PRX Racism Scandal
@yourpaljonathan“I was angry, frustrated, and frankly embarrassed to read a letter from a Black employee of PRX who was not treated with the respect that she deserved while working there. I don’t work for PRX, but they are the company that owns Radiotopia, which distributes my show.”
PG has never met, much less become pals with, @yourpaljonathan. PG is not sure what PRX is, except that it has something to do with podcasts. It probably involves financial support, which makes one wonder why podcasters would publicly call out an organization that gives them money. The tweet above was retweeted by one of these shows, @TheTruthFiction. This is how PG found out about this.
The sensible reaction to seeing a racism tweet is to ignore it, and move on. Unfortunately, PG had a weak moment, and sent a reply. @chamblee54 “are you going to share the letter with us? how do we know that BEOP is not the problem, and conveniently blaming her own issues on racism? it would not be the first time” Before you can say 240 characters, there was a reply. @evantessuraea “I’ve read the letter, you can find it”
@rvanroon “For now Jonathan and Helen are talking shit. Prove what the former employee writes is the truth.” @HelenZaltzman “It has been confirmed to me by several sources, and some of what the employee mentions is racially specific. Other things are statistically demonstrable. We’re “talking shit” until proven otherwise to you? Fuck off yourself.” @HelenZaltzman has a very fine show on PRX, The Allusionist. In an ironic touch, the last episode was “Allusionist 120. Shine Theory.” Shine is sometimes used as a derogatory term for African Americans.
At some point, we should ask, what is PRX, aka Public Radio Exchange? “The PRX Exchange is a nonprofit Internet-based service for distribution, review, and licensing of radio programming.”
Radiotopia is the arm of PRX that PG is most familiar with. “Radiotopia, from PRX, is a curated network of extraordinary, cutting-edge podcasts. Radiotopia empowers independent producers to do their best work, grow audience and increase revenue. … is a partnership between PRX and Roman Mars, creator of 99% Invisible, supported by the Knight Foundation.”
Radiotopia, and all of her shows, conducts fund raising drives. The tip jar is always on the counter. Some people wonder why @HelenZaltzman is so eager to wash nonprofit laundry on twitter. @chamblee54 “If this matter is not publicly resolved to your satisfaction, will you continue to take money from @prx? Or will you look for a more “woke” source of revenue?”
Finally, curiosity got the best of PG, and he decided to read the letter. After consultations with Mr. Google did not uncover the letter, PG found a twitter thread. Here are four tweets from the thread. The first is the introduction. The next three deal with specific grievances by BEOP. They are presented in order of appearance, which is presumably the order of importance.
@freepublicradio “A Thread… Recently, a black woman who worked for @prx sent an email to her colleagues to let them know why she was leaving the organization. Here are some highlights:”
“-CEO Kerri Hoffman touched a this black womans hair without her permission making her feel violated. This issue was brought to HR and they did nothing, but defend Kerri Hoffman and tell the offended woman “I am sorry if that made you feel othered.”
“-PRX refused to pay this black woman more than 48K a yr in her position. She later found out that co-workers who have the same position & responsibilites as her, & who have less experience, & who she trained, both started their positions 7K & 5K more than the cap she was told.”
“-She knew she could no longer be a part of PRX after an all-staff meeting following George Floyd’s murder. “There was no organizational acknowledgment of George Floyd’s murder or the uprisings until over a week past his death despite having a large office in Minneapolis..”
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. UPDATE: The actual letter has turned up. The ladie’s name is Palace Shaw. The letter has a few more details.
