Yesterday, the radio opera was Puccini’s “Tosca,” an opera which strikes very close to home in multiple circumstances … including the circumstances the United States is currently in politically (and legally.) The title character is a beautiful, celebrated, passionate, insecure, and rather naive singer who is in love with the tenor, a political activist. The chief of police, the de facto dictator (at least of the city), who is such a jerk that Napoleon looks good to the activists, has the hots for her. He also knows her lover, Mario, is an activist, and therefore wants him dead for both reasons. There is torture, there is extortion, there is desperation, and by the end of the opera all three are dead. It’s quite a trip. It wasn’t the first opera I saw live, but I was quite young when I saw it first – about 18. It was on a Saturday. The previous evening, I had been to a get-together with the professors and other students in the Classics Department (my major.) One graduate student was kind of pushing me to accept an alcoholic drink (but I had driven to the occasion, and would have to drive home), and at one point he said, “Don’t you want to be happy?” I replied, “I am happy already,” “What?” he replied. “How dare you be happy without artificial means?” It was funny, and we both laughed, but it wasn’t so funny the next day when he had been found a suicide. I learned about it maybe an hour before I was to leave for the opera with the friend who had invited me. It really hit home. To this day I cannot see or hear or think about “Tosca” without remembering. I also can’t help loving “Tosca.”
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Crooks and Liars – ‘You Bet!’: Peter Doocy Taken To The Woodshed By John Kirby
Quote – “Proud of the fact that we got more than 124,000 people safely out of Afghanistan? You bet,” Kirby shot back. “Proud of the fact that American troops were able to seize control of a defunct airport and get it operational in 24 hours? You bet. Proud of the fact that we now have about 100,000 Afghans, our former allies and partners, living in this country and working toward citizenship? You bet!” Click through. there’s a video if tou can stand Doocy’s voice – I can’t. I’m sharing this for John Kirby’s remarks. For an operation which was deliberately set up – by Trump** – to fail, there is indeed a lot to be proud of.
Democratic Underground (littlemisssmartypants) – A “brilliant story about…JustinPearson” from Tennessee.
Quote – When I was a young organizer, we would often sit in [Memphis City Schools] board meetings…. This particular night I noticed a young man who was sitting and waiting to speak…. Once he got to the podium the room completely shifted…. He challenged the Board to answer for why they had such low expectations for his school and his community…. That kid is an adult now and that adult just got expelled from our house floor making national news…. Click through for the full story. I’m not crying, you’re crying. If they hold special elections, his district – both districts – should vote them back in and keep doing so as long as necessary. And then elect both to Congress (Along with Gloria Johnson.)
Yesterday, I made a couple of cartoons. I don’t need all that many, but I did need two for the first week. I won’t need another before the 20th, so that gives me some slack. And did y’all see the breaking news comment in yesterday’s OT? Or did you get the news elsewhere? Are the able bodied among you dancing in the streets?
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The Conversation – This course uses science fiction to understand politics
Quote – What does the course explore? We explore issues of racism, gender, anarchy and the end of civilization. I chose books that encourage students to focus on the political aspects of each work. At the beginning of the course, I ask students how closely they connect science fiction and politics. At the end of the course, students have the opportunity to revisit and revise their response to that question. By that point, students have participated in discussions, written papers and completed short assignments that ask them to explore and articulate political themes in each book. Click through for details. If Beau sees this, he’ll be tickled. He’s a big fan of using science fiction to understand, not just politics, but much of the human codition.
The Atlantic (no paywall) – My 6-Year-Old Son Died. Then the Anti-vaxxers Found Out.
Quote – My grief is profound, ragged, desperate. I cannot imagine how anything could feel worse But vaccine opponents on the internet, who somehow assumed that a COVID shot was responsible for my son’s death, thought my family’s pain was funny. “Lol. Yay for the jab. Right? Right?” wrote one person on Twitter. “Your decision to vaccinate your son resulted in his death,” wrote another. “This is all on YOU.” “Murder in the first.” Click through for full story. This is no way to run a civilization. This kind of harassment needs to be made a felony in all states and all territories (and, as I think I may have said before, there will be plenty of room in prisons if we just release all those convicted of personal use drug possession and breathing while black.)
