Google Searches And Black Mortality
PG was trolling twitter one day when an item caught his eye. @Flyswatter There’s a correlation where racist Google searches and high black mortality rates occur. The tweet linked to an article at HuffPo (the long winded sister of PoPo) with the disturbing title The Connection Between Racist Google Searches And Black Mortality Rates.
“A new study shows a chilling correlation between the number of racist Google searches in an area and the long-term mortality rates of the black people living there. … David Chae … an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, determined how racist a geographic area was by how frequently an epithet for African-Americans appeared in area Google searches. Internet searches are a good way of measuring societal attitudes, Chae said, because people don’t self-censor in their own homes. Areas with the most searches for the epithet “n*****” had the highest mortality rates among African-Americans, found the study, which Chae and seven coauthors published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. “
The article refers to a serious scientific study, Association between an Internet-Based Measure of Area Racism and Black Mortality. Some people with degrees broke the country into 192 Designated Marketing Areas. In the DMA where people performed more Google searches for the “n-word,” Black people were more likely to die.
“In this study, we investigated the utility of a previously developed Internet search-based proxy of area racism as a predictor of Black mortality rates. Area racism was the proportion of Google searches containing the “N-word” in 196 designated market areas (DMAs). Negative binomial regression models were specified taking into account individual age, sex, year of death, and Census region and adjusted to the 2000 US standard population to examine the association between area racism and Black mortality rates, which were derived from death certificates and mid-year population counts collated by the National Center for Health Statistics (2004–2009) DMAs characterized by a one standard deviation greater level of area racism were associated with an 8.2% increase in the all-cause Black mortality rate, equivalent to over 30,000 deaths annually.”
“This previously developed variable was calculated as the proportion of total Internet search queries containing the “N-word” (singular or plural) using Google from 2004–2007. More colloquial forms of the “N-word” (i.e., ending in “-a” or “-as”) were not included given prior analysis of top searches revealing that these versions were used in different contexts compared to searches of the term ending in “-er” or “-ers” … Area racism was standardized so that a one-unit increase in area racism indicates a one standard deviation higher proportion of Google searches containing the “N-word.””
The study was inspired by a New York Times article, How Racist Are We? Ask Google. In this study, areas where people googled the “er” version of the “n-word” were less likely to vote for Barack Obama. “(I did not include searches that included the word “n**ga” because these searches were mostly for rap lyrics.)” LANGUAGE ALERT Use caution when reading this article. It uses the “n-word,” using all six letters without any euphemizing symbols.
The study claims to have been peer reviewed. It does not indicate the race of the people making google searches for the “n-word that ends in er.” This search statistic, which is not broken down on the internet, is the only measure of “racism” that is used. The mortality statistics for mixed race, and non black POC are not mentioned. Media coverage of sporting event riots was not discussed.
Pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
04-30-92
Doug Richards is an Atlanta tv news reporter. He writes a blog, live apartment fire. He was on the scene twenty three years ago. There was a riot downtown. Mr. Richards had a bad night.
PG was working in the Healey building that day. He ran an RMS, or reprographic management service, in an architects office. He had a blueline machine, ran jobs for the customer, and had free time. PG did a lot of exploring, and enjoyed the various events downtown. On April 30, 1992, there was an event he did not enjoy.
The day before, a jury in California issued a verdict. Four policemen were acquitted of wrongdoing in an incident involving Rodney King. The incident had been videotaped, and received widespread attention. The verdict of the jury was not popular. The dissatisfaction spread to Atlanta.
Sometimes, PG thinks he has a guardian angel looking over him. If so, then this thursday afternoon was one of those times. PG went walking out into the gathering storm. He was a block south of the train station at five points, when he saw someone throw a rock into a store front. The sheet metal drapes were rolled down on the outside of the store. PG realized that he was not in a good place, and quickly made his way back to the Healey building.
A group of policeman were lined up in the lobby of the building, wearing flack jackets. One of the police was a white man, who was familiar to workers in the neighborhood. A few weeks before the incident, he had been walking around the neighborhood showing off his newborn baby.