The Hair touching story is like something out of a bad romance novel. “Early on into my time as the Community Manager our CEO, Kerri Hoffman, touched my hair without my consent, it was a total violation. She saw me from outside working late at the Podcast Garage, and came in to touch my hair, put her fingers into my top bun, immediately after she commented on my “distinct profile.” That moment deeply disturbed me. I brought it to HR and they chose to defend Kerri by not acknowledging the obviously racialized nature of the interaction, which I was very clear about. I was told, “I am sorry if that made you feel othered.” Chamblee54 has written about the PRX racism scandal story several times. part one part two part three part four
Drawing Criticism For Appropriation
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Barkada Wine Bar Will Change Its Name After Drawing Criticism for Appropriation
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J.K. Rowling and the White Supremacist History of “Biological Sex”
White Fragility: A Conversation on Race and Racism, perspectives from Christian leaders.
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Is the mainstream media ignoring whites who are killed by police?
Combinatorics ~ payne lindsey ~ mae west ~ parrotroom ~ Hiroshima
Nelson Sullivan ~ junkie ~ core testing ~ ossoff ~ buckhead war story
Nelson Sullivan “Twenty-five years ago this month, on July 4, 1989, video artist Nelson Sullivan suddenly died of a heart attack, leaving behind almost 1,200 hours of footage of the now iconic and heavily romanticized Downtown New York scene.” Mr. Sullivan, a native of South Carolina, had friends in Atlanta. Many of his videos are set in Atlanta. If you view one of these videos, the algore rhythm will direct you to many more.
Going Shopping with RuPaul at Lenox Square in Atlanta in 1989
Nelson Goes to a Grocery Store in Atlanta in 1989
Going to a Soul Food Restaurant in Atlanta in 1986
Nelson Sullivan discusses the joys of being in Atlanta
Nelson in Atlanta 1988: The Pop Tarts’ soundcheck at Club Rio
Nelson in Atlanta 1988: Picking up Michael Musto at the Airport
Nelson in Atlanta 1988: Picking up The House Fairy
Taking RuPaul to the Colorbox in Atlanta to do a show in 1989
Returning from Thrift Store Shopping in Atlanta in 1989
Going to the Value Village Thrift Store in Atlanta in 1989
RuPaul Goes to a High Society Party in Atlanta in 1986
At Home with RuPaul in Atlanta 1986 ~ RuPaul & Wee Wee Pole ‘TARZAN”
RuPaul debuts his Wee Wee Pole band at The Nitery in Atlanta
RuPaul sings “Who Wants Gum” & “The Pizza Song” with Wee Wee Pole at 688 in 1983
RuPaul & Wee Wee Pole at 688 in 1983 doing “Funky for a Honky” and “Body Heat”
All-Nighter at RuPaul’s Midtown Atlanta Apartment in 1986
RuPaul & Wee Wee Pole at 688 in 1983 doing “Funky for a Honky” “Body Heat”
RuPaul’s Encounter with some Homophobes at the Kevin Larmee Gallery Show
RuPaul’s “Sex Freak” Interview on Atlanta TV in the mid-1980s
RuPaul’s “Give It To Me Revue” with Lady Bunny at Atlanta’s 688 Club in 1984
The 8 Most Controversial Moments on The American Music Show
Tom Zarrilli’s Live Report from the Inman Park Festival 1984
Running into Elouise on North Avenue in Atlanta circa 1984
Police bodycam footage shows moment-by-moment arrest of George Floyd for the first time – from terror on his face when officer points gun at his head, sobbing before he’s shoved into squad car and begging to breathe as his life drains away ~ I bet #BarackObama is very happy #COVID19 did not happen when he was in office ~ Karen is an insult defined by race and gender. A Karen, in the pejorative usage, is a white woman. ~ Los Angeles Coronavirus Update: Mayor Eric Garcetti Says DWP Will Shut Off Water And Power At Homes That Throw Large Parties ~ Manley Pointer aka Luther Mckinnon he/him pronouns I consent to be recorded I agree to stay for the entire mic I would like screen share to be enabled, so I can present a graphic poem. ~ @chamblee54 @robertwrighter @kausmickey How did you choose the Parrot as your patreon muse? Has anyone considered the Parrot as the spirit animal for cultural appropriation? Why does Parrot only have one t? you can always do another dna test on Elizabeth Warren ~ A writing prompt was to write the screenplay for a scene in your life: Scene: Interior of vehicle driving into parking deck ~ Man turns into lane, going into parking deck. He stops, lowers the