Well, according to Wikipedia, the problem with American blackface is that
Stereotypes embodied in the stock characters of blackface minstrelsy played a significant role in cementing and proliferating racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide. In some quarters, the caricatures that were the legacy of blackface persist to the present day and are a cause of ongoing controversy. The Japanese video may not do that, since it's a representation of actual black people and not... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 12:03 PM on May 25, 2008

Grumblebee - It seems like you want a scientific, objective definition of racist speech and acts. But that's just not going to happen, because much of what people experience as racism is descriptive, subjective and rooted in history. So the only way you're going to find out what's racist is by asking people who experience racism whether they think it's racist, and why. You're also going to have to stop worrying about the exact words and try to understand the experience instead. Try reading... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 12:21 PM on May 26, 2008

Also: here are the rental locations in DC.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 11:46 AM on April 27, 2008

Um, wow. I personally think anyone who thinks bicyclists should be required to ride on the [road], rather then the [sidewalk], are idiots. How often to cyclists cause serious injury to pedestrians?

Riding on sidewalks is not a good way to get around a city, for pedestrians or cyclists. It's just not a sustainable model of bike transportation, which is why it bothers me. It keeps cities from educating people on how to ride correctly and designing... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 11:59 AM on April 27, 2008

The sidewalk riding issue in DC is hardly a derail. DC has great potential as a bicycle friendly city (wide streets, almost year-round biking weather, relatively low traffic volume, not too hilly, somewhat spread out). But this program seems to just be an impractical advertising ploy sponsored by clearchannel, rather than an attempt to make the city truly bike-able.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 3:59 PM on April 27, 2008

I fail to see how sitting around in a women's studies department castigating yourself and others for your white privilege really does the world any good.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 4:51 PM on April 6, 2008

Did you notice the ads on the site for the Southern Poverty Law Center and the grassroots radical faction of the SEIU? Or even Rock the Vote? What did you expect to find in this article, if not writing?
posted by stammer at 7:56 PM on April 6 [+] [!]

I can bet you that all three of those organizations very much believe in the rule of law, which the author seems to think exists only as an arm of patriarchal/racist/classist oppression.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 5:08 PM on April 6, 2008

I don't think the essay is as black and white as you (and other posters in this thread) are reading it. I think the idea is to re-think your ingrained responses and find ways to set aside your biases and privileges in the interests of all women.

I actually think she means the opposite -- that the interests of white women are diametrically opposed to the interests of women of color. I just can't get on board with that kind of divisiveness.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 5:25 PM on April 6, 2008

Ubu did that on purpose. Bad boy, Ubu!

And isn't feminism supposed to be about women, not about ending the state? I'm fine if she's an anti-statist and believes that anarchy would be best for women, but that's not really feminism, per se.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 6:21 PM on April 6, 2008

stammer, thanks for that. but still, what people in poor, dangerous neighborhoods want is more safety, right? even though real safety undoubtably has to come from outside our insane penal system, it's hard to argue that the guy shooting up the place shouldn't be put in jail.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 6:23 PM on April 6, 2008

This isn't racist, but it's weird. It's confusing class with race, and suggesting that everything non-upper-middle-class-urban is not white. Maybe that's actually the point, to demonstrate that many perceived racial characteristics are actually class markers?
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 5:04 AM on February 15, 2008

She's an attention whore. She doesn't get to choose what kind of attention she gets.
posted to MetaFilter by Ynoxas at 1:11 AM on January 18, 2008 [1 favorite +]

Sounds a little akin to the "she dressed like a slut and deserved to get raped" argument.


And I'm getting tired of some women claiming sexism every time a man mentions that a woman has a body. That's not sexism...But... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 12:13 PM on January 20, 2008

I bought almost all of my novels from street vendors when I lived in New York -- from the guys who sold directly on the sidewalk, no Strand markup! Generally very high quality -- I assembled almost a complete collection of Graham Greene that way.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 10:35 AM on January 20, 2008

The credit industry hates it, because it works, at least for now.

Well, there are good reasons for consumer advocates to hate it too. As the article points out, it may be that the consumers end up stuck with a defaulted debt, which won't help their FICO. And some of these tactics are just plain fraud (fake paystubs?) that are going to get the consumer into trouble. Plus, FICO is going to figure out a way pretty quickly to close this loophole, and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 9:36 AM on January 19, 2008

I finally found an explanation of how they do this:

TradeLine, Stearns says, has contracts with several banks -- he declines to identify them -- that have agreed to add TradeLine customers' names to the records of loans recently paid off by the banks' customers. These loans are known in the industry as dormant.