There was very little work done that afternoon in the architect’s office. Someone said not to stand close to the windows, which seemed like a good idea. Fourteen floors below, on Broad Street, the window at Rosa’s Pizza had a brick thrown threw it. There were helicopters hovering over downtown, making an ominous noise.
There was a lot of soul searching about race relations that day. The Olympics were coming to town in four years, and the potential for international disaster was apparent. As it turned out, the disturbance was limited to a few hundred people. It could have been much, much worse. If one percent of the anger in Atlanta had been unleashed that day, instead of .001 percent, the Olympics would have been looking for a new host.
After a while, the people in the office were called into the lobby. The Principal of the firm, the partner in charge of production, walked out to his vehicle with PG and a lady in operations. The principal drove an inconspicuous vehicle, which made PG feel a bit better. PG took his pocketknife, opened the blade, and put it in his back pocket. It probably would not have done him much good.
PG usually took the train downtown. As fate would have it, there was a big project at the main office of redo blue on West Peachtree Street. That is where PG’s vehicle was, in anticipation of working overtime that night. The principal drove PG to this building. PG called his mother, to let her know that he was ok. The Atlanta manager of Redo Blue talked to him, to make sure that he was not hurt.
If PG had not gone back downtown the next day, he might not have ever gone back. He was back at the West Peachtree Street office, and was assured that it was safe to ride the train into town. The Macy’s at 180 Peachtree had plywood nailed over the display windows. A gift shop in the Healey building had a sign in the window, “Black owned business”. Friday May 1, 1992, was a quiet day.
This is a repost. The events of twenty three years ago are mostly forgotten in Atlanta. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Religion For Lack Of A Better Word
@jonathanchait Right-wing evidentiary standards on anti-Semitism are as insanely low as left-wing evidentiary standards on racism ~ Maybe we need to think about the way we deal with racism. There are some problems with your approach. ~ “It is only through fiction that facts can be made instructive or even intelligible.” — George Bernard Shaw ~ “People think that because a novel’s invented, it isn’t true. Exactly the reverse is the case. Biography and memoirs can never be wholly true, since they cannot include every conceivable circumstance of what happened. The novel can do that.” — Anthony Powell ~“I write fiction and I’m told it’s autobiography, I write autobiography and I’m told it’s fiction, so since I’m so dim and they’re so smart, let them decide what it is or it isn’t.” — Philip Roth ~ That’s got to be the worst sentence I have ever written. Syntactically waterboarded. ~ Except for the shoving by Miss Walmart, the lady was getting the attention she was looking for. It would have been crueler if they ignored her. ~ @strangetinybird If u are trying to make peace w yrself, then u probably need to recognize where u are making war w yrself ~ Just for the sake or argument, how many of those comments were accompanied by video of moving lips? Was there creative editing? The walk was clearly a play for attention. The shoving, and liquid throwing, were not justified, but the rest of the behavior was not really that bad. The woman was trying to provoke, and apparently she got what she was looking for. ~ Why do people get so worked up about racism and gay marriage and ignore trade agreements? ~ KJ @kjmelara I want to have an open dialogue about #AmericanReflexxx Luther Mckinnon @chamblee54 @kjmelara American Reflexxx is phony you never see the moving lips of ppl making the comments KJ @kjmelara @chamblee54 who the fuck is you Luther Mckinnon @chamblee54 @kjmelara are you from Myrtle Beach? KJ @kjmelara @chamblee54 Stay out of my mentions troll. You are blocked from following @kjmelara and viewing @kjmelara’s Tweets. Learn more ~ So glad you survived an event that had nothing to do with you. You are an asshole for marking yourself safe in an earthquake that you were no where close to. Disrespectful and arrogant. ~ Every interaction I’ve had with you has shown you to be a pushy, arrogant, ignorant twat. Thanks for being consistent ~ Hopefully we can hang out in the back yard after dinner. ~ Post successfully updated. Lookin’ good! ~ please relax your binary muscle. You’ll feel better. At least I hope you will. ~ When I count the pages in my #Bible, and divide the total by two, I get one reckoning of the middle. On this page is Psalms 70. Here is a lovely verse. Psalms 70:2 Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. ~ The Bible talk was off topic. A dance break is more spiritually edible. ~ You might enjoy these pictures. ~ Thank you. Religion, for lack of a better word, is a highly personal affair. It is not always comfortable to talk about. One of my many issues with the Jesus Worship Church is this notion that I should be required to discuss these sensitive matters with people I have not learned to trust. ~ Why am I inside on a beautiful sunday afternoon reading this? ~ God @TheTweetOfGod “I’ll pray for you” is an intellectually dishonest way of saying “Fuck off.” ~ This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. ~ This post is interrupted by a popup ad for “the EVERYDAY SELF-LOVE COURSE Free yourself from toxic self-talk and give yourself the love you deserve!” ~ pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Caucasian
At the 20:00 mark of the latest Risk show, Kevin Allison tells a story. He used the word caucasian to describe himself. His friend, who knows about such things, said that you can’t call yourself Caucasian.
