Will Shetterly's Blog, page 50

Study offers evidence that ending poverty will end racism

I'm boosting this from an earlier post because I may begin sharing more posts about the ways ending poverty reduces racism. This bit from Sons of Rich Black Families Fare No Better Than Sons of Working-Class Whites - The New York Times is important for those of us who want to end racism: The authors, including the Stanford economist Raj Chetty and two census researchers, Maggie R. Jones and

Don't stigmatize the mentally ill—but don't deny the link to mass shootings either

Actually, there is a clear link between mass shootings and mental illness: According to our research, at least 59% of the 185 public mass shootings that took place in the United States from 1900 through 2017 were carried out by people who had either been diagnosed with a mental disorder or demonstrated signs of serious mental illness prior to the attack. (We define a mass public shooting as

Identitarians Don't Do Metaphor, or Why Jim C. Hines Banned Me

I've learned why Jim C. Hines said at File 770, I blocked WS after he “joked” about punching me in the face. I was told—yes, fandom is a hive of gossips—about this recent tweet, in which he shared a pic of part of an older interchange: I googled "@jimchines alt-fistbump" and found more that amuses me. After he blocked me, he shared a more complete screen cap—and now I'm sharing a screen cap

Two privileges of attending science fiction conventions, and a little about Jon Del Arroz's law suit

Before conventions began banning people, the fundamental privilege of attending science conventions wasn't discussed because, by capitalist standards, the privilege was fair: anyone who had money could go, and anyone who didn't, well, capitalist fairness is never about people who don't have money. But now that conventions have begun banning people, it's time to acknowledge the second privilege.

The False Paradox of Tolerance

Censors love Karl Popper's Paradox of tolerance: Less well known is the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. — In this

Benjamin Franklin sounding like a communist

"All the Property that is necessary to a Man, for the Conservation of the Individual and the Propagation of the Species, is his natural Right, which none can justly deprive him of: But all Property superfluous to such purposes is the Property of the Publick, who, by their Laws, have created it, and who may therefore by other Laws dispose of it, whenever the Welfare of the Publick shall demand

YouGov poll suggests Americans of all races are becoming more racist

From Nearly 20 Percent of Americans Think Interracial Marriage is ‘Morally Wrong,’ Poll Finds: Seventeen percent of respondents said interracial marriage was “morally wrong” while 83 percent said it was “morally acceptable.” There was a bit of a divide along party lines on the subject, with 28 percent of Republicans and just 12 percent of Democrats replying that interracial marriage was morally

Will privilege theorists call this black female privilege?

That black men have it tougher than white men shouldn't surprise anyone. If you didn't know that, the data's at Sons of Rich Black Families Fare No Better Than Sons of Working-Class Whites - The New York Times. This surprised me: Black and white girls from families with comparable earnings attain similar individual incomes as adults. Should privilege theorists be talking about black female

Will privilege theorists call this black female privilege? Plus evidence that ending poverty will end racism.

That black men have it tougher than white men shouldn't surprise anyone. If you didn't know that, the data's at Sons of Rich Black Families Fare No Better Than Sons of Working-Class Whites - The New York Times. This surprised me: Black and white girls from families with comparable earnings attain similar individual incomes as adults. Should privilege theorists be talking about black female

On false memories and confirmation bias at File 770

1 I'm amused and pleased none of my doubters have taken up my offer to let them see all the emails between the Fourth Street Board and me. But after watching them over a couple of days, I suspect they're simply not interested in facts that would force them to rethink their beliefs. All humans are susceptible to this, especially when they believe in things like neoliberalism or identitarianism