There seems to be some kind of growing racial issues in Los Alamos. The paper and local social media is now filled with letters of accusations and counter accusations. This does not paint to the town in a good light and will most certainly cause challenges to trying to bring people out.
https://losalamosreporter.com/2023/12/25/racial-gaslighting-and-the-angry-black-woman-trope/
https://losalamosreporter.com/2023/12/24/whats-happening-at-los-alamos-public-schools/
https://losalamosreporter.com/2023/12/22/the-time-to-change-and-act-is-now/
https://losalamosreporter.com/2023/12/21/the-dichotomy-of-civility-and-politeness/
19 comments:
A gigantic nothing burger. Apparently Karens come in all flavors.
A gigantic nothing burger. Apparently Karens come in all flavors.
12/28/2023 6:31 AM
Your privilege is showing. If you are in a privileged group most things like getting pulled over, getting a job, dealing with a school is a nothing burger to you. This is part of the problem is that you assume your experience is the same as evervody else's. You cannot speak for others and will never understand their experience. You need to sit back and listen. One cannot evolve to be better but you must work on being better. These are not nothing burgers to societies that have to live in fear, and have to put up with people like you. This is a big deal and you need to take it seriously.
8:33, the only “big deal” is the manufactured narcissism necessary to make an issue out of nothing.
8:33, the only “big deal” is the manufactured narcissism necessary to make an issue out of nothing.
12/28/2023 6:53 PM
This is why we still have issues. People like you simply cannot realize you are the problem. Please make some attempt to do better.
Start with some education of experts and scientists, who study THIS STUFF. Read and reread it.
https://www.amazon.com/White-Fragility-People-About-Racism/dp/0807047414
The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.
In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.
12/28/2023 11:55 PM
Sorry but the white fragility book is an absolute joke. It has no research, no data, no logical consistency and is not a scholarly of any measure. It is just a series of assertions that contradict themselves. Just reading the NYT writeup above and you can start seeing the problem.
"behaviors including argumentation and silence"
So you say something you have white fragility, if you do not say something you have white fragility. See the problem.
"These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue"
But they co not mean a actual dialogue since any disagreement is argumentation.
Of course my dismissing the book will be seen as white fragility. The issue is this stuff does not follow any rules of logic, so how can it be taken seriously. Also just in the way it is written it is clear the author knows exactly what she is doing. She has no interest in racial relations, she wants to sell as many books to people with who agree with this in the first place.
As for the reading the letters in the links from the local papers , it is kind of obvious that this is not a racial issue et al, but mental illness or some kind of shakedown. The letters make no sense at all
11:55 thank you for demonstrating the true face of modern racism!
"11:55 thank you for demonstrating the true face of modern racism!"
The great part about DiAngelo's book is that you cannot critique it. Your response for example is a clear example of white fragility.
"white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger"
If you partially agree with it it is also proof.
"emotions such as guilt"
In fact any kind of reaction or none reaction, critique, counter point, agreement, debate or attempt at dialogue is proof of her point.
In fact it is all just assertions backed by tautologies, circular reasoning, and non sequiturs. However she would argue that logic
itself is a sign of racism and white fragility, which is as you pointed out actually extremely racists in its implications.
To bring this back to the labs I know that Sandia had her book as a recommended reading. I did read it. I think it would be a great book to have in a philosophy or logic class since it is just an endless stream of logical fallacies. It is impressive how absurd the book is.
Maybe we need to implement that "Borg" idea so that these racial differences will no longer matter, or simply offer genetic engineering so that changing your race oe akin color, is as easy as a sex change, we could have obamacare pay for it. This could also be a cure for aging, if we develop means to transplant the brain into a new lab-grown younger body, for example, one free from all disability and disease. The government could even mandate that everyone would have the sane skin color, like they mandated the vaccine, perhaps it could even be done with MRNA technology, we could make everyone have gray or blue skin, and a smaller physique could be engineered in as well to limit their effect on global warming.
And in any case, there may be less racism in the eventually that AI replaces all human jobs, as it can be programmed in a non-racist way, and all individuals will have equal status once universal basic income is in place, along with socialist-style free medical treatment and college education, this should be easy to provide since AI will address all medical issues, and college will mostly consist of individualized tutoring by AI systems. There will be no crime and no police, as a violent temperament or mental illness can easily be addressed through the nears of genetic engineering,
By the way the "Borg" statement was meant as satire, or an exercise in absurdity, however there could be real questions raised by the d'Angelo book even if the underlying logic of some of the arguments is questionable. We know from different studies for example, that race and ethnicity correlate to various outcomes including education, wealth, access to credit, income, healthcare access, imprisonment, and so forth, and as the book points out there is a de facto segregation whereby wealthier neighborhoods with better schools have more white or asian ethnicity in general, and so forth. White people could indeed be responsible for creating many of these issues, either through individual decisions and racism, or through interventions some of which have been detrimental though well-intentioned. A more conservative viewpoint might be that we need to provide more opportunity and jobs for all the disadvantaged (many of whom are actually now white by the way), and build strong communities that support better outcomes in general.
