The philosophers who sent the open letter to Miami have now received a response, which they have been given permission to post (with so many signatories, this was the most practical way to share its content). As one of them, I am posting it. (As noted before, this is not a project of this blog.) To read the response, click here or below:
Month: July 2013
Time to get serious about white culture of violence
They’d like to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that all white children are as sweet and harmless as Taylor Swift. But the reality is that the statistics tell a different story. For instance, according to research from the Department of Justice, 84 percent of white murder victims are killed by other white people [PDF]. Similarly, white rape victims tend to be raped by other whites [PDF]. White-on-white violence is a menace to white communities across the country, and yet you never hear white leaders like Pastor Joel Osteen, Bill O’Reilly, or Hillary Clinton take a firm stance against the scourge.
For more, go here.
“Rape Joke” appears to have final word in the rape joke debate
I thought Jezebel blogger Lindy West was going to have the final word in the debate about rape jokes that emerged earlier this month in the wake of the comedian Daniel Tosh’s inane comment that it would be funny if a member of the audience “got raped by… five guys, right now.” West’s brilliant and sassy piece, “How to Make a Rape Joke” made me laugh out loud — and even made an interesting pass at suggesting a few criteria for acceptable jokes about offensive topics. But, despite West’s earlier attempt to point out that responses in the form of threats to rape and kill her only proved her point, the debate continued.
Then poet Patricia (Tricia) Lockwood published “Rape Joke” at The Awl last week.
It went viral within hours — and based on the tone of comments, tweets and blog responses, seems to have silenced — or at least taken the wind out of — those who think that all rape jokes are forms of protected speech.
The skirt chaser 5 km run is just a very bad idea
The skirt chaser is a 5 km race in which “skirts start first and the guys start 3 min after” and then the guys chase the skirts. Awful.
Read more here at Fit, Feminist, and (Almost) Fifty.
Underappreciated Philosophy: The Blog!
This is an awesome idea.
This blog was inspired by … three posts over at “What is it Like to be a Woman in Philosophy?”, and [a] post at “The Philosophers’ Cocoon.” These posts collectively suggest two things:
Sometimes good philosophy is unjustifiably ignored or underappreciated, and
Sometimes credit for a good philosophical idea or argument is unjustifiably attributed to one person(s) rather than another (either in whole or in part).
This blog is premised on the idea that both phenomena are regrettable and deserve a forum for redress. This blog aims to be such a forum.Its mission is simple: Anyone who believes that a philosophical work, idea, or argument has been unfairly ignored or insufficiently credited to a particular person is invited to submit an entry briefly explaining why in detail.
This strikes me as a wonderful venture. Let’s all go send in suggestions!
Fall semester/term/session is coming soon: a reminder below of what it can be like
Though hitting people with solid objects may be against your college’s code of conduct:
It might be fun to think of the ways the scene does get bits of life in a philosophy department!
Campaign for Jane Austen on currency leads to rape and death threats
Note: Pictures of Braille Don’t Do the Job
OTTAWA—The federal Conservatives have run into a bit of an obstacle in their bid to tell blind Canadians how much they’re doing for them.
They have mass-mailed a flyer with wording that only looks like Braille — without the raised, tactile lettering that blind people need in order to read.
From here. (Thanks, Mr Jender!)
“No, You Can’t Have Back In”
Sociologist Michael Eric Dyson recently talked on the MHP show about the desire that white people have for saying the n-word.
(You can also read his comments here.)
“Look, y’all invented the n-word. We didn’t invent it. We just co-opted it. We hijacked it. We did a carjacking on that word a few decades ago, and now you’re mad because we’ve made more sexy use of it—some denigration as well. And now you want back in? No, you can’t have back in.
“I refuse to infantlize white people. He [Time Allen] says it’s confusing to me. It ain’t confusing! Here’s a general rule of thumb to follow when using the n-word for white people. Never. When you do that, then you understand you can’t do it.”
And finally what’s interesting here is that using this kind of word—as Chris Rock said, white people control the whole world but they feel if they can’t use the n-word, somehow their power has been removed? No! Grow up, allow us to determine what is in and out. As a result of that, be our ally and challenge white people not to use it at home. You’re already using it. You just want to use it in public.”
-Michael Eric Dyson
Some thoughts on how this relates to allyship (especially for white folks) after the jump.
The Sunday cat reminds us that there are more things …
On heaven and earth than in philosophy. (h/t Shakespeare.)
Feminist Philosophers 