The word Caucasian is derived from the Caucasus mountains. This is a region in Asia where Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia exist, not always in harmony. The thinking goes that many different types of people live in this region. It is not accurate to describe people of European origin as Caucasian.
According to wikipedia, the three primary races of mankind are Caucasian, Mongoloid and Negroid. Mongoloid refers to the people of East Asian, while the Negroid people originated in sub-saharan Africa. Both Mongoloid and Negroid are considered tacky, with the latter devolving into the dreaded n-word. Maybe it is natural progress to label Caucasian as politically incorrect.
If you google the phrase “is Caucasian,” the search suggestions are a race, white, an ethnicity, racist, a culture, a color, still used. The ever trenchant Urban Dictionary says Causcasian is “A ridiculous way of saying “white person”. Used mostly by Americans.” PG finds this ironic. The first person he knew who used the c-word regularly was a Black Muslim named John Ali.
The UD has a page for something called the Caucasian Donut. “When an exceptionally large white girl finishes oral sex on another exceptionally large white boy and proceeds to collect his jizz and puts it on a pastry of her choice.” It has an ad, with the slogan Join Hillary for America.
So the c-word, in addition to being pretentious, is scientifically dubious. Most people who use it have never heard of the Caucasus mountains. But is it (cue dramatic music) Racist? This post thinks so.
“Caucasian, literally, refers to people native to the Caucasus, but it has become interchangeable with any number of ‘White’ populations, most of wh1om trace their ancestry to Europe. One gets the feeling that the term ‘White’ fell out of favor and was replaced by ‘Caucasian’ much like ‘Black’ was replaced by ‘African-American’. But the roots of such terminology are a bit disturbing; it was postulated that the natives of the Caucasus exhibited the idealized physical appearance so the Caucasus were believed to be the birthplace of mankind. The logic behind this idea — the assumption that Whites exhibit the best physical appearance — is implicitly racist. Additionally, we now know our species first appeared in Africa, so the biology isn’t any good either. The connotations of the term Caucasian along with the geographical absurdity of using that term to describe all Europeans or Whites are the two main reasons we should abandon the term.”