Democratic Underground (bigtree) – No one should minimize the anticipated arrest of this former president for lesser crimes
Quote – There’s no precedent to the former leader of the U.S. facing criminal prosecution which will likely include felony charges. Trump will also be the first major presidential candidate under indictment seeking office…. Manhattan prosecutors are also deliberating whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records in the first degree for falsifying a record with the intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal another crime, which in this case could be a violation of campaign finance laws. That is a Class E felony and carries a sentence of a minimum of one year and as much as four years. [emphasis mine] Click through for essay. this is an opinion piece, so it may or may not align with your opinion. Certainly not all the comments align with it, some vehemently.
Colorado Public Radio – She marched with Dr. King, and her work for civil rights marches on to this day
Quote – When Minister Glenda Strong Robinson of Longmont skipped class in 1968 to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., there were many things that she couldn’t have foreseen: That the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike she was supporting would become iconic in civil rights history. That Dr. King would be assassinated within days. And that 55 years later, she would receive a lifetime achievement award in his honor. Click through for history. I don’t doubt there are women like this in many states, possibly every state, and perhaps the dheeer numbers are a factor in why we just don’t hear about them.
Democratic Underground (Baked Potato) – Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Finds A Tunnel From Mar-A-Lago to Palm Beach Airport
Quote – Described by DEA spokesperson Rollie Wokenshire as “… a rather robust tunnel system, comprising a light railroad, incandescent lighting, great air conditioning, and cutouts with a latrine and multiple dining areas… this tunnel had it all, including a decadent gold-tone livery on the main engine, enclosed in wreaths, marked ‘John Baron Express’.” … Trump’s current TV lawyer, Jim Quessadilla, recently bloviating on MSNBC stated, “President Trump would never travel by rail, end of @#&% story.” Click through for all the punch lines. I thought a little satire might be a refreshing extra.
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
I remember “The Bookdocks” from print newspapers and always found it enlightening. Certainly it pulled no punches.I actually never knew that there was a TV series – not really surprising, as I never subscribed to cable or satellite. But based on what I saw in the papers, I’m not surprised that a very interesting course indeed can be developed from it. I can’t even count how many times I have thought and said and written that people do our best learning through storytelling – that it is far more influential than rstional argument, because it touches, not just the brain, but also the heart – and I could go on – But instead I’ll let Professor March do the sharing.
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Why I use ‘The Boondocks’ TV cartoon show to teach a course about race
A character from ‘The Boondocks’ is depicted in street art in Los Angeles during the time of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. Chelsea Guglielmino via Getty Images
Unusual Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.
Title of course:
“Why Are We Still Talking About Race?”
What prompted the idea for the course?
I am a huge fan of the animated TV series “The Boondocks,” which aired from 2005 to 2014. The show chronicles, through biting sociological and political commentary, the adventures of two boys: Huey Freeman, the older brother and self-described revolutionary left-wing radical, and Riley Freeman, Huey’s younger brother, who embraces and represents the gangster lifestyle. The Freeman brothers grapple with having to move from Chicago to the suburbs to live with their grandfather, Robert Freeman, an easily angered and self-proclaimed civil rights icon. A series of events gave me the idea for the course.
The first was during a faculty meeting that felt as if it were going in slow motion because colleagues were going on and on about one item on a full agenda. I had to fight to keep my alter ego, 8-year-old Riley Freeman and his stereotypical “gangsta” lifestyle, from coming out and shouting “shut up” and “let’s move on.”
At that moment, I thought, maybe I should teach a class on “The Boondocks.”
The second event took place a few semesters later. While training police officers on implicit bias, I felt a burning desire to drop some Huey Freeman-type knowledge on the officers. Ten-year-old Huey is highly intelligent and knowledgeable beyond his years.
Finally, in the summer of 2021, while on a golf course collecting data for a research project on navigating racism, sexism and classism as a Black golfer, I met a Black golfer who was not familiar with “The Boondocks,” but whose family calls him Uncle Ruckus. Uncle Ruckus is another character from the show who is notable because of his disdain for Black people and enjoys dissociating himself from other Black Americans. At that moment, it became clear that I should teach a class using “The Boondocks.”
