Category Archives: Race/Gender

Angel Reece vs Jill Biden: the First Lady Fucked Up

I don’t know if anyone has been following the NCAA women’s championship kerfuffle with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. In short, both are fantastic players and both engage in a little of what we ballers call “smack.” Clark, Iowa’s superstar, likes to do the John Cena/you can’t see me gesture, and in the final the other day, LSU’s Reece did it to her as the game ended.

You can’t see me

And the whole world blew up at Reece’s behavior. Want to guess what the diff is between Clark and Reece?

But public and media double standards aren’t enough, so First Lady Jill Biden said she wants to invite both LSU and Iowa to the White House.

This is a big tradition, of course – the winners of big championships (NCAA football and hoops, NBA, NFL, etc.) get to go to the White House. But inviting second place? This is not done. Until now, because the FL apparently admires Iowa’s “sportsmanship.” (At the risk of being cynical: she may be aware that “moderate” white folks in Iowa vote.)

And now Reece (and at least one Dem legislator) have released the hounds. Reece called Biden a joke and said we’re not coming.

The WH PR machine is now on spin cycle, but let’s be honest: Dr. Biden fucked up. I don’t think she’s a bigot, but this makes clear how the subtle racism is still very real, even in the words and actions of declared and dedicated social justice types. (And subtle can be worse than overt, especially at the West Wing level.)

I doubt this has ever occurred to her. But in context, “sportsmanship” is code.

I hope this gets ironed out. But if Lisa Bluder, Iowa’s coach, is a Republican, she can make some hay by coming out today and loudly accepting the invite.

I’m Glad I Wasn’t Black Today

white-privilege

I came home this evening after running a couple of errands to find a half-dozen people at my door. Two or three were uniformed.

Two followed me around back as I parked. Since my girlfriend (let’s call her J) has never so much as jaywalked I figured they had to be after me. No idea why, but the adrenaline was starting to pump.

I’m not going to talk to cops but I can hear what they have to say. It turns out they were looking for a woman named Amanda, whom they had seen coming in and out of my apartment routinely over the past three weeks. Read more

Hey Look – More Goodell Bullshit!

Goodell

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sat down with Emmanuel Acho for one of his Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. Acho asked Goodell what he would say to Colin Kaepernick by way of apology.

At which point … well, Commish gonna do what Commish do. Deflect. Dissemble. Misdirect. Distract.

This morning Mike Florio took Goodell apart like a hungover Gordon Ramsey breaking down a chicken with weak joints.

And I honestly don’t have a thing to add. I’m just linking it for the record.

All I’ll do is repeat the question I asked back in June: Mr. Commissioner, what team will Kaepernick be playing for this fall?

Why Am I So Cynical About Mississippi? Consider Georgia.

Recently the Rev. Dickie and I devoted a little time to clowning Mississippi and its decision to remove the Confederate battle jack from its flag. It has since been suggested to me, privately, that I shouldn’t hassle people who are doing the right thing.

Maybe. I mean, better 150 years late than never, right?

But there are reasons to reserve judgment. Consider Mississippi’s friend and neighbor, Georgia. Read more

Donald Trump Belongs on Mt. Rushmore

Let’s have a look at the current residents of South Dakota’s most famous mountain.

The first was a rich white guy who owned more than 100 slaves, and wasn’t known as the best master, at that.

The second guy – also wealthy – owned more than 700 slaves during his life.

The third guy didn’t own slaves, but had this to say about those of African descent: Read more

George Floyd and the Soul of The Mission

I’m a big fan of Dan Ryan’s. He sees the streets and he loves the people he finds there. And in him they obviously recognize something they can trust.

As a result he’s able to capture a frankness, an honesty, a whimsy that I think the rest of us miss entirely. Maybe we can’t see it, or maybe we’re afraid to.

Dan recently took his camera to the George Floyd Matters rally in San Francisco’s Mission District and came away with a visual record of a tough community that has seen plenty, and has now seen enough. But not so much they’ll forsake their values.

Give it a look.

George Floyd Matters rally

What About the Monuments to America’s OTHER Slaveowners?

UPDATED 6.11, 6:55 MDT

George-Washington-University

It’s been a bad few days to be a statue of a figure associated with colonialism, slavery, or racism.

In London, witnesses say a statue of slave trader Edward Colston tripped and fell into the river, while one of “noted slaveholder Robert Milligan has been removed from outside the Museum of London Docklands.” Mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a review of “all of London’s statues and street names,” decreeing that those with links to slavery “should be taken down.” Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, clearly agitated that the UK would honor slavers, said “All statues of racist men who made money from selling a human being should be torn down! Which one is next? I challenge government officials worldwide to make these changes and implement the peaceful removal of these racist symbols.” Read more

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