“The most successful Meccans of the seventh century were more than just traders: they were a class of busy merchants and investors—protocapitalists who knew how to exploit the opportunities geography and access to ready finance afforded them. But below them sat a disgruntled underclass, cut off from the profits of business and investment, who were increasingly conscious of a deepening gulf between rich and poor.” – Powers and Thrones (Dan Jones) https://bookshop.org/ebooks/quotes/09110e18-226c-4d6f-a3d1-4dcb9b4f4a07
Foreshadowing? I dunno (yet), but it seems to me that societies with “deepening gulfs” don’t do too well.
«Max Eden, then a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote an outline that presaged what was to come in the new Trump administration. He singled out Columbia as the top target.
“To scare universities straight,” Eden wrote in the Washington Examiner, Education Secretary Linda McMahon “should start by taking a prize scalp. She should simply destroy Columbia University.”»
I just love this series. A gentle white person guides other white people (like me) through some amazing (and awful) history without haranguing anybody.
«If you witness white folks doing problematic things, speak up with compassion to take the burden off Black folks and our siblings of color whenever appropriate. Seek to engage rather than escalate, so that it can be a learning moment rather than a disruption.»
I had a thought / was reminded of a thought I had some time ago.
I’m thinking it is the job of white people in the (global) West to do two things: (1) educate ourselves, to the best of our ability, and (2) educate each other, again, to the best of our abilities.
I had the privilege of travelling with a multi-racial group to Selma, Alabama, for the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Selma bridge crossing. Part of our sojourn included a visit to the Equal Justice Initiative Lynching Memorial, https://legacysites.eji.org/about/memorial/.
When you enter the Memorial, you are admonished to show respect, similarly to how the referenced blog post admonishes us to show respect. Several of us (Black and white) peeled off to walk the grounds in solitude. A group of us (Black, as I recall) walked the grounds together. They had some youths among them, but the group as a whole (and they were not the only such group I saw that day) was basically clowning around, pretty much in apparent contravention of the preceding admonishment. (Listen to me, with my polysyllabic words.) At the time, it seemed to me to be basically disrespectful, and evidence that nothing was being learned.
I overheard a couple who appeared to be Asian, speaking to one another about the disrespect and loudness of the Black groups, a sentiment I agreed with at the time. I know nothing about them. They had no accent, and they had that easy American judgmental air, so I’m going to assume they are as American as I am. And that they had come to the Memorial with the same good intentions as I did.
But later, I was thinking. It’s a somber place, with the hanging markers. I imagine those markers both convey threat and engender anger (“rage” might be a better word), for Black visitors. In the context, Black joy might be an appropriate response. Rejection of threat. Celebration of the strength of the group. Possibly a more healthy response than rage. (I don’t know; I’m not Black. Rage is certainly justified and appropriate.) And also: who am I to assume that no learning is occurring? Humans are capable of doing more than one thing at once.
So, this constitutes a missed opportunity on my part (yet another, in a long line), for multiple reasons. (1) I hadn’t formed these thoughts at the time. (It’s worth pointing out that I might not have, were it not for this experience.) And (2) even if I had, would I have spoken to that couple? Sufficiently gently and diplomatically? (Honey versus vinegar.)
Well, I can always write a blog post. To the set of white people (including -adjacent, honorary, or otherwise) who read this blog post and find themselves at a place of Black remembrance and who see something similar (I’m guessing the cardinality of that set is just about zero, but you never know): when you see this behavior, consider chilling out. Many responses are legitimate.
«One business in the GAO report enforced a five‑day in‑office rule and saw half its workforce walk out, including top performers. In contrast, companies embracing remote options maintain low turnover and high morale.»
«One reason that the label “the Dark Ages” has proven so hard to untie from the neck of the Middle Ages is that for hundreds of years—between the sixth century and the first beginnings of the Renaissance in the late thirteenth—the scientific and rational insights of the ancient world were forgotten or suppressed in the west. This was not simply an unfortunate symptom of creeping cultural dementia. It sprang from the deliberate policies of eastern emperors like Justinian, who made it their business to hound out of their world the self-appointed but unfortunately unchristian guardians of priceless knowledge.»
I don’t normally wade into the comments section of anything, but it’s been interesting recently to see the responses by WSJ subscribers (including rating each others’ comments) to some stuff the Journal has posted. Top comment and top reply to that comment, at the moment:
«10h ago
WSJ editorial board: I agree that this is completely un-American and destructive of our best hopes for future prosperity and world leadership. However, your attempt at a false equivalence with the Obama administration’s attempts to reduce predation on students is absolutely disgusting. Please remember that you were the cheerleaders who helped bring on the destruction of what was once a great country. You are not idiots. You knew what you were doing.
10h ago
The Editorial Board did know what they were doing. But perhaps, they are idiots.»
I suspect I’m not the only one who thinks the WSJ editorial board is off the rails, and is refusing to let them off the hook. (I think they’ve been off the rails for decades, from the times my dad used to send me their editorials.)
“The Huns were related in some way to a nomadic group who populated and dominated the Asian steppe as rulers of a tribal empire from the third century b.c. These nomads fought against the Chinese Qin and Han dynasties, and Chinese scribes dubbed them “Xiongnu,” or “howling slaves.” The name stuck, and was transliterated as Xwn or Hun.” – Powers and Thrones (Dan Jones) https://bookshop.org/ebooks/quotes/a73bc9f0-c623-4e46-a134-f601d5b2a766
Here, Read This 