"We know from different studies for example, that race and ethnicity correlate to various outcomes including education, wealth, access to credit, income, healthcare access, imprisonment, and so forth, and as the book points out there is a de facto segregation whereby wealthier neighborhoods with better schools have more white or asian ethnicity in general, and so forth"
You mention Asians doing better [1], but this should also include Jewish, Filipino, Arab, Turkish and Iranian ethnicities that all do better than whites [2]. In fact Asians, Indians, Jews, Iranians and many others do better than whites in the USA in terms of education and wealth You see the problem with the whole "White" fragility right there. I read the book and she does address this, any place this comes up with certain groups doing better means the are "acting white" which is rather insulting . The book is anti-white, because that is the audience she is selling to. There are no real questions raised by the d'Angelo book, only assertions. When actual data is used, the arguments fall apart.
"White people could indeed be responsible for creating many of these issues, either through individual decisions and racism,"
The data you just provided goes against this. If it is racism why do certain minorities groups do better than whites? That is an odd racism. Here is another one for you. If you look at African immigrants, people from Nigeria do exceedingly well. The counter argument is only educated who highly motivated Nigerians make it to American. The counter-counter argument is that if is is racism why do some groups of black people do well and others do not? Racism would be the same for each ethnicity. This means some other variables are coming into play. If you look at other data the pattern is clear that white racism is simply not the relevant variable in any of these outcomes. By the way the US has all sorts of programs for helping disadvantaged people. d'Angelo never makes any effort to consider other explanations, cheery picks data, redefines the meaning for words and uses contradictory logic. The data below is all you need to
see why all these arguments by d'Angelo and others cannot be correct.
[1]
https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2023/12/04/how-wealth-and-wealth-gaps-vary-by-income/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20median%20net,%24136%2C600%20from%202019%20to%202021.
[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the_United_States_by_household_income
If you do not think systemic racism and white fragility are not real then why did they just force out the first black president of Harvard?
No other president has been forced out but they pick this one. Why is that? Think about it and do better.
"Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president. This is not a decision I came to easily. Indeed, it has been difficult beyond words because I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great university across centuries. But, after consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual."
10:51 Perhaps her lack of integrity transcends her protected status - even at Harvard. OJ had similar issues.
10:51 -- I think there are some real issues at Harvard, they are one of the select group of schools being investigated for civil rights violations:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/29/harvard-faces-federal-investigation-joining-these-other-universities-heres-what-led-to-it/?sh=626a866e33a3
This of course, led to the congressional testimony, and so forth.
She was "forced out" I believe, for not doing her job properly, just as any employee could be fired or forced to resign. She's still a tenured professor there, by the way.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/1/3/claudine-gay-resign-harvard/
1/02/2024 6:17 PM
What is so crazy right now is the large number of professors on twitter who are in "shell shock", "shaken", "in tears" and "outraged" by the resignation of the Harvard president.
Take for example Prof. Kendi who had a book which was one of readings for Sandias lab training.
"Racist mobs won’t stop until they topple all Black people from positions of power and influence who are not reinforcing the structure of racism. What these racist mobs are doing should be obvious to any reporter who cares about truth or justice as opposed to conflicts and clicks."
There is just endless streams of this. Not one of them addresses the actually reasons. Also no one mentions the UPenn president also stepped down.
9:46 I agree with you, by the way the Times of Israel had a good article about the history of anti-semitism at Harvard; they had ties to Nazi Germany, and currently obtain funding from certain Arab countries. It discusses the actions of their president at the time, Conant.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-century-before-claudine-gay-harvard-helped-nazi-germany-improve-its-image-in-the-west/
According to some critics, including the Institute for the Global Study of Antisemitism and Policy, Harvard’s response to antisemitism cannot be disconnected from billions of dollars that Mideast regimes — some of them totalitarian — have donated to Harvard in recent decades. Top donors include Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar, where Hamas leaders are said to be hiding.
“[Harvard] contributed to Nazi Germany’s efforts to improve its image in the West,” wrote historian Stephen Norwood in his book, “The Third Reich in the Ivory Tower: Complicity and Conflict on American Campuses.”