We watch episodes weekly. All of the episodes either directly or indirectly deal with various race-related topics. For instance, through an episode titled “The Story of Gangstalicious,” we debate societal views on Black male masculinity. Through an episode called “The Garden Party,” we discuss xenophobia and related implications post-9/11.
Trailer for “The Boondocks”
Why is this course relevant now?
This course explores if and how discussions on race and racism have changed since “The Boondocks” first aired in 2005. The premise and potential relevance of the course lies in the title: “Why Are We Still Talking About Race?” That question refers to 17 years after the first season of “The Boondocks” aired.
Students are also challenged to look at racism as a phenomenon that is structural and systemic and not just something that happens on an interpersonal level.
Students should be able to connect the episodes to broader and relevant sociological terms and concepts, such as power, privilege, status and how those terms and concepts are related to race and racism.
What’s a critical lesson from the course?
To be clear, the class is not just fandom for “The Boondocks.” Students are actually encouraged to critique “The Boondocks” and how some of the racial commentaries in the episodes are slippery and messy at times. For example, in the “Return of the King” episode, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot but did not die. He was in a coma for more than 30 years.
When King emerges from the coma, he is disappointed as well as upset at how Black people are acting and chastises them. However, the episode seems to admonish Black people and Black culture for their current status without a clear nod to anti-Blackness in social institutions. The lesson for students is to contemplate where they fit into the debate and how their views are shaped and informed by their standpoint and perspective.
What materials does the course feature?
Tuesdays – following the advice of my graduate students – we watch the episodes on our own time. This protects students to make sure no one is offended when their classmates are laughing at aspects of the episode that others might not find funny.
Thursdays we discuss and submit summaries of the episodes we watched on Tuesday. The discussions and summaries should include both a sociological term, concept, theory or idea and a related current event. This requires students to engage with sociological literature and other scholarly readings.
At the start of the course, students sign an agreement that prohibits hate speech, harassment, derogatory language and racial epithets or slurs. The agreement also includes a safe word for students to use if they feel uncomfortable at any point in the classroom.
What will the course prepare students to do?
The course gives students the vocabulary and the ability to discuss race and racism on both the individual and structural levels. The course also prepares students for conversations about race and racism both inside as well as outside of the classroom. For example, we discuss the unacceptable usage of the n-word, and all its derivatives, by non-Black speakers and the links to history and privilege, as dealt with in “The S-Word” episode.
============================================================== Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, yeah, I should have featured this last month – but it was not yet available. And besides, the lines between all the various forms of racism, misogyny, LBGTQIAphobia, and all other forms of othering, are as fine as spider webs and as fragile. Humans are capable of breaking right through them – if only we want to. Help us want to!
Yesterday, the radio opera was Richard Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” which is a sequel to his prior opera, “Parsifal.” Parsifal is identified with Sir Percival of the Round Table and both names are associated with the Holy Grail. Neither of these two operas is racist, but both are misogynistic to a degree. But anyone who can handle the misogyny in Disney, and the story of Cupid and Psyche, can probably handle these. While the Met was free streaming during the pandemic, I watched a production of it, and it had no trouble holding my attention. I was about to type “It has a bittersweet ending,” and I stopped to think, and the fact is most of Wagner’s operas do not have the kind of catastrophic endings for which opera is famous. If his are not exactly gleeful, at the very least they are triumphant. Even the end of the Ring cycle, with Siegfried murdered and Brunnhilde dies along with her horse in his funeral pyre, and the day of the gods is over, the balance of nature is restored when the Rhine maidens get their god back and the age of humans begins. I would not call that a total loss. I wonder whether that was one reason he didn’t want them called “operas” but “music dramas.” Anyway, the story – Elsa is accused of murdering her little brother after their father died, making the brother the Duke of Brabant. This was in the 12th century, when the custom was trial by combat, and Elsa has no one to fight for her until this dude shows up, in a boat powered by a swan, and says he will fight for her and marry her, but she must never ask his name. He wins, and spares the life of the other guy (not really a mistake as the real villain is that guy’s wife) and marries Elsa. That other dude’s wife (whose name is Ortrud) works on here like Fox News and gets her to ask his name. Just at that moment the guy who lost the combat breaks in and the anonymous groom kills him in self defense. He then calls a town hall, explains he must now leave, reveals his name (Lohengrin) and that he is the son of Parsifal, and denounces Ortrud. Ortrud is all “Durned right I’m a witch, and I did all that and also turned the Duke into a swan.” At this point he goes over to his swan, kneels, and prays, and the swan turns into Elsa’s brother, very much alive. Ortrud is outgunned. Lohengrin still has to leave, though – the knoghts of the Grail lose their powers when they cease to be anonymous – but it is certainly a happy ending for the people of Brabant who get their rightful Duke back, and Elsa loses her husband but gets her brother back, and no one gets killed but the bad dude.
