On Friday’s episode of Real Time, Bill Maher provided a clinic on some of the worst white male verbal behaviors, and in how not to take full responsibility. In two segments, he illustrated deflection, microaggression, defensiveness, gaslighting, and tone-deafness. This was in the form of an apology. On the previous episode, Maher referred to himself…
Category: Essays
Moving From Shock to Resolve
Author’s Note: There are a lot of links in this article, many of which are from black voices. Particularly if you are white, I encourage you to read those articles and strive to understand their perspectives. The links are set up to open in a new window. In my previous article, I wrote about a handful…
Police Racism: A White Man’s Experiences
I still see white people claiming that there’s no systemic racism among police, and that racist police officers are the exception, not the rule. Even though I’m white, I have had multiple experiences with police officers that have had a racial component. From 1989 to 1997, I lived in a poor neighborhood in Lansing, Michigan;…
Talking Politics with Students
I was raised to believe that it was best to avoid talking about religion or politics in mixed company. The political environment of the United States has become particularly rocky in recent years, making such discussions a potential powderkeg. The election of Donald Trump, billed as an attempt to bring an end to that divisiveness,…
Suicide is Pointless
We have a cultural preoccupation with not letting people die. Conservatives focus that obsession on being against abortion and euthanasia. Quality of life be damned: The conservative platform includes cutting welfare and getting rid of government controls. But if someone is dying and wants to do so in dignity, they can’t. And if a pregnant…
Rebuilding the Village
I’m a high school teacher. Many of my students misbehave regularly, and most of them misbehave at least occasionally. The question is as old as it is contentious: How do we properly impel our students to behave properly? The traditional answer is corporal punishment: Spank students when they don’t do as expected, and they’ll stop…
The Fault in Our Genes
Alexander Yarde recently wrote, “Toxic masculinity is not women’s fault.” It was even bolded, lest people miss it, and it followed Yarde placing the heavy lifting of repairing the problem on “cis straight men.” A few months ago, I wrote about toxic masculinity, myself. And, while the title specifically focused on supporting a role for men that…
A Tale of Two Statues
There are two statues on Wall Street that have been getting considerable discussion lately. Since 1989, Arturo Di Modica’s “Charging Bull” has stood in the Wall Street district, a “symbol of virility and courage” and “determination and hard work” meant to “celebrate the can-do spirit of America” (quotes from his website). In March of 2017,…
Getting Into the Mx.
Language is constantly changing to suit the needs of its speakers. When I was a child, a major shift was occurring in support of feminism. Formerly-gendered terms like “policeman” and “fireman” became “police officer” and “firefighter” in order to recognize the growing presence of women in those careers. “Spouse” and “partner” gained prominence alongside gendered…
‘Gifted’ is a Gift
Movies about prodigies generally focus on the extraordinary talents of the child, while the conflict revolves around protecting the child from someone who wants to exploit or destroy them. “Gifted” (currently in limited release, releasing nationally on April 21) starts with a different goal: protecting the prodigy from the social alienation that comes from their…