window, reaches out and pushes green button. The machine spits out a parking ticket. Man takes ticket, and puts it down on the console, in front of the gear shift lever. ~ The bar goes down, and the vehicle goes forward. Man takes a right at end of row of cars. We see the man turning a steering wheel, until the car goes forward in a right hand turn. When the vehicle starts to go forward, man releases steering wheel long enough for the steering wheel to spin back into the forward position. There are no empty parking spaces in this row. ~ Camera goes back to clock on dashboard. It is twenty minutes before the hour, which should yield enough time to get to the appointment on time. ~ Since there are no empty parking spaces, the man turns right again. ~ pictures today are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
Trayvon Martin Judge
Joe Rogan had a dandy show the other day. He featured two big dogs at the Innocence Project This description gives a few more details: “Josh Dubin is an Innocence Project Ambassador Advisor & President of Dubin Research and Consulting, Inc. He also hosts a podcast called “Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science.” Jason Flom is an Innocence Project Board Member, CEO of Lava Media, and host of “Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom”
Innocence Project works with people who are in prison, and probably innocent. The show discussed some of the dirty tricks police use, like lying to suspects being interrogated. Questionable science is used, especially with bite marks, blood splatters, and arson investigation. The record of former prosecutor Kamala Harris drew sharp comments.
Clemente Aguirre-Jarquin gets special attention. A Honduran refugee, Mr. Aguirre-Jarquin was convicted of a gruesome murder. He was given the death penalty by the jury. After a while, the innocence of Mr. Aguirre-Jarquin became apparent. It is a powerful story.
Someone felt the need to embellish the story. The killing, and trial, was in Sanford FL. This is the town where Trayvon Martin was killed. There seems to be a connection between the two cases. “I find out that she (the judge in the Aguirre-Jarquin case) was the judge in the Trayvon Martin case, whose husband represented George Zimmerman, and wouldn’t recuse herself.”
PG had never heard this detail, and was curious. When the guest mentioned the judge for the third time, much later in the show, PG decided to do a bit of digging. First, you had to find out the name of the judge. Her name is Jessica Recksiedler. What role did she play in the George Zimmerman trial?
Associated Press April 18, 2012 ORLANDO, Fla — “The judge presiding over the Trayvon Martin shooting case has removed herself after George Zimmerman’s attorney said she had a possible conflict of interest. Florida Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler recused herself Wednesday because of a potential conflict that relates to her husband. He works with Orlando attorney Mark NeJame, who was first approached by Zimmerman’s family to represent the neighborhood watch volunteer. But NeJame declined and referred them to Mark O’Mara, who is now representing Zimmerman. NeJame has since been hired by CNN to comment on the case.”
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Hiroshima 75 Years Later
At 8:15 am, August 6, 1945, Hiroshima got nuked. It was the start of a new era. Since Japan is 13 hours ahead of Georgia, and standard time was used, the literal anniversary is 8:15 pm, August 5.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was working in Hiroshima when the bomb hit. He survived, and found a train to take hime to his home town, Nagasaki.
The device dropped on Hiroshima, the Little Boy, had an estimated force of 13 kilotons of Trinitrotoluene, or TNT. A kiloton of TNT is roughly a cube whose sides are ten meters. This device is fairly tiny compared to many of the warheads developed since. Many of the modern appliances are measured in megatons, or millions of tons of TNT. The Soviet Union had a bomb with a capacity of 50 megatons, or 4,000 times the size of the Little Boy.
The largest weapon tested by The United States is the Castle Bravo. This device destroyed Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. The two piece swimsuit was named for this island. The Castle Bravo device had a yield of 15 megatons of TNT. This is roughly 1,000 times the power of the Little Boy.
