Who Invented The Word Racism?
Writers tackle was rampaging through Brookhaven. PG looked in a list of old product, and found a feature built on the output of Teju Cole. He has a dandy article, at the New Yorker, about what is antiseptically called drone warfare. It is the twitter feed that gets attention. This is a repost.
@tejucole George Carlin’s original seven dirty words can all be said freely now. The one word you can’t say, and must never print, is “racist.”
The quote marks lend mystery to the tweet. Does he mean the dreaded “n word”? Or does he mean that other six letter slur? There is no shortage of people screaming racist in Georgia, often at the slightest provocation. There is an attitude that racism is the worst thing you can be accused of. Once accused, you are guilty until proven innocent. If you do a bit of research into racism, the word, you will see some interesting things.
The concept of populations not getting along is as old as mankind. The word racism apparently did not exist before 1933 (merriam webster), or 1936 (dictionary dot com). (In 2020, both of these sources have updated their notes, on the original use of the word “racism.”)
Something called the Vanguard News Network had a forum once, What is the true origin of the term racism? This forum is problematic, as VNN seems to be a white supremacist affair. One of the reputed coiners of the R word was Leon Trotsky, also referred to as Jew Communist. Another Non English speaker who is given “credit” for originating the phrase is Magnus Hirschfeld. As for English, the word here is: “American author Lawrence Dennis was the first to use the word, in English, in his 1936 book “The coming American fascism”.”
The terms racist and racism seem to be used interchangeably in these discussions. This is in keeping with the modern discussion. As Jesus worshipers like to say, hate the sin, love the sinner.
The Online Etymology Dictionary has this to add: “racist 1932 as a noun, 1938 as an adjective, from race (n.2); racism is first attested 1936 (from French racisme, 1935), originally in the context of Nazi theories. But they replaced earlier words, racialism (1871) and racialist (1917), both often used early 20c. in a British or South African context. In the U.S., race hatred, race prejudice had been used, and, especially in 19c. political contexts, negrophobia.”
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. Part two is now available.
Atheism Number Two
Whenever someone writes a book about religion, the writer pays tribute to mammon. Interviews are given, TED talks are given, and the printed donkey flogged within an inch of its life. The book of the moment is Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion. The author is Alain de Botton. A chat on blogginheadstv goes over the same material. The idea is that atheists can learn a thing or two from the believers. Mr. de Botton gave a TED Talk about this concept.
We could begin by questioning the entire belief paradigm. Christians believe G-d exists, and a few other things. Atheists do not believe G-d exists. What no one seems to be questioning is whether belief is the best way to go about the G-d issue. The word gnosis (the root of agnostic) refers to having a knowledge of G-d… to feeling her presence in your soul. There are some who say that man and G-d are one and the same. When all you have is a belief… a strongly felt thought… you just might be missing most of the picture.
Christianity is a religion based on beliefs. One of the central beliefs is the notion that having the correct beliefs will cause you to be “saved”… to go to heaven when you die, instead of hell. This is a big deal to Christians, who find it difficult to deal with someone who is not fascinated by “salvation.”
Atheism seems to be a reaction to Christianity/salvation promotion. If they Christians did not tell them about G-d, how would atheists know what to not believe in?
“they’ve argued that believing in G-d is akin to believing in fairies and essentially that the whole thing is a childish game.” Oh my, what a terrible thing to say about faeries. Maybe faeries are not something to believe in either. Just wear the fabulous fashions, and don’t worry about that silly religion business.
Mr. de Botton laments the lack of community is atheism, and he may have a point. PG has often envied the sense of extended family that churches seem to offer. If only those pesky beliefs didn’t get in the way. Does religion fulfill a tribal need for conformity, rather than spiritual fulfillment?
It is a common rule of public speaking… you treat children as though they were adults, and adults as though they were children. The concept of being “born again”, of having a second childhood… these are very appealing notions. Can an atheist church offer these good times? Or would it spoil the fun by treating “worshipers” as adults?
PG has a big, big problem with one issue. Jesus worship is an emotional affair. Powerful feelings are stirred up. This power, and fury, can be a terrifying thing if it is used against you.
This use of Jesus driven emotions is an issue in American politics today. The force and thunder of a screaming Jesus worshiper, leading his flock of angry sheep, is a terrible thing to have used against you. It is hoped that an Atheist church would be more “humanistic”.
