The peak woke thread (Part 1)

Now we’re getting somewhere. I’m off for the afternoon!

yup

Hey TT, you’re an academic, right? What does it say about a person who keeps asking for references from academic papers as though anyone outside academia doesn’t know what they are talking about?
I quite enjoy seeing certain avenues of smug superiority complex being smacked around. Thanks.

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It’s a problem.
First just looking at media, if one purport’s to be in favor of private property rights, free enterprise, unrestrained capitalism etc., then the NYT firing an editor, Twitter banning Trump, Simon & Schuster canceling Senator Hawley’s book deal, the Seuss estate withdrawing six of his lesser works, Hasbro changing their marking of Mr. Potato Head to the Potato Head Family (while still keeping the Mr. and Mrs labels on the box), are all perfectly justifiable and nobody else’s business. If the woke crowd threatens a boycott, it’s the same as One Million moms or Focus on the Family doing so. Private companies can acquiesce or tell them to go to hell as they wish.
If you believe that society, via the government, has some role in this, why stop at social media? How about the Murdoch media, or Sinclair broadcasting? Should Fox News be required to put on an hour of Rachel Maddow immediately after Tucker Carlson? Should the New York Post be required to print missives from Jamelle Bouie, or Regnery Books publish tomes by Ta-hinisi Coates?
I think Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon have too much power- but they are all capitalist companies operating in fields where there are no government restrictions on entry. A supporter of the Invisible Hand should be totally against government orders on who they should and should not give access to.

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Me too, that’s why we keep bringin’ the (not actually very) tough questions to him! Right hereeere on W.O.K.E. Radio!

Or redlining people of color and refusing to serve homosexuals.

Re: Redlining: There are very strict laws now that real estate agents have to follow when showing places. They’re not allowed to field any questions about the relative safety of neighborhoods, school quality, crime rates because doing so can be construed as steering people away from properties.

Charter schools here another example where privatization is messy.

I don’t see anybody here suggesting that the government should intervene in (say) eBay’s commercial policy. However one important aspect of capitalism, in the absence of heavy-handed government regulation, is that people should speak up when they see companies misbehaving (or even just doing stupid things). This is the primary mechanism that puts a stop to - for example - exploitative employment practices; and public silence/acquiescence (in places like Bangladesh) is the reason such practices continue, despite (theoretical) laws about it.

Obviously, the public aren’t going to speak with one voice. It’s just a pity that the 21st century is dominated by people determined to invent problems where none actually exist.

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What’s meant by this?

Cartoons depicting Africans in unflattering ways (alongside cartoons depicting other animals and people in unflattering ways).

Importance of problem: zero.

Transparent people should be required to wear hats.

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You may not assign importance to that, but obviously it upsets a lot of people. Or even better, the publisher thought it might, and voluntarily stopped selling it as a gesture of respect. I’m ok with that. Nobody was forced to do anything in the situation.

Ironically the people I see most upset about this story are RW sites when I do searches for news on it. Not a lot of air time elsewhere.

The thing is, I don’t think it actually does. I suspect that (a) there are very few Africans (or African-Americans) who are bothered by that cartoon and (b) 90% of the noise is coming from white middle-class suburbanites with nothing to do except pretend to be outraged. Their views should not be respected by anybody.

The “RW” are getting upset by the existence of people with empty lives and empty heads causing trouble, not by the actual import (or otherwise) of unflattering cartoons.

Kinda like non-tenured sessional instructors writing vapid tomes grasping for the vaunted permanent office?

It occurs to me there’s not much difference between the over-educated spawn of the middle classes, and the under-educated spawn of the drinking classes. They’re both angry, under-employed, and directionless; and in both cases they entertain themselves by being a nuisance. The Minnesota Spankalogical Protocol would probably work for both of them.

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Do you think they’d be bothered if they saw it? What makes you qualified to judge?

Again, they’re the only ones whining about this whole issue really. It’s like Jesse Smollet. Lots of manufactured grief. So much grievance.

Remember before right wingers when teachers were paid salaries and had things like benefits?

Not to put anyone in boxes or anything.

Is that what you’re doing now? Sounds like a lot of expats in TW. That’s a little bit too much angry over a book publisher pulling some lesser known works off the shelf by choice.

Sure. It’s sad that expediency beats reason to the front of the class.

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That’s what you get from decades of trickle down economics and Hate AM talk radio. It’s the world of Rush’s dreams now. How’s it looking? Weirdly, you guys are still angry. Definitely angry.

Are you putting yourself in a box? Sure sounds like before the Reformation to me.

Looks like you and Barry have more in common than you thought!