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Traditional Slavic Feel
The only thing you need to know is cntr + z ~ I’m sick of this country being led on the road to communism and the liberals that are helping take it there due to their immoral beliefs and selfish attitude ~ @Brimshack Calling Hillary Clinton a psycho commie doesn’t do much to tell us about HER mental state. @WiseManPhil ~ @Brimshack If you still need your college teacher to tell you to write in complete sentences, there is something about education that you don’t get. ~ @storybandit We dare you to write a 199-word story using this opening: The lady fluttered her fan. #writingdare @chamblee54 @storybandit An alternate: The lady fluffed her fan. @storybandit @chamblee54 Afraid ppl might take that alternate in a porny direction :P ~ Does habe earphones mean speak earphones? ~ Matt Walsh is an idiot working for Glenn Beck. ~ Altars manly reinstall concurrency antecedents cruelest bracket winces ~ WordXWord celebrates diversity, the creative use of language and the experience of community – using spoken word, poetry and storytelling in celebration of the individual, to bridge differences and connect people.~ @TheKevinAllison It’s so hard to tell true stories when you know the people you talk about might hear them. ~ search engine terms for chamblee54.wordpress.com today: crazy tom petty pics, dorothy kilgallen autopsy photos, depression is my nature, mary jo kopechne ~ Yes, in the early eighties I remember reading that the QWERTY keyboard was actually designed to slow peoples’ fingers down, so the machine wouldn’t jam. And that the DVORAK keyboard was designed for the opposite effect…along with, of course, a traditional Slavic feel ~ A tempestuous prisoner is forced to implicate a noncomforist convict in the theft of classified documents ~ A monopolizing green-skinned alien and a human-plant hybrid fail to escape Earth together before an environmental collapse ~ A sea nymph who can stop time for five seconds borrows a lucky necklace from an eunuch while trying to save a powerful god ~ @pourmecoffee I have a learning disability that causes me to read “An Open Letter To…” as “Stop reading now.” ~ I vote for fabulicity. The spell check suggestion is facility. ~ I posted a graphic poem. I made some changes to a picture. I decided to be adventurous and use the BBB editor to add the updated photo. I added the photo. The BBB editor said “Update made, Lookin’ Great,” or something like that. I looked at the updated post. Instead of the 720×447 size I usually use, the new picture was 300×186. That is in pixels, which I suspect the designer of the BBB editor does not know. Anyway, I went to the hassle of opening the classic editor, and added the updated picture. It was sized 720×447, as G-d intended. I probably will not make any more efforts to post with the BBB editor. ~ Mr. Stanley is also ugly. ~ ” i know where to hide the bodies.” Is that why you grew that beard? ~ We are not checking this account right now, as we are out of the country. Thank you for your patience and understanding. ~ This Dust Was Once the Man ~ @storybandit · We dare you to write a 29-word poem using the following words: scorcher, outlawed, homeschool, outplacement. #writingdare ~ I have written about this guy before. I don’t like racism, but I don’t think this person is going to help matters any. Telling people to speak out against racism sounds good in theory, but there are a few questions to ask. ~ Do you know all the facts? What if the person telling you about a racism incident is lying? Is it racism, or a personal dispute where someone chooses to make race an issue? Is it about institutional oppression, or just someone saying something inappropriate? Will your “calling out” make the situation better? Is it any of your business? ~ Dr. Martin Luther King gave a famous speech. He had a dream that people would be judged by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin. Fifty years later, an obese actor is screaming “see color motherfucker.” This is not progress. ~ So yeah, you don’t have to like racism to be put off my this guy’s act. What is amazing is how many people are impressed by it. ~ pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Race And Obamacare
I have been dealing with the health insurance marketplace recently. The details are none of the internet’s business. The process has involved computerized forms, with a lot of questions.
One of these questions is about race. You are asked which group you belong to. There is a long list of options. I looked for white, which is what I am. Supposedly, answering this question is optional.
Why do they need this information? Isn’t America supposed to be judging people on the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin? If this information is available to the person processing the information, will it affect the way the application is processed?
This could take several forms. You could have a racist white bureaucrat making trouble for black people. You could have a prejudiced black bureaucrat making trouble for white people. The bureaucrat might have an unconscious bias. None of these scenarios are fair.
This is not an affirmative action situation. The color of your skin should not affect your ability to obtain affordable healthcare. It is time for this question to be removed from the application. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The Funeral Of Franklin D. Roosevelt
On February 29,1945, a train left a secret platform beneath the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC. The most important car in the train was the Ferdinand Magellan, the private ride of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The train took “the Boss” to Warm Springs, GA.