The banks are paid $500 to $700 per transaction, Stearns said. It is unclear if the person who took out the now-dormant loan receives any... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 4:03 PM on January 19, 2008

Yay teenagers! Boo parents!
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 6:08 PM on January 16, 2008

The point is not to get people not to vote for Obama who otherwise would have -- it's to energize the whacko conservative base who would otherwise stay at home and not vote.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 7:41 AM on January 12, 2008

If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool.

I actually think there's something to that -- Obama definitely assuages white liberal guilt, since he's black but doesn't emphasize race issues. But of course, it doesn't follow that Clinton would be a better president.

Anyway, I don't think Clinton is behind this. Anyone who'd believe that crap about... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 8:17 AM on January 12, 2008

Yay, girl jazz instrumentalists! That's pretty rare, isn't is Miss Lynster?
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 6:54 PM on January 10, 2008

You have to have thick skin & talent to really stand out and move forward (especially as a singer because there's a definite "singers aren't musicians" vibe thrown around).

Interesting, especially since singers are the most likely to be women, right? And aren't the singers usually the ones who get the gigs and dole out the checks to the instrumentalists?
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 5:06 AM on January 11, 2008

What does this have to do with girls? If Edgeway's 4400 figure is correct, there's no evidence that it's not equally split between girls and boys. And what sort of stranger-abduction-resistance techniques would be specific to girls rather than boys? And why the hell would you depend on a "15 year old girl" and her "street fighting instructor" to have any valuable insight into how to fight off a kidnapper?

This is yellow journalistic "our... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 5:12 AM on January 8, 2008

In the mind of the pharmacist, the abortion carried out by the pill is murder. Therefore, selling the pills to the public is enabling and facilitating many murders. They are refusing to perform their job in order to avoid committing murder. You can argue all you want about whether this moral code is right, but once you argue that the law should force them to do their job regardless of their moral code or else they should lose their job, you are essentially saying there is no place in a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 7:26 AM on January 3, 2008

Isn't the pharmacist morally justified, perhaps even morally obligated, not to fill a morning-after pill prescription if they think it is murder?

I don't get what you're saying. Are you saying that the all actions that are "morally justified" to the individual should be protected by the law? That makes no sense. That pharmacist surely has the power to refuse to fulfill the prescription, and of course that action... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 8:57 AM on January 3, 2008

I am saying that if one believes that Nazis who stood idle in the face of evil are evil themselves, then one should also defend the pharmacist in my hypothetical.

You still seem to be saying that "breaching your moral code is evil and so all acts in furtherance of one's moral code should be protected by law and society." What I'm saying is that there is no one definition of "moral" and that I have no problem with the law... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 10:21 AM on January 3, 2008

nasreddin - so you don't think the state should enforce any laws that have moral motives behind them? that would get rid of most of the civil rights advancements of the past four decades.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 10:39 AM on January 3, 2008

Dobbs- read the manifesto. It's pure creep.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 9:10 AM on December 31, 2007

I found the supplemental brief filed by the record companies in this case. The main issue is whether the defendant illegally shared files on Kazaa. But the judge did ask the parties to address whether a ripped mp3 copy by itself is illegal. I'm not sure why that was an issue in the case. At any rate, the record company dodged the question a little, saying that a ripped copy is illegal once it is placed in the Kazaa shared folder:

"It is undisputed that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 10:41 AM on December 30, 2007

My guess is that the recording industry doesn't really want to argue that ripping CDs for personal use and backup is illegal. They know they'd lose in public opinion and in the courts. But the judge in this case forced them to address the question, probably out of an abundance of caution because the defendant was at that point pro se. So in some ways, the recording industries' strategy of going after the unrepresented little guy backfired on them here.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 1:05 PM on December 30, 2007

That's really not the issue. The issue is whether Grokster, the DMCA, or CALEA are good law (no, no, and no), and whether the statutory penalties being applied to casual users are legitimate (again, no).

What do you mean by "good law" and "legitimate" penalties? Grokster is binding precedent, and some filesharing is actually illegal under the current state of the law.

It... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 4:37 PM on December 30, 2007

I mean that Grokster is a bad decision. "Binding precedent" has nothing to do with "good law."

Oh, ok. Just so you know, usually when practicing lawyers say "good law" they mean "binding precedent in this jurisdiction."
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 5:50 PM on December 30, 2007

Oh, please. I hate to burst your patronizing little bubble

Erm, ok then. As you were.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 7:10 AM on December 31, 2007

That's kind of awesome. Spaniards don't really appreciate people throwing around the term "fascist" lightly. I'm not sure of King Juan Carlos's legal status, but this isn't the first time he's gotten involved in a tense political situation. He helped put down a coup in 1981.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 6:10 PM on November 13, 2007

I think that cubicles are like the modern-day penitentiary: a design thought to be humane in concept, but in practice, mad-making.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 2:09 PM on November 13, 2007

As much as I enjoy living in a town with different cultures here, I find the "working class Hispanic" subculture stands out as being kind of abrasive and depressing. Some people may be playing on blatant racism, but the culture itself and its values (as separate from educated, accomplished Hispanics) and its rapid growth throughout the country I think is what is an issue here.
posted by rolypolyman at 11:40 AM on November 4 [+] [!]... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 12:59 PM on November 4, 2007

I think the issue tends to be whether you're a consumer of services (so you benefit from lower costs as a result of increased immigration), or a provider (so you're hurt by the wage depression and slack labor market).