The decision to drop the bomb has long been controversial. There are a lot of factors and gray areas, and the issue does not lend itself to sound bite solutions. The conventional wisdom is that Japan surrendered because of the nuclear attack. This meant the war was shortened by at least a year, there was no invasion of Japan, and many lives were saved. PG is scared by the moral calculus involved in a decision like this….do 100,000 civilian deaths prevent the deaths of 500,000 soldiers? PG suspects that even G-d herself would lose sleep over that one.
There is also evidence that the bomb was not needed. Japan was whipped in August 1945. The air raids were conducted in daylight with little resistance. A debate was going on in the Japanese government on whether to continue the fight.
An event happened the day between Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, which influenced the Japanese decision to surrender. The Soviet Union had agreed to help the United States with the war against Japan. On August 8, The Soviet Union invaded Japanese occupied Manchuria. There are indications that Japan knew the fight was hopeless at this point, and would rather surrender to The United States than The Soviet Union. This is one of the gray areas that never seems to be mentioned.
The United States wanted the war to end quickly for obvious reasons, and a few subtle ones. America did not want to share the spoils of Japanese war with The Soviet Union. There were already tensions between the two allies, and the cold war was not far off. Many felt The United States used the Little Boy as a warning to The Soviet Union.
When you get your moral software out, you might want to figure in the effect of opening the nuclear Pandora’s box. Would the nuclear bomb have been developed by other countries if America had not led the way? The science is not that complicated…after all, America hit paydirt with the Manhattan Project fairly quickly. Nonetheless, there is karma involved in using a terrible new device on a civilian population. The United States started the wind of the arms race, and has yet to feel the whirlwind.
This is a repost. The pictures are from The Library of Congress. Ansel Adams took pictures of Japanese Americans, in a World War Two internment camp. The ladies in the bridge game are Aiko Hamaguchi, Chiye Yamanaki, Catherine Yamaguchi, and Kazoko Nagahama.
One History Of Religion
I was a southern baptist all my life. Arguably, I became a baptist when my mother converted in 1938, but really didn’t get with the program until I was born in 1954. The story is that Daddy called the choir director at six in the morning to sign me up.
First Baptist in Atlanta was a big church on Peachtree street, about a mile north of downtown. (A few years ago, they sold the land to a developer, and moved to the suburbs. I was working a block away when they tore down the building, and got some chips of brick as a souvenir.) I sang in the “cherub” choir. This was quite an experience when we performed in front of a full house. I have good memories of Sunday school, vacation bible school, and the choir program.
One thing I did not like, even at that young age, was the preacher. He was a greasy haired man who shouted a lot, and had a mean streak. Years later, I heard persistent rumors that he was gay. (I should note that this is not Charles Stanley. It is the man who preceded him.) One Sunday, we were watching him preach, and he shouted, “this is the word of G-d”. He then waved a Bible in the air, and slammed it into the pulpit. I thought, if that is the word of G-d, maybe he shouldn’t slam it down like that.
In 1962, mom and dad decided to move to a church closer to home. I liked Briarcliff Baptist. About this time, I first heard about being “saved from sin”, and thought it was a pretty cool idea. I also was in the cub scouts, and since their meetings were the same day as choir practice, I quit the choir. I attended church regularly the next few years, but never did join the church, and get baptized. The custom of pressuring children to make a “commitment of faith”, and get baptized, reflects poorly on Jesus.There are some other family issues that came up about this time. They are too personal to get into here, but they affected my attitude towards the church.
