers different from others. The murderers' privileges in my book (working title "Four Murders & a Funeral") start with being white males and in some cases end with being privileged in yet other ways.) Because of my book topic, people often ask me what I mean by "privilege." Well, here's a definition from a white male who's also gay, and you wouldn't be alone thinking 'maybe he's not privileged if … [Read more...]
Throw the book at certain rapists in this #meToo era.
May 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Amber Rose Carlson wrote a piece about her rapist and his sentence for the New York Times recently. Besides dealing with rapists and sentencing, she covers many other timely topics in this #meToo era. Life without parole for rapists. These topics include injustice, male privilege, life without parole, and several others. I've blogged and written about many of them (for instance, in my forthcoming book, Four Murders and a Funeral). I include Ms. Carlson's piece here in its entirety. … [Read more...]
Has The Golden State Killer been Caught? Details not heard before.
April 30, 2018 By Leave a Comment
If you're like a lot of people, you're dying (no pun intended) to learn more about The Golden State Killer. I blogged last week just after Joseph Angelo was arrested as a prime suspect. I noted some of the basic info about The Golden State Killer that law enforcers released after his arrest. The Golden State Killer. Since that time, there have been many articles and TV newscasts adding more details about The Golden State Killer case. But, one of the most interesting sources of info of late is … [Read more...]
Golden State Killer suspect arrested. Victims & timeline.
April 25, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Do we finally know the identity of the Golden State Killer who likely killed 12 people and raped 50? Golden State Killer suspect arrested. DNA and other forensic tools—as well as a working group of amazing crim justice personnel—are the heroes of the hour. (In recent days, we've also been blessed with news of a hero during the Waffle House killings and a heroine pilot who safely landed a Southwest Airlines plane that lost a passenger 'cuz it lost an engine.) The Sacramento County district … [Read more...]
Did The Unicorn Killer found Earth Day?
April 21, 2018 By Leave a Comment
The Unicorn Killer, a character in a book I'm writing, often shows up in media stories. This is especially true just before the annual celebration of Earth Day. The big day is always April 22, just as it was back in 1970 when Senator Gaylord Nelson and others helped get it off the ground. Usually the story headlines look like this:"Earth Day Cofounder Killed, Composted Girlfriend" “Earth Day Started by Convicted Killer who Mummified his GF’s Body.”The Unicorn Killer. I’ve spent time … [Read more...]
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