Which poltical party will win this demographic?
posted by Brian B. at 8:59 PM on November 4 [+] [!]


I see a few problems with this view. First, everyone is a consumer of services and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 6:54 AM on November 5, 2007

I've got it! After John leaves her, Elly's conciousness is raised and she becomes a raising feminist. She runs into Therese at a bar and she takes a job as Therese's assistant at the investment bank, where her late-blooming business saavy leads her to rapid promotion to a vice president by age 65. Liz realizes Anthony is a tool and goes to law school to become an advocate for native rights. Therese sues Anthony for custody of Francois and wins. The end.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 1:18 PM on October 28, 2007

The FPP is misleading: parents can absolutely still ensure that their children don't get birthcontrol from the clinics. The kids can only go to the clinics if the parents sign a permission slip. If they don't sign, then no clinic, no birth control. If they do allow their children to go to the clinic, then state confidentiality rules allow the children to get birth control without their parents' knowledge.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 4:50 PM on October 18, 2007

And when their parents and adult authority figures send the message that they believe that all of the children are having sex,

How in the world do you interpret this as meaning that the adults are saying that "all of the children are having sex"? I see it as a message that "you can get comprehensive health care here, and if you are having sex you should be responsible and we will help you do so."
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 5:03 PM on October 18, 2007

The World Famous: How do you account for the fact that education and older age at marriage correlates to a lower divorce rate? Or do you think all those 30-somethings getting married are staying chaste all through their college educations and PhDs?
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 10:44 AM on October 19, 2007

Ok, The World Famous, please restate for the jury why you believe that pre-marital sex is per se harmful. Empirical support, in the form of links, would be appreciated.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 1:30 PM on October 19, 2007

Ratzinger was a Nazi. I don't think there's really much more to say about the Catholic Church at this point.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 6:36 AM on October 17, 2007

footnote, he was a conscript, before he was 18. That's just not a fair criticism of the man.
posted by ibmcginty at 9:51 AM on October 17 [+] [!]

Totally agree. It's a criticism of a Church that would chose to make a former Nazi its leader.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 9:32 AM on October 17, 2007

This idea that saints must live their entire lives in a state of Holy Grace is absurd. I mean, one of the greatest Christian (Catholic) Theologians, St. Augustine, led a very unethical life before his conversion.

[NOT PAPIST]
posted by absalom at 11:02 AM on October 17 [2 favorites +] [!]

Redemption is all well and good, but the problem is that there's no evidence at all that this guy atoned for his sins, like... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 9:39 AM on October 17, 2007

Here's why some of us are suspicious: the writer says that Zappos requires returns to be sent within 15 days, and the customer has to get the package to UPS. In reality, you have way more time than that, and your mail carrier will probably pick up the postage-paid box, like mine does.

This isn't suspicious. You have 356 days to return, but once you initiate the return online you have a shorter period to actually get the shoes back to them. That's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 7:03 AM on October 16, 2007

Is supply-side economics supposed to grow the economy, or maximize tax revenues by growing the economy?
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 8:35 AM on September 6, 2007

baconsalt. for reals?
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 4:49 PM on September 5, 2007

Legend has it that the ultra ultra elite lawfirm Wachtell banned microwave popcorn from the premises.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 8:11 PM on September 5, 2007

Interestingly, through a twisted course of statutory interpretation and legislative history that I don't have time to explain now, transgender people are already protected against discrimination by Title VII (the federal Civil Rights statute) in some jurisdictions. It's pretty shaky precedent though, so it'd be good to have a clearer law protecting them.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 5:53 AM on September 5, 2007

Am I alone in seeing this essay as a huge joke? Obviously the author isn't intending to say anything about actual farmers. It's just a rant about the idea of farming-as-holy that's enjoying a resurgence right about now.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 7:54 AM on September 4, 2007

How does the author of this piece expect to be taken seriously using this rhetoric?

Um, bingo? It's polemic/dialectic. He doesn't expect his initial statement to be taken seriously. Maybe the majority of mefites don't think it's funny, but y'all should at least realize that it wasn't intended to be Serious Op-Ed On Whether Farmers Are Good.
posted to MetaFilter by footnote at 10:14 AM on September 4, 2007