Two wrongs do not make a right. Jesus worshipers are notorious for interrupting you if something is said they do not like. Perhaps this is another function of the belief based religion. When you believe something, and do not understand why someone does not share your belief, you don’t have time to listen. This rudeness does not speak well for Jesus. Hopefully, atheists can be a bit better.
This is a repost. Today’s edition has been edited for easier consumption. The TL/DR version linked above goes into more detail about some of the points. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. Russell Lee took the pictures in October, 1938. “Crowd, listening to the Cajun band at National Rice Festival, Crowley, Louisiana.”
A Second Acquittal
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dead 022769 ~ botanico ~ cpac ~ Michel Foucault ~ chen chen
c**n ~ asia ~ lawrence ferlinghetti ~ take whats free ~ dead 022566
eddie van halen ~ Haroun Shahid Wakil ~ gore vidal ~ joan didion ~ oscar wilde
Randy/Vincent ~ monday morning reader ~ brick yard ~ wh auden ~ java zoom
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
Post Racial America
It is a cliche among certain pundits that this is not “Post Racial America.” No one seems to know what PRA would look like. PRA might be less noisy, with fewer odors, than the current model. The opinion that we do not live in PRA seems unanimous. After PG heard the denial of PRA one too many times, he began to wonder something. Who said America is Post Racial?
Mr. Google has 119 million answers to the question “who said america is post racial?” The short answer is nobody. The closest thing on the front Google page is an NPR commentary from January 2008. This was the early stages of the BHO run for the White House. The commenter said that the election of a dark skinned POTUS might usher in a post racial era in America.
This piece will not have any fresh opinions about race relations in America. That subject has been worn out elsewhere. If someone finds it to their advantage to denounce “racism,” there will be an audience. The truth is, very few people have ever said that America is Post Racial.
This is a double repost, on the subject that people can’t get enough of. If you can’t say anything good, you can always talk about racism. Pictures for this friday morning are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Some times you see something, and realize that you are being pushed over a line. Today’s straw, landing on the camel’s back, was a meme. It has pictures of a statesman-like BHO, and a goat smiling BS. The text was white comic sans letters, on a black background. “Regarding those who call Obama an illegitimate president because his father was born in Kenya, Bernie Sanders replied: “No one asked me if I was a citizen or not, and my dad came from Poland. Gee, what’s the difference? Maybe the color of my skin.” The comment was from a Las Vegas town hall meeting. Some things that are said in Vegas need to stay in Vegas.
No one denies that white people and black people often do not get along. Few deny that there is systemic inequality. The connection of “birther” speculation to systemic inequality is tough to see. Of course, the definition of racism is elastic, and can fit whatever situation the observer wants to critique.
Are we helping the cause of racial tranquility by making comments like that? Yes, it is foolish for “birthers” to whine about a birth certificate. But entertaining followers in a town hall debate does not mean you are going to be able to govern. Maybe BS should focus on his economic fantasies, and quit scoring cheap shots about racism.
The Color Of My Skin was originally published in February, 2016, when BS was taken seriously. As we all know, HRC eventually got the Democratic nomination, only to lose to DJT in November.
Mr. Trump was one of the original “birthers,” or people disputing the Hawaiian birth of BHO. In the general election campaign, Democrats liked to say that DJT was a racist, with birtherism frequently given as an example. The many other unappealing parts of DJT, like crookedness and mental instability, were brushed aside, in the mad rush to scream racist. Some even went so far as to say that anyone voting for DJT was a racist. When the electoral votes were counted, DJT won.
Covid Vaccine
By the start of February, I had taken three or four covid tests, all of which were negative. The news of a vaccine was recieved with skepticism. How could a vaxx be produced this quickly, and safely. The hard core, pro vaxx, sales pitches did not help. It was time to wait and see, again.
Then the email came from Northside Hospital. Since I was over 65, and worked with a Northside Doctor, I was eligible to receive the vaxx. A bout with non-covid, intestinal bug put me in bed for two and a half weeks. After I was able to stay out of bed all day, I answered the email. I felt like a sheep at first, but signed up to recieve my first dose in two days. I quit saying baa quickly. I never had to mention which Northside Doctor I worked with.
When you have a medical destination, it can be helpful to know where you are going. I had never made friends with the gps on the iphone7. After the first failed attempt, I pulled into a parking lot on Lake Hearn Drive. It was in use as a staging area for the perimeter construction tragedy. I entered the address of the building, and got a screen with a map. No helpful voice on the phone was forthcoming. This was the moment when I decided I had enough of the iphone7. I pulled the plug that afternoon.