On April 12, 1945 (the day before Friday 13), the President was posing for a painting. The artist, Elizabeth Shoumatoff, was a friend of Lucy Mercer Rutherford, who was also in “The Little White House” that afternoon. Mrs. Rutherford was the long time mistress of the President. At roughly 1:00 pm, The President rubbed his brow, and said ” I have a terrific pain in the back of my head”. His head slumped onto his chest, and he died.
What happened in the next few days is the subject of FDR’s Funeral Train. PG found this book at the Chamblee library, and found it enjoyable, and thought provoking. For a story with a well known outcome, there were a lot of subplots, and food for speculation. Pictures for this book report repost are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
When it became obvious what was happening, the first chore was to get Lucy Rutherford off the premises. She left quickly, along with Ms. Shoumatoff, and an assistant. Somehow, Eleanor Roosevelt learned the Mrs. Rutherford had been with her husband, and was not pleased.
Fred Patterson was called at this Atlanta funeral home, and told to come to Warm Springs to prepare the body for burial. Unfortunately, the cerebral hemorrage had clouded the President’s face beyond repair. This, and the President’s expressed dislike of open coffin funerals, led to a closed coffin at the ceremonies. The closed coffin led to speculation that the President had been dead for some time, and that an impostor had been playing the role of President.
Mr. Patterson brought a copper lined coffin with him, weighing over 600 pounds. The setup of the Ferdinand Magellan made it impossible to bring the coffin onto that car. Another car, the Conneaut, was found to carry the remains to the funeral. A passenger window was removed, and the coffin was passed in through the window. A wooden bier was built for the coffin, and covered with a Marine Corps blanket. The bier was built high enough to enable the coffin to be visable through the window.
When the coffin was about to be placed on the train, it was learned that no one had brought a flag. A flag was borrowed from a flagpole in Warm Springs to put over the coffin.
The Ferdinand Magellan was armor plated, and had bulletproof glass. It weighed 142 tons. An engine powerful enough to carry this car had to be found. When the train was leaving Washington, en route to burial in Hyde Park, NY, three couplings broke, from the strain of this car. Finally, a coupling was made to work, and the train proceeded to Hyde Park.
The part of the journey from Washington to Hyde Park had two trains, with every important official in Washington on board. Among them was the new President, Harry Truman. Truman had been a compromise choice as Vice President, and was not told very much. He was quickly educated, and produced a speech to give to Congress the following Monday.
On this Friday the thirteenth, no one foresaw an early end to the War. While Germany was in bad shape, no one knew how much longer they would hold out. As for Japan, it was assumed that a gruesome land invasion would be needed to end the conflict. Only a select few knew about the atomic bomb, which had still not been tested. Some felt it would not work.
One of the lesser known passengers on the Washington-Hyde Park train was an economics advisor to the President named Laughlin Currie. In addition to his duties for the American government. Mr. Currie was widely believed to be on the payroll of the Soviet Union. He gave regular reports to the KGB. Which leads to one of the questions …did the Soviet Union know about the atom bomb?
The answer may not be knowable. What is known is this. On August 6, the US dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima. On August 8, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan, invading Manchuria. On August 9, the US dropped the atom bomb on Nagasaki. This may be a coincidence.
Another point to ponder involves Dr. Howard G. Bruenn, a cardiologist at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Dr. Bruenn had been treating the President, and is given credit for adding a year to the President’s life. The question today is, what if the President had died in 1944? Henry Wallace would have become President, and probably would have been elected to a term of office in the fall elections. (Or maybe not. Mr. Wallace had offended enough people to cause him to be kicked off the ticket.) How this would have played out, especially with regard to the war effort and the Yalta conference, is anybody’s guess. That extra year of life for Mr. Roosevelt may have been a very good thing for the United States.
Dangerous Driving
What follows is a repost from a few years ago. The thoughts are current. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
This is written as the Sunday morning worship hour winds down. In church facilities across America, preachers scream about sin. Very few will consider the sin of dangerous driving. And yet, this is the sin that can change, or end, your life in an instant.
There is a lot of label mongering in public spaces. Liberal, conservative, and racist are three of the most popular. None of these labels deals with driving courtesy. The SJW and the KKK are united in their lack of concern about safe driving. With that in mind, here is the top nine.