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Mother Jones – “This Was My Baby”: The Family of Black Man Killed By Cops While Experiencing Mental Crisis Speaks Out
Quote – According to [the family’s attorney, Mark] Krudys, the video at Central State Hospital shows Otieno seated on a chair at one point and then lying on his stomach on the ground, however it’s unclear whether or not he got there on his volition. For nearly 12 minutes, Krudys said all seven officers were on top of him, ultimately asphyxiating him. Virginia State Police weren’t notified about his death until three hours after the fact, according to [Prosecutor Ann] Baskervill. Click through for story. It didn’t take very long to send the case of the seven officers to a grand jury, nor to charge three of the hospital staff. This is a case which is likely to get a lot of national attention.
The 19th – Toni Morrison is the face of the new Forever stamp from the U.S. Postal Service
Quote – Morrison is the newest face of the Forever stamp from the United States Postal Service. Set against a gold background, a photo of the “Beloved” author with a cherry-red smile, thick gray locs and silver orb earrings graces the stamp revealed last week at a Princeton University ceremony attended by her son Ford Morrison and other relatives. A faculty member from 1989 to 2006, Morrison was the Robert F. Goheen professor in the humanities at Princeton and part of the university’s creative writing program. Each year, the Postal Service chooses up to 30 people to feature on a stamp, selecting them from a list of 30,000 individuals recommended by the public. Morrison made the cut because of her “extraordinary and enduring contributions to American society,” a Postal Service spokesperson said in a statement. Click through for more. I have used the stamp as today’s FFT. It won’t actually have the black line through “Forever” – that’s to prevent counterfeiting.
Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s unhinged rants about prosecutors Jack Smith & Fani Willis signal Trump knows what’s coming (and in other news, water is wet.)
Farron Balanced – Trump Goes Completely Nuts After Fox News Talked About Ron DeSantis
Yesterday, I got to see Virgil. I passed on greetings, and He said to tell y’all they are appreciated. Today he seemed to have grasped that he willnot be getting out of prison alive, but he asked me – and I know it wasn’t s much as every five minutes, but it was often – how long we had been married (39 years this May) and also, though much less frequently, how old he is (79 – will be 80 in July.) He didn’t appear at all frustrated by not knowing, at least. I left at exactly the right time – five minutes later and the glare would have been too much.Neither visitors nor inmates are allowed watches, but there are a few windows in the room, and they face roughly west, so that if there is sun the light hitting the floor (snd eventually the wall) acts like a makeshift sundial. Six stripes on the south wall means time to go. Once we get back to DST it shouldn’t be a problem – visitation ends early enough that I’ll be fine staying until it’s over – and that will happen for my next visit on March 12. Now, in November, it appears there may be what we called in the military a fire drill, but using an ethnic slur which I won’t repeat. My state has passed legislation to keep DST, as has Ohio. Missouri and Texas have not. California voters have passed a referendum, but the legislature has yet to act. Needless to say, Australia will not be affected by us. For anyone in the US, I highly recommend a bit of research on your state between now and November.