I found the building somehow, and talked to a man. He was on the parking deck speaker box. He told me to come back on Thursday, and there would be people to tell me where to go, and what to do.
Thursday morning, a black man of indeterminate nationality told me where to take my vehicle, and to be sure to remember where it was. I could go in the building five minutes before my appointment. A pickup truck, with a black man inside, pulled up next to me. A couple of minutes before I would be allowed in, I got out of my vehicle. The man in the pickup truck got out. He wore a baseball hat, indicating some sort of military service. We has a friendly little chat as we walked up to the door.
There has been a lot of racial turmoil in America, for as long as I can remember. On this day, about half the people were black, and half were white. Maybe someone, somewhere, had problems. It was not me. It was just another day in America.
FWIW, this was a big money production. It was well organized, and took place less than a year after the meltdown. This effort was orchestrated by the government. led by Donald J. Trump. There is going to be serious re-evaluation of his presidency, and of the resistance nonsense.
I got to the doors, and was greeted by the first person. A young man asked to see my reminder text. You go to the next door, and talk to the next person. There was someone literally every twenty five feet. There was a long escalator going down. Someone asked if I was comfortable riding it.
I got downstairs, in the futuristic office class A space. I go to the desk, show my picture ID, and the man confirms my registration. The next person says to wait here, until a person waves me into a cubicle. Is Campbell Mckinnon a hyphenated name? They did not have hyphenated names in 1954.
Not looking at the needle is a basic survival skill. You are ushered into a chair, where you sit down for fifteen minutes. This is the first time I have opened my book since I got here. I did not want to leave. The fifteen minutes went by quickly. I got home, and made the appointment for shot number two. This one is supposed to be tougher. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Fifteen Minutes
Andy Warhol is quoted as saying that “in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” This has become a popular saying. If a celebrity is getting tiresome, people will wonder when their fifteen minutes will be up. After hearing about fifteen minutes his entire life, PG began to wonder if Drella really said that. If you can’t be cynical about Andy Warhol… This is a repost.
Wikipedia is a good place to start. “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” … appeared in the program for a 1968 exhibition of his work at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden. Photographer Nat Finkelstein claimed credit for the expression, stating that he was photographing Warhol in 1966 for a proposed book. A crowd gathered trying to get into the pictures and Warhol supposedly remarked that everyone wants to be famous, to which Finkelstein replied, “Yeah, for about fifteen minutes, Andy.” Nat Finkelstein was a sketchy character, in the Warhol tradition. His version is suspect. The Swedish museum part is real.
“Andy Warhol’s first European museum solo show took place at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm from February through March 1968. Pontus Hultén curated the exhibition together with Olle Granath. The exhibition came with a catalogue that was, like the show, named ‘Andy Warhol’. Kasper König, who worked for the Moderna Museet as an intern of sorts in New York, developed a basic concept for the book. … After Warhol had given his approval to this first proposal, König proceeded to create a dummy. … When König returned his dummy to the Factory, Warhol scrutinized it carefully but made only a small number of changes. Contrary to what Warhol wanted to be popular belief, those who produced input at the Factory were carefully monitored. … The final edits on the dummy were made in Stockholm by Olle Granath. He compiled a small selection of Warhol quotes and aphorisms from a stack of books and clippings collected by Hultén and placed them in the book as an introduction before the image sections.”
“Sometime in the autumn of 1967, Pontus Hultén called and asked me if I (Olle Granath) could help him and the Moderna Museet to organize an Andy Warhol exhibition that was due to open in February…. An important part of the exhibition was the production of a book. It was not supposed to be an analytical catalog of Warhol’s work, but a book that conveyed his aesthetics without heavy texts. … One day, Pontus brought me a box, almost the size of a Brillo box, and told me that it contained everything written by and about Andy Warhol (today the equivalent would probably be two truck loads). My job was to read it all and present a proposal for a manuscript with Swedish translations. After a couple of nights of reading and taking notes I delivered a script to Pontus and awaited his reaction with great anticipation. ‘Excellent,’ Pontus said when he called me, ‘but there is a quotation missing.’ ‘Which one?’ I said. ‘In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,’ Pontus replied. ‘If it is in the material I would have spotted it,’ I told him. The line went quiet for a moment, and then I heard Pontus say, ‘If he didn’t say it, he could very well have said it. Let’s put it in.’ So we did, and thus Warhol’s perhaps most famous quotation became a fact.”
