Are We More Racist?

Meaningful discussion is hard to come by these days. We are invalidated before we open our mouths.

In a quest for more thoughtful tools, I've thought back to the Revisionist History podcast called The Lady Vanishes, which was broadcast long before the election. This is more about the concept of moral licensing in the context of women artists and leaders, but it is more relevant to me in thinking about Obama, race and what I consider jaw-dropping xenophobia coming out of the new President.

This blog post gives more resources on the topic: Masculinity, Inequality, And The 2016 Presidential Election.

Concise summary of moral licensing from the blog post:

...when people are presented with the opportunity to demonstrate that they are good, moral people, they are more apt to follow that opportunity by expressing support for inequalities that they might otherwise not be willing to admit to. That is, given the opportunity to demonstrate that we are “good” people, we’re more likely to engage in “bad” behavior. Social psychological research discovered that, for instance, we’re more likely to support racially prejudiced views after having been primed with an opportunity to say that we’d be willing to vote for a Black presidential candidate. When we demonstrate “good” moral qualities publicly, we feel more justified in supporting systems of inequality in public ways, too.

I think about this every time I read something on race these days.

You Won't Miss It!

This is power (this is the link you click on when you see this on wikipedia today).

Our purpose here isn't to make it completely impossible for people to read Wikipedia, and it's okay for you to circumvent the blackout. We just want to make sure you see our message.

I saw it! Not only do I feel impelled to read more about this, my mind realizes the power of a site like wikipedia to funnel our attention on a whole number of issues.

NYT 2009 Year In Ideas

I like reading the NYT Year in Ideas, even if I am slow and only get to it in 2010. I've taken the liberty to copy all the topics in the annual review for my blog, which still needs a boost to get back in gear.

There were some interesting ideas. Forensic Polling Analysis reminded me of the www.fivethirtyeight.com blog, whose missing is to "to accumulate and analyze polling and political data in way that is informed, accurate and attractive. Most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections". Why I forgot that I needed that is a mystery that I hope I can answer by reading more objective poll data. (Or for the subjective and non-quantitative thinkers among us, another good way to make objective assessments these days is to watch Obama field questions from House Republicans at their own meeting on Friday. Well worth 90 of anyone's time! This articulate, respectful and well-informed exchange is exactly what I dreamed of when I first heard President Obama's announcement of running for office. Fox "news" would do well to play some extended clips of this video.)

In other thought-provoking ideas, I think my colleagues in environmental assessment may soon be studying the Google Algorithm as Extinction Model. Yikes, what if you can start using these models and they indicate people are soon going to be extinct?

Always a sucker for a story on ICT, I believe in Social Networks as Foreign Policy. I'd go a step further than Robert Gates when he says "The freedom of communication and the nature of it, is a huge strategic asset for the United States" and add that it's an asset for social change, even in Karakalpakstan.

Has anyone read an Undead-Austen Mash-Up? I thought you could only do that with Queen vs. Fela. If Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is that good, I might be re-reading my Austen.

An illustration by Roberto Parada from the deluxe gift edition of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.