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Crooks & Liars – Beltway Media Still Doesn’t Understand Where Right Wingers Get Their Ideas
Quote – In 2016, Stephen Gossett of Chicagoist recounted the history that these Times reporters don’t seem to know: “There is a very simple two-part explanation as to why this happened: President Obama’s adopted hometown is Chicago; and Chicago struggles with gun violence. So its not surprising to find an example that stretches all the way back to Obama’s first presidential campaign.” Click through for article. Yes, Obama is still the bogey-an for way too many people, and probabloy some arenot even MAGAs.
Medium – 5 Reasons Why White People Are Afraid of Disposing of Their White Comfort
Quote – White comfort shows up everywhere, for instance, in the workplace when keeping Black people a way from senior positions, discriminatory hiring practices. Also, in schools that refuse to teach Critical Race Theory, states that ban books, and the way white people avoid discussing race relations and racism. All of these instances, are sensitive to white people because it pricks them into their skin like a needle; they feel like they are being attacked because they are being asked to be held accountable, and face the reality of the changing world that is being inclusive of everyone but them for once. Click through for article. White privilege, white fragility, white comfort – they are very similar, though there are subtle differences. All are so subtle yet all-pervasive that many white people don’t know they exist, and often actively fight the idea that they exist. People of color know that if they say or do anything which distirbs white comfort, even someting as innocuous as being in a particular place, their risks extend all the way up to death.
Yesterday, It warmed up above freezing and the snow is mostly gone from where it needs to be gone. Today (and tomorrow) should be warmer. I did listen to the concert “For Ukraine: A Concert of Rememberance and Hope.” It began with a video message from Olena Zelenska (Debra Lou Harder read out the English subtitles.) I was choked up before the first note (which was the first note of the Unkrainian National Anthem, BTW.) If you saw “Amadeus,” you’ll remember several chunks from the Mozart Requiem, and of course everyone recognizes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. They are actually less familiar to the performers than to the audience – opera orchestras don’t generally play sumphonies, and opera choruses seldom sing Requiems, though top rank vocal soloists do, at least on occasion. The “Prayer for Ukraine” was part of the first Met concert for Ukraine. Yes, this is alot of music analysis. But as someone cited from Heine, (it may have been the Ukrainian ambassador to the UN, or one of the two Ukrainian soloists), “When words leave off, music begins.” They posted the program on line (part of it – they cut out the advertising.) And – speaking of Ukraine and music …
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The Daily Beast – Broadway Star Ben Platt Condemns ‘Evil’ Neo-Nazis After ‘Parade’ Protest
Quote – The show, a Broadway transfer from the Encores! concert series, is based on the true story of a Jewish factory superintendent, Leo Frank, who was falsely convicted of killing 13-year-old employee Mary Phagan in 1913, and who was kidnapped from prison and lynched two years later…. [A] masked activist from the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi hate group, tried to leaflet theater-goers outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre so they could “find out the truth” about the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), as well as Parade. “You’re paying 300 bucks to go fucking worship a pedophile, you might as well know what you’re talking about,” the masked person said. Click through for article. This is bad enough – but the same people who staged this outrage have also designated today as a “National Day of Hate.” At least in many large cities, it’s being reported that law enforcement is providing extra protectio to synagogues.
Letters From An American – February 19, 2023
Quote – Today is the anniversary of the day in 1942, during World War II, that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 enabling military authorities to designate military areas from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” That order also permitted the secretary of war to provide transportation, food, and shelter “to accomplish the purpose of this order.” … On March 2, 1942, General John DeWitt put Executive Order 9066 into effect. He signed Public Proclamation No. 1, dividing the country into military zones and, “as a matter of military necessity,” excluding from certain of those zones “[a]ny Japanese, German, or Italian alien, or any person of Japanese Ancestry.” Click through for Letter. There is Nick Anderson the basketball player, and there is Nick Anderson the cartoonist, but the Nick Anderson to whom Heather refers is neither of them. He is a young reporter for the Washington Post. I can’t provide a gift link – my cousin is all out of them for this month. Here’s the paywalled link. But hHeather does a gret job and you may not need or want it.
Agency (DEA) Finds A Tunnel From Mar-A-Lago to Palm Beach Airport