“The exhibition in Stockholm attracted a relatively small number of visitors, due to the extremely cold winter, but also to the fact that leftist radicalization increasingly drove the Museets public to mistrust anything American or consumerist. There was no space yet for a more complex reading of Warhol’s relation to consumption. The book, however, became very popular: its enormous edition allowed it to be distributed in nightclubs and record stores, not only museums. A timeless update on the latest from New York, it first became a cult object, then a collectors item.”
Did Andy say that? Probably, but not definitely. Andy was shot by Valerie Jean Solanas on June 3, 1968, a few months after the show in Sweden. Andy survived, and had fifteen more minutes. Pictures today are from Pictures are from The Library of Congress. The 1927 pictures were taken at “California Beauty Week, Mark Hopkins Hotel, July 28 to Aug. 2, auspices of San Francisco Chronicle.”
Peachtree Street
PG finished a book, Peachtree Street-Atlanta. The author is William Bailey Williford, and it was published by the University of Georgia Press in 1962. PG found this at the Chamblee library, and this is probably the best way to find this book today. (Reissued by UGA Press.)
How this road got the name Peachtree is a good question. Most peaches grow south of the fall line. The story goes that there was a Creek Indian village called Standing Peachtree, located where Peachtree Creek runs into the Chattahoochee. During the war of 1812 Fort Peachtree stood there.
There was a trail that ran from Buckhead to an intersection with the Sandtown Trail, at what is now Five Points. A short distance south of this intersection was a settlement known as White Hall. For many years, Peachtree Street south of Five Points was known as Whitehall Road. At some point in the last thirty years, a decision was made to change Whitehall to Peachtree. It did not help the rundown condition of Whitehall Street.
In 1835 Governor Wilson Lumpkin decided that a railroad that would be centered near the junction of Peachtree Trail and Sandtown Trail. The new town was named “Marthasville”, after the daughter of the Governor. Martha Lumpkin resides in Oakland Cemetery today.
The village was soon renamed Atlanta, which was a feminine form of Atlantic. Houses, churches, and businesses were soon built on Peachtree Road. In 1856, Richard Peters built a flour mill. To insure a steady supply of firewood, he bought four hundred acres of land, for five dollars an acre. The land was between Eighth Street, North Avenue, Argonne Avenue, and Atlantic Drive.
Another pioneer citizen with a large landholding was George Washington (Wash) Collier. Mr. Collier bought 202 acres for $150 in 1847. The land was between West Peachtree, Fourteenth Street, Piedmont Road, Montgomery Ferry Road, and the Rhodes Center. Much of the land was used for the development of Ansley Park.
In 1854, Atlanta entertained, for the first time, a man who had been President. On May 2, Millard Fillmore arrived from Augusta on a private rail car.
There was some unpleasantness in 1864, which we will not concern ourselves with.
In 1866, there was a shocking murder. John Plaster was found dead, in an area known as “tight squeeze”. This was an area of shanties, at the present location of Crescent Avenue and Tenth Street. A hundred years later, this was near “the strip”, Atlanta’s hippie district, also called “Tight Squeeze”.
As the nineteenth century rolled along, many mansions were built on Peachtree Street. The road was paved, and streetcars ran up and down. Automobiles came, and came, and came. An expressway was built in the 1950’s, and quickly became obsolete. One by one, the mansions were torn down and replaced with businesses and churches.
The book was written in 1962, when the party was just getting started. The High Museum was known then as the Atlanta Art Association. In June of 1962, a plane full of prominent Atlanta residents crashed in Paris, killing all on board. As a memorial to those people, the Memorial Arts Center on Peachtree, at Fifteenth Street, was built.
Another phenomenon which is not explained by the book is the custom of naming everything here Peachtree. There are countless streets and institutions named for a fruit tree that likes warmer climates. Atlanta has a one street skyline, that stretches from Five Points to Peachtree Dunwoody Road, almost at the city limits. PG lives a quarter mile off Peachtree, in Dekalb County, and has no idea why Peachtree is a magic word.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. and The Library of Congress. This is the annual repost.
Iphone7
I disconnected the iphone7 yesterday. If you want to call me, I am available at the same number, on the att flip phone I had before last November. It was a horrible experience.
