5 Life Lessons from the Rubik’s Cube
As a geometry teacher, I like to keep a Rubik’s Cube in my room. The students usually seem to think it’s a way for me to show off (my average time is about two ...
Category: Essays
Another Unarmed Black Man Murdered by Police…and This One Also Won’t be the Last
Here we go again. Every time I see the latest example of police brutality resulting in the death of an unarmed, usually black citizen, I try to be hopeful that ...
The Vicious Cycle of Unequal Treatment
Critics of Black Lives Matter often argue that black Americans are more likely to commit crimes than white Americans, and that this explains why police are more...
The Evolution of Fear in Boys and Men
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the nature of fear. My son, age seven, has developed a consistent fear of marionettes and animatronics. The two monsters at the...
Shut Up and Dance
On August 26, 2016, a black man who is paid a lot of money to entertain people failed to stand for the National Anthem. In 2016 America, this is apparently news...
Cognitive Dissonance: Why Political Discussions Turn Nasty
If you’re like me, your social media has been populated lately with commentary using emotional appeals to get people to change their vote for President, with a ...
Dismantling the Manhood Myth: Why It’s Damaging to Define Men in Terms of Size
When Donald Trump responded to Marco Rubio’s comment about his small hands being no indication of a problem elsewhere on his body, he invoked one of the most vu...
The Privilege of Not Discussing Privilege: How the Hypersensitive Invoke an Oppressive Past to Justify Themselves
It’s a common experience: We try to talk about privilege or Black Lives Matter or institutional racism, and we find ourselves walking on eggshells, carefully ch...
Losing the Sense of Decency
George Santayana famously said, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” Recent political events have stirred up the most famous altercation fr...
Beyond ‘It Was Just a Joke’: Denial of the Obvious as a Distraction Technique
During the 2016 Republican National Convention, Scott Baio sat down with MSNBC’s Tamron Hall to discuss a tweet he’d made about Hillary Clinton. The tweet conta...