After a while, I was 17 years old, and working in a restaurant that was open until 1am on Saturday night. I decided one Sunday that I didn’t want to get up for church. I have only been back to that building once in the intervening 47 years. This is a repost, with pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Every Loathsome Government
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Cancelar/Cultura de la Cancelación – Uso en la Teoría de la Justicia Social
How to Make Your Arguments Stronger (Hint: Longer Is Not the Answer)
What if your arguments don’t add up? Niro Sivanathan TEDx London
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Victims attacked by kids selling water on Atlanta streets want them gone
Atlanta 3-year-old dies after she accidentally shot herself in head
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Artist Hélène Delmaire on Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Subtitled, interview from 2019)
Minneapolis Police Reportedly Identify Viral ‘Umbrella Man’ As White Supremacist
The Hot Mess Millennium ~ zoom virtual book launch
Americans are unhappier than ever — here’s how to find joy in troubled times
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My purpose here is not to rehearse the arguments over masking mandates …
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The Pivotal Irony of American Racism
SOS Raffensperger Refutes New York Times Hit Piece
Atlanta hospital system to pay $16 million to resolve false claims allegations
Do I Have To Be Okay With Transgender People
‘The protests were whiter than the police department’
Prosecutor: No charges for officer in Michael Brown’s death
The Zolas is a beautiful critique of the relationship between creator and muse
No, the Woke Won’t Debate You. Here’s Why.
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Holding a Black Lives Matter Sign in America’s Most Racist Town
Journalism’s Death by a Thousand Tweets … broken system is ad-driven media on Internet
Cosplay at a 1966 Science Fiction Convention
Les derniers mois ont été éprouvants pour tout le monde
minimum level of suckage – i can’t believe i have to write about tiktok again
The Complex Relationship between Marxism and Wokeness
Kelly Loeffler takes BLM criticism to host with white supremacist ties
What an Audacious Hoax Reveals About Academia
How ‘good White people’ derail racial progress
Cajun Mutt Press The go-to place for all things on the poetic literary fringe.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler on WNBA protests, federal deployment
The Piety of the Impious – beneath callow progressivism lies a kind of spiritual fervour
Former Fort Morgan man accused of killing Hollywood starlet before taking his own life
How ‘To Live and Die in LA’ Racked Up 15 Million Downloads While Solving a Murder
Why Your Friends and Family Members Are So Easily Fooled by Conspiracy Theories
Not Every Loathsome Government Is Anti-Democratic
Mysterious ‘Suicide’ of Dr. Fauci’s Right-Hand Man at NIAID
The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism Thomas Frank
Black Lives Matter Leader … Begs ‘Allah’ to Help Her ‘Not Kill White Folks’
Cuban community plans rally at NuLu restaurant in response to BLM demands
Police say 1 killed, 3 injured in 7-car pile-up in Chamblee; suspect facing felony charges
Dunkin’ worker fired, arrested after spitting in police officer’s coffee
Right-wing troll Andy Ngo busted for publishing stories by fake people
Portland’s Andy Ngo Is the Most Dangerous Grifter in America
whatsapp ~ ruptly ~ wokeness ~ ww1 ~ herman cain ~ peter green ~ susan rice
@XBIZ CAM Awards ~ Oppressive Moment ~ vest review ~ robert e lee
@chamblee54 @kausmickey @robertwrighter at the la times there’s pressure on you know old non-people of culture to retire so that … you mean non-people of color you said culture … yeah color … they have culture … um but anyway ~ @SaraBGibson Maybe everyone tweeting about burning bibles should look at the news source – Ruptly, which is a division of Russia Today – and consider who is putting out the information. ~ @chamblee54this comment is from reddit: There’s only one video of this incident, with no info being provided on its background or context … It could be staged. Such videos have been staged in the past, and this has some of the hallmarks: it’s anonymous, provided without context, and depicts only two participants … It’s real, but isolated. … no evidence has been presented to claim that this is part of a larger trend ~ pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This poem was presented at a virtual open mic event sunday:
my anger my attachment my pride my, gazing through a kerchief of delusion
forgiveness of sin is perpetual pie, only eat when thinking only think why
foggy water of alienation and confusion, my anger my attachment my pride my
if you are able to free yourself cry, cosmogonic feminine collusion