1- Find another way to show how bad you are. This is mostly a masculinity thing, but it just might apply to a few ladies. Driving hard and fast is the easy way to prove your toughness. All you do is push the gas pedal. You don’t have to go to the gym, have lots of sex, or go into battle. Just drive fast, and with no concern for your neighbor.
2- Slow down. There is no need to go so fast. When you go somewhere, allow yourself enough time to get there. The faster you drive, the less reaction time you have in an emergency.
3- Stay far enough behind the car ahead of you to stop in an emergency. This will be less stressful for the person in front of you.
4- Pay attention to the road. This is where cell phones, and texting, becomes a problem. You should be focused on the road ahead of you, and not what your phone mate is telling you. Your minutes will be just as good when you get to your destination. Are people really brainless enough to text and drive?
5- The three rules of the workplace apply here…. show up, stay awake, and don’t kill anyone.
6- Keep your car in good condition. The tires and brakes are key items, but also keep the engine running smoothly. Sometimes you need to accelerate.
7- Keep your temper. Driving while angry is a cause of many accidents, especially when combined with alcohol or religion.
8- Use your turn signals.
9- Show concern for the well being of your neighbor. Use common sense.
Shocked
@Green_Footballs One of the things that drove me away from the right was seeing the excuses for blatant, obvious racism. Repellent. @chamblee54@Green_Footballs @EdDarrell @Punditdotcom something driving me from the left is high volume pearl clutching over “racist” trivialities ~ @thedavidcrosby here is post about song “page 43” I say it rhymes with “got to be” story on p.43 OT is pretty good ~ I had the single most horrific experience of my life! I wanted some pizza after my klan rally so of course it was memories pizza. I know we are supposed to be anonymous and all that but whatever! I ordered a nice hot and steamy not gay and extra mozzarella cause I only consume white cheese because it is the superior cheese. And resting on top of my pepperoni was a tooth! I was shocked, but relieved it was a white tooth. Apparently it belonged to the girl behind the counter. I went to return it to her and she was making out with this woman and screaming it was a choice! It seems to me this restaurant has gone downhill. I plan to tell my klan friends about this and we will be eating our white cheese elsewhere! ~ this is turning out to be more than i anticipated first the new computer does not want to hook up to the internet then the cord gets in the way and instead of unplugging the laptop i unplug the main tower we will see how this all works out ~ @storybandit · We dare you to write a 29-word poem using the following words: purser, aforetime, overwhelm, workplace. #writingdare ~ Have you defended anyone lately? ~ @chamblee54 what crookedness is being ignored in IN bc of the rfra fuss? morality is a great distraction for thieves ~ in jolly workplace aforetime a piggie purser wants an apple stuck in his mouth everyone else knows this means to cook him but no one wants to overwhelm him with reality ~ Even if CA does not run out of water, it is in crisis.Is is moral to add to the burden of a depleted water supply? Of course, in one year Atlanta may be running dry. We have not secured a dependable source of water. If a drought starts tomorrow… an unlikely prospect, but still a possibility … we could be counting down the days until we run out. It almost happened in 2007. ~ @TooMessedUp Survived April Fools Day without being pranked, however there was a baby on my doorstep this morning, but I’m pretty sure thats unrelated. ~ @thedavidcrosby @HenleyFrey71 pure speculation …maybe yes ….you have to understand President is hood ornament …congress is engine …corporations car ~ Sincerity is the creepiest form of imitation. ~ #WhatHashtagsHaveTaughtMe will be <140 characters ~ @Jizismyname this time put two boulders in front of the cave ~ you can lead a whore to culture but you can't make him think ~ i suppose the punch line is nun of my business ~ @thedavidcrosby have you ever served pizza at a wedding reception? ~ @chamblee54 @thedavidcrosby @jonwee you are asking PIMPDaddy™, "Part-time Dragonslayer" if he is dumb ~ @thedavidcrosby at least you still have your hair garfunkel's fabulous jew-fro is long gone ~ Is putting this on the innertubes really a good idea? ~ If you do not show up for your scheduled therapy appointment, and you have not notified us at least 24 hours in advance, you will be required to pay the full cost of the session. ~ att email on yahoo is worse ~ People may say I can’t sing, but no one can ever say I didn’t sing. Florence Foster Jenkins (attributed) ~ SMS is a gender neutral form of PMS ~ You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late. Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ I love that, because it’s teue about everything we tey. ~ #BarryManilow and #BetteMidler have the same initials ~ Dr. Stephenson Billings is an award-winning Investigative Journalist, Motivational Children’s Party Entertainer and Antique Soda Bottle Collector all in one special, blessed package! ~ @storybandit We dare you to write a 99-word story using the following words: cakewalk, quick, dictate, evasions, hangouts. #writingdare~ @storybandit We dare you to write a 99-word poem using the following words: redfish, blotchy, cancel, bulkheads. #writingdare ~ @storybandit We dare you to write a 49-word poem using the following words: supernovae, lefthand, vomit, tremor. #writingdare ~ @storybandit We dare you to write a 49-word poem using the following words: lugger, joyless, audiotape, pothead. #writingdare ~ cakewalk quick dictate evasions hangouts redfish blotchy cancel bulkheads supernovae lefthand vomit tremor belligerents peppery crane rightwingers ~ @storybandit · We dare you to write a 29-word poem using the following words: belligerents, peppery, crane, rightwingers. #writingdare ~ @storybandit We dare you to write a 29-word poem using the following words: virtues, biannual, carton, warts. ~ @Kool_Aid_Wino The nice thing about coffee is that it’s legal. ~ pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Yeah I’m A Redneck
A facebook friend recommended an Upworthy video, Racism explained by a good ol’ Southern boy. PG had to click on the link. He did not like what he saw and heard.
About nine seconds in, PG sensed that something was amiss. “I’m coming to you hear in my track. Today I got Ford F150 and I like it. Yeah I’m a redneck. I always have been…” Years of living in Georgia has given PG a taste of rednecks. This man seemed a bit off.
It turns out the speaker was “a filmmaker, actor, and anti-racism writer.” His name is Jorge Moran. Mr. Moran studied at Savannah College of Art and Design, and has directed several films. His bio mentions bouts with depression, as well as living in Los Angeles. He returned to Tennessee in 1992, after the Rodney King riots.
There are a lot of comments in the text about what “white” has done. As a little experiment, PG decided to substitute “christian” for “white.” “This country was built for christian people. I mean it’s time as Americans, as christian Americans came to terms from that and realized, “We are benefiting from that. We created slavery. We created a culture and system of christian supremacy that has benefited us for 400 years.” You think maybe it’s about time we stop being lazy as christian people and take some fucking responsibility.”
So you say christians should not be blamed for creating slavery. What about the white americans whose ancestors came to this county after the abolition of slavery? What about the majority of white americans, north and south, who did not own slaves? Is the color of your skin the only variable available for blaming something that happened hundreds of years ago?
Lets break down another bit of text. “White people are racists. Not all of them but white culture is. White country is. Our Nation is. Our American culture is full of white supremacy and we live in a white supremacist culture that caters to white people. Everything from the media to education, to art, to culture, to politics are white washed. What is not white washed. As far as the status quo, as far as the dominant culture, everything’s white washed.”
One of the things about American culture is the mixing of white and black. Rock and roll was invented by black people. Christianity, at least the Catholic church and its offshoots, was invented by white people. There is a lot of mixing. Whenever PG goes anywhere, he sees black people. To say american life is whitewashed is ridiculous. When you make statements like that, you make me want to doubt the next thing that you say.
This is not to say that there is no racism. Economic inequality is real. The toxic after effects of jim crow have not faded away. However, rhetoric of the type this video spouts off does not help. Maybe the calling out demanded by this video needs to be directed at Jorge Moran.