Conant did not speak out against Nazism until after the Kristallnacht pogrom in November 1938. Three years had passed since the Nuremberg race laws stripped German Jews of citizenship.
“Conant was determined to build friendly ties with the Universities of Heidelberg and Goettingen, even though they had expelled their Jewish faculty members and thoroughly Nazified their curricula, constructing a ‘scholarly’ foundation for vulgar antisemitism, which was taught as ‘racial science,'” wrote Norwood.
This is an interesting critique of the problems at Harvard, worth reading in full, I've included some excerpts:
https://x.com/BillAckman/status/1742441534627184760?s=20
Under DEI, one’s degree of oppression is determined based upon where one resides on a so-called intersectional pyramid of oppression where whites, Jews, and Asians are deemed oppressors, and a subset of people of color, LGBTQ people, and/or women are deemed to be oppressed. Under this ideology which is the philosophical underpinning of DEI as advanced by Ibram X. Kendi and others, one is either an anti-racist or a racist. There is no such thing as being “not racist.”
When one examines DEI and its ideological heritage, it does not take long to understand that the movement is inherently inconsistent with basic American values. Our country since its founding has been about creating and building a democracy with equality of opportunity for all. Millions of people have left behind socialism and communism to come to America to start again, as they have seen the destruction leveled by an equality of outcome society.
An ideology that portrays a bicameral world of oppressors and the oppressed based principally on race or sexual identity is a fundamentally racist ideology that will likely lead to more racism rather than less. A system where one obtains advantages by virtue of one’s skin color is a racist system, and one that will generate resentment and anger among the un-advantaged who will direct their anger at the favored groups.
The price of the product, a Harvard education, has risen at a rate well in excess of inflation for decades, (I believe it has grown about 7-8% per annum) and it is now about $320,000 for four years of a liberal arts education at Harvard College. As a result, the only students who can now afford Harvard come from rich families and poor ones. The middle class can’t get enough financial aid other than by borrowing a lot of money, and it is hard to make the economics work in life after college when you graduate with large loan balances, particularly if you also attend graduate school.
Here's an interesting video about anti-Semitism at San Francisco State University:
https://youtu.be/v4u0nAwJR_8?si=xvI1wXRNhlP4fudg
They actually have a history of anti-Semitism on campus, although it is perhaps surprising that it has become so widespread among the student body:
https://jweekly.com/2017/08/04/investigation-finds-hillel-improperly-excluded-sfsu-student-fair/
"Here's an interesting video about anti-Semitism at San Francisco State University:"
The new push to say something is "white adjacent" "passing as white" or "acting white". In fact with anti-racism and modern DEI dogma one cannot be racists to to white people. Only white people can be racists by definition.
https://momentum.medium.com/why-reverse-racism-is-a-myth-c2374b8837af
"It starts by recognizing the definition of racism from an institutional perspective: Racism is a historically rooted system of power hierarchies based on race — upheld by institutions, society, and culture — established to benefit White people and oppress BIPOC."
"White people benefit from this racist system, and they always have. They can live comfortably while people are harmed and discriminated against because of the color of their skin, and this complicity is why Robin DiAngelo, author of “White Fragility,” claims that all white people are inherently racist. " The above article is great if not downright evil. It basically says only whites can be racists but it is justified to be prejudice against them as prejudice is a justified against oppressors.
So now I keep seeing things that Asians are now white people and Jews are white. If you follow this logic one cannot be racists against these groups by definition. Is it starting to dawn on you yet why this whole thing is just insane from the start. The issue is you say the system is built for whites only but why do some groups like Asians and Jews do better than whites? To square this you then just define any group that does just as well or better than whites as "white".
Again it is all just unjustified assertions, changing definitions and not looking at any data and making bizarre claims when you run in to out and out logical fallacies.
9:35 I agree there are logical contradictions present there, and the ideas are also harmful if taken to their logical conclusion.
Similarly, there was a "eugenics" movement in the United States, with advocates from our elite universities and so forth, prior to WWII, many of the Nazi ideas and programs were inspired by this pseudoscience:
https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Eugenics-and-the-Nazis-the-California-2549771.php
https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/caltech-to-remove-the-names-of-robert-a-millikan-and-five-other-eugenics-proponents
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/central-european-history/article/abs/nazi-connection-eugenics-american-racism-and-german-national-socialism-by-stefan-kuhl-new-york-and-oxford-oxford-university-press-1994-pp-xviii-166-2200-isbn-0195082605/81E8E7302A922D8D2BFCBB9F595E466A
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