On November 1, 2020, the house had no electricity, and was facing major renovations. I felt I would need access to email during this time. While I was at the att store, charging the ip7, the house issues began to resolve themselves. By that evening, the power was back on. And I was stuck with an ip7.
I had gotten by just fine with a flip phone and desktop computer. Fine. I saw the rest of America with its nose in a phone, constantly, and did not want to be like that. For the next three months, and 23 days, I tried to join in. I failed. Miserably.
My best friend had moved to Mexico. There was a device, whats app, that would enable me to talk to him. I tried to download the app. This was one of my first experiences with the ip7 password computer. It is tiny, and sensitive. It does not tell you when you have punched the correct button, and whether you hold it for .01 second, which might work, or whether you hold it for .02 seconds, which does not work. If you get enough of the password correct, it might let you in, or it might tell you that a computer in California is using your id, and would you like to change your password? A apple support did not resolve this, after an agonizing hour and twenty minutes.
Whats app finally went through, and life went on. I was able to talk to Mexico. I also started to put pictures on the ip7. Graphic poems are what I do. A series of eight to ten pictures, displayed in 123 order. The ip7 does not allow you to store pictures by name. They go in chronological order, period. You then try to rearrange them by image. Instagram simply did not work. That is another story.
Ip7 has a camera. When you take a picture, it takes a two second video of the still photo. Why? Who knows, except some “genius” in California. It takes another act of congress, and a dozen bizarre youtube videos, to resolve this issue.
So I decided to go take a picture of some trees, to use as a background. While I was in the forest, I hit the wrong button to wrong way, and the screen went dark. After that was resolved, I checked the emails, and deleted all of them without quite knowing what I did. Another call to apple support straightened that out.
When I got home from the woods, Joe Biden had won the election. I think this was better than the other guy winning, but not by much. America went into celebration of a new president. Georgia was beginning to realize that it was facing a double runoff, for the US Senate. Soon, the hateful content of Raphael Warnock’s sermons was in your face. The elcction from hell finally ended.
On November 20, some ios updates were made. Suddenly, voice mail messages appeared out of nowhere. I had no idea that the vm was not working. This is such a basic, simple feature.
December went by without much ado. The presidential transistion was fitfully happening. Covid raged on, and on, and on. Finally, at the end of the year, I was facing another crisis with the house. I was going to need access to voice mail. Numerous calls were made to att, and apple support. Both A-companies blamed each other. Finally, an appointment was made for the apple store at perimeter mall, to see a “genius.” By this time, the house crisis had resolved itself.
On Wednesday, an costumed army stormed the US Capitol. The immediate reaction on twitter was to blame white privilege. America was losing its mind.
On Thursday, I went to the Apple store. After waiting in a socially distanced line for 45 minutes, I went in to see the “genius.” He was a nice man, but did not resolve the issue. Remember, this is voice mail, an incredibly basic feature. A phone appointment was made for when I got home.
I will never forget what happened next. As I walked away, with my tail between my legs, an large black man came up to me. “Did they resolve your problem ?” “No” “What was the problem?” “Who are you?” “Apple security” “Am I free to leave?”
I had apple security called on me. I will NEVER own an apple product again, until the day I die.
When I got home, I spent two hours on the phone with apple and att, and the voice mails started to appear. In February, I came down with a non covid flu, and spent two weeks in bed. As I began to recover, I got an invitation to get the vaccine. I made an appointment. Yesterday, I drove to the appointment site, so I would know where to go Thursday morning. After the first drive past the site, I realized I did not know where it was. I entered the address into the phone, and got visual instructions. No voice spoke to me. I had to look at the phone, which is illegal in Georgia. Finally, I found the site, talked to a voice on a call box, who told me this was the correct place to be.
I got home, and called att. They were totally unhelpful on the phone. I went to the att store, and the lady cleaned out the ip7, disconnected it, and got the flip phone back on. There are some billing issues to be resolved, but they can be done. For now I am free of the ip7. That hideous chapter in my life is over. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Radical Social Change
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with dr x, to be not named, a prominent woke african-american public intellectual
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dance ~ repost ~ iran ~ reply all
who ~ julian bond ~ thomas paine ~ dead 021269
.@chamblee54 .@GlennLoury .@JohnHMcWhorter “with dr x, to be not named, a prominent woke african-american public intellectual” Dr. x is clearly not .@DrIbram He is prominent, woke, a.a., and oh so public. He is not an intellectual ~ pictures are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
Chamblee54 
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