The speech has little that you have not heard before. It also does not have any practical way to make a change. “And let’s do something about it. Let’s speak up. Let’s vote. Let’s create legislation and policies that fight against this shit. Let’s make things fair and equal.” Actually, the Civil Rights act was passed in 1964. The Federal Government has been in the business of monitoring Civil Rights violations ever since. Exactly what laws do you want to pass?
When a video like this comes out, many people see it as their duty to praise it. If you do not praise the speech, or if you do not automatically believe every claim made, then you are labeled a racist. After a while, the term racism means less and less. Fire breathing entertainment for SJW is not going to create change. All this one is doing is collecting page views for UpWorthy. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Anne LaMott
PG was working on a graphic poem. This is done on the computer, with the temptation of the internet forever lurking nearby. At one point, the urge to connect was too strong, and facebook was drawn in.
A bit of text from Anne LaMott was posted. PG has never read her work, but has heard good things about it. The people saying these good things are people whose opinions PG cares about.
Ms. LaMott is going to have a 61th birthday soon. PG will have a 61th birthday in a few weeks. Ms. LaMott makes a list of the things she has learned in her three score and one. This is the sort of thing her public gets off on. Since she is so well regarded, PG decides to take a look. This illustrates point A. A When you read something on the internet, you are not working on your project.
The Anne Lamott stuff is a mixed bag. She is a Christian, of some sort or another, and inevitably brings G-d and Jesus into the conversation. PG has had problems with G-d and Jesus. Opinions about them can be “triggering.” While Ms. LaMott means well, this is going to be tough to overcome.
Meanwhile, the graphic poem is not producing itself. The text is whipped into shape. The word count for the writing contest is verified. The colors are chosen for the text, then changed, then changed again, and finally the first colors tried are the ones that are going to be used. This is something that you need to do wrong before you do right. This working things out is not going to happen while reading the wisdom of the lady writer. Multi tasking has its limits.
The thoughts of the piece will not leave PG alone, and he decides to go back and finish reading the piece. This brings us to point B. B If you read something interesting on the internet, and have to leave, copy the link. If you depend on memory, you will never see it again.
As was mentioned above, Ms. LaMott and PG are products of 1954. This is probably the tail end of the baby boom. For young men in the USA, you were too young to go to Vietnam. Now you are becoming old fogies. You make lists of things you have learned, and post them on facebook. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Carsick
It was the monday after easter. History does not record what Jesus did on this day. After being dead forty four hours, he probably needed to take a bath, and trim his fingernails.
In modern day Brookhaven, PG is celebrating by getting his auto emission inspection. With his birthday a few weeks away, this is a chore that needs to be done. Go to the mall parking lot, sit in the trailer waiting room a few minutes, and go on about your life.
Today is the first time PG has had to wait for service. Usually, you just drive up, stop at the appropriate spot, and let the man do his thing. While waiting in line, PG read the last page of Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America.
Its about time. The library checkout has already been renewed, and is due back in just over a week. The shame of taking five weeks to consume 322 pages of John Waters! This is not James Joyce, but the Divine Doodoo Dietician, the Pope of trash.
The first part of Carsick was covered in the tastefully titled Gagless Oscillation. The last part is reality, the way things really happened. Never say “John Waters” and “reality” in the same sentence.
Mr. Waters is hitchhiking from Baltimore to San Francisco. This was in 2012, before the bi-coastal bonding the two cities experienced in the 2013 Super Bowl. He gets stuck in Ohio, and Kansas, and wonders if he will make it out alive. There are several unlikely rides. If he had not been famous/notorious, this trip might not have gone so smoothly.
At one point Mr. Waters goes by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and thinks it is a fabulous sight. In 1979, PG woke up in a Trailways Bus, and saw the Arch across the street. PG thought it was the most disappointing landmark ever. People do not always agree.
As the plot winds down, Mr. Waters is standing outside a rest area. He claims to know, by facial expression, whether a traveler is going to shit, or piss, when he goes into the facility. The amount of time spent iniside allegedly holds to answer to this question. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
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