forgiveness of sin is perpetual pie, compassion is not required to be high
divine pasta out beyond seclusion, my anger my attachment my pride my
don’t be deceived by a transparent sky, staying in pain with warfare transfusion
forgiveness of sin is perpetual pie, alcohol dissolving a difficult lie
your future is a king-sized illusion, my anger my attachment my pride my
forgiveness of sin is perpetual pie ~ PG attended a writing workshop. The prompt was presented as two works in a gallery. The idea was to take the voice of one of the works, and speak to people viewing you. Here is how PG reacted to this prompt: The white box in the middle is the forgotten installation. Since I am white, and have been compared to a blank rectangle, I am going to assume that indentity. Or is this identity a lack of identity. ~ A blank white space is an opportunity to fill in the blanks. Since there is a black background surrounding it, I do not know if this white space is a stand alone, or it needs to presense of black space to define it. Maybe it the absense of color and content, surrounded by and quantified by the abundance of stuff on all four sides. ~ I should take a screen shot, so I can refer to this promptage later. I have been working on historic pictures this afternoon, so GIMP is still open, and available for screen shots. ~ While negotiating the screen shot, a newcomer entered the room. She needed to be reminded of the prompt. The host mentioned the two pictures, completely ignoring the white rectangle in the middle. This is life in America 2020. ~ I am fond of the golden rectangle, the fibonacci sequence of digits. The unmentionable white rectangle appears to be golden. Alas, it is not golden, and it is time to share this piece with the room. ~ selah
Herman Cain
As you may have heard, Herman Cain (no middle name) died. He had been hospitalized following a positive test for COVID 19. Mr. Cain was an outspoken supporter of President Trump. He did not think wearing a mask was a good idea, and said so often.
It should be noted at this point that a mask does not protect the user. A mask assumes that the user might be infected, and can help prevent spreading the virus. We do not know when, and how, Mr. Cain contracted the virus. Wearing a mask would not have prevented Mr. Cain from becoming infected. It might, however, prevented Mr. Cain from spreading the virus further, once he was already infected. Speculation that Mr. Cain was infected at the Tulsa rally is just that… speculation.
The media, both social and anti-social, is having a big time with this. Since Mr. Cain was a Trump supporter, he is deemed worthy of slander and abuse. One facebook friend joined in, and then later claimed not to hate Mr. Cain. This prompted PG to break his do-not-argue-on-facebook rule, and issue a comment: “Maybe it is not hate, but “don”t deserve the air you claim to not be able to breath” comes mighty close. This is another one of God’s children.” PG made another comment, this one for the general population of facebook and twitter.
“Unlike most of the people commenting about the late Herman Cain, I briefly listened to his radio show. Very briefly. His radio show was unlistenable. I did not agree with him on many subjects. Nonetheless, I saw a good bit to admire. Mr. Cain was from humble circumstances. He got degrees from Morehouse University, and Perdue University. Mr. Cain succeeded in business.
In 2011, Mr. Cain ran for President. He did well for a while, until the “dog stories” from his past forced him out of the race. He opened a campaign headquarters in Doraville, not long after his departure from the race. I went to this opening, and got this picture.
The last few weeks of his life were something. A stage IV cancer survivor, he was no doubt compromised by years of industrial strength medicine. And yet, he made a public spectacle of attending dangerous events. It is an ending to a uniquely American story.”
The Presidential run was quite a story. Mr. Cain probably had little chance of getting the nomination. Still, he was the flavor of the month for a while, and got a bit of attention. Soon, stories of sexual misconduct began to arise, and Mr. Cain was forced to drop out of the race. He wound up back on the radio, and replaced Neal Boortz when that SAWB retired.
The last chapter in the Herman Cain story is a doozie. After beating back a serious cancer, Mr. Cain was clearly at risk. And yet, he made a much publicized refusal to wear a mask, and attended a notorious Trump rally in Oklahoma. Did he think he was virus proof? Or was this the last hurrah of an American? We will probably never know the real answer.
Chamblee54 has written about Herman Cain many times. (one two three four five six seven eight) Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
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