Smollett celeb justice case has enough twists that we need a timeline. Here's the latest. The Senior DA in Chicago dropped all charges allegedly at the behest of Michelle Obama via her former chief of staff. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former Obama insider, and the Chief of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) were outraged and rightly so. No justice here and a total waste of $130,000 in CPD resources investigating what might've been a hoax. But just today, Inspector General Patrick Blanchard … [Read more...]
Privilege, Power, and Race — Whiteness explained.
Allan Johnson, Privilege, Power, and Race. Privilege, Power, and Race. One of my favorite sociologists, Allan Johnson, died recently. I've been meaning to pay homage to him and one of his key books. His thoughts on privilege, power and race reflect notions I've expressed here and elsewhere. The following is an excerpt from Johnson's book Privilege, Power, and Difference, 2nd edition, which deserves being quoted in it's entirety. "Individuals and systems are connected to each … [Read more...]
White supremacy increasing. Need civil rights activist heroes.
Calling the civil rights activist — wherever you may be. We need you now. Why" To combat the rise in hate crimes experienced worldwide. Data from multiple sources suggest this is so, not just info from news accounts about egregious crimes. The latest being the terror attacks on two New Zealand mosques, killing 50 and injuring 50. We need the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr. and many of the men and women in his orbit. We know a lot about the civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, for … [Read more...]
Criminal injustice? R. Kelly & Other Celebrities in Court.
Among the big news stories this week, one's got crim injustice" written all over it in my humble opinion. Criminal Injustice R&B singer R. Kelly turned himself in to the Chicago police last night after being indicted. He did so to answer charges of 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse against four victims, three of them minors. Criminal sex abuse is the term for the what's also been called statutory rape. Robert S. Kelly, a native of Chicago, is a singer, songwriter, record … [Read more...]
Discrimination, Blackface and the Bullying Connection.
Worries about discrimination and racism are at the heart of efforts to get Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to resign from office. But did you know there's a connection to bullying in all this? More on this later, but first the controversy. Northam's 1984 med school yearbook page shows a picture of a person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood . . . next to different pictures of the then doctor-governor-to be. Discrimination and racism. Northam's many critics feel that 1) … [Read more...]
Most privileged celeb of all – Mirror, mirror on the wall? A Scorecard
Which of these most privileged celebs are you following to see if justice is done—Ryan Seacrest, James Franco, Gerard Depardieu, Aziz Ansari, Dustin Hoffman, Asia Argento, or Sylvester Stallone? They're among the over 250 people accused of sexually inappropriate behavior since #MeToo started. Who will be the most privileged of all as 2019 moves forward? Thanks to mighty help from Vox, a trendy-left-leaning ezine, I can provide you a scorecard. Use the background info and basics Vox … [Read more...]
McCain—Survivor, hero, villain, family man.
I've been thinking about Senator John McCain—survivor, hero, villain, family man? In mourning the passing of a one-of-a-kind U.S. senator, I've concluded he was a complex character, defying pigeon holes. McCain—more than a survivor, hero, villain, family man. I get the impression that McCain was inventing himself as he went along. —1st. A rebel and later a poor student at Annapolis, frustrated that his family pigeon holed him as a Navy Man given that his dad and grandfather were … [Read more...]