"You shouldn't be cautious around [this minority] people because in reality,[this minority] people get victimized far more often than they victimize others."

Do the people who write that think like that? Or do they just use it as signalling, without regard to meaning at all?

Score this non-apology! How many bingo lines can you spot?

But I’m not [minority], and I don’t have a radar that pings whenever [minority adjective] and words like [neutral-word] are mentioned in close proximity [separated by 40 other words]. It didn’t even occur to me that the statement could be read as an allusion to the stereotype of [minority ( Read more... )

More good sense from elsewhere. Nuances as clear fresh air.
Money is not speech. Eich was not stating his belief; he was using dollars most of us do not have to suppress a basic human right, the right to marry the person you love. His case is a classic example of capital versus democracy. When the privileged use their wealth against the people, it ( Read more... )

Attributed to Reddit administrators:
We stand for free speech. This means we are not going to ban distasteful subreddits. We will not ban legal content even if we find it odious or if we personally condemn it. Not because that's the law in the United States - because as many people have pointed out, privately-owned forums are under no obligation to ( Read more... )

Remember the other part of the no-free-speech side: "You do not have to provide a forum for those you disagree with. There is no principle that says everyone should have an opportunity to present their side. Censorship of opposing views is just what they deserve. If they weren't assholes, no one would criticize or censor them ( Read more... )

But Stewart kept things in perspective and saved his utter scorn for Boko Haram. He said the girls they kidnapped are the real “badasses,” because they go to school every day, fully aware of the dangers facing them if they do.

Huh. That's what XKCD says about freedom of speech.

What elephant is thriving on two blades of grass, here? What well-known factor is ignored here? And in every big establishment source I've seen talk about this.

China’s demography is a disaster. About 2015, the seemingly boundless labor pool will begin to shrink. One reason is rapid aging, which presages that China will become old before it ( Read more... )

Because PM's and email don't work well for me, here's place I can answer them.

Fundraiser for a wonderful and deserving publisher, and her authors.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/norilana-books-authors-get-royalties

h/t: http://sartorias.livejournal.com/605892.html

When I see young people discouraged because their movement didn't win dramatically, on the first try (salute to OWS!) here's the metaphor that comes to mind:

waves with foam and force
fail against the rocks.
another wave always comes.
the rock's lost molecules
never come back
then "suddenly"
the rock comes down.