by Nickie Wild Jeffrey Alexander writes that “cultural trauma occurs when members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks upon their group consciousness, marking their memories forever and changing their future identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways” (2004). With this basic definition in mind, can we … Continue reading »
Tagged with Racism …
The BNP meets the BBC
by paulabowles For the past few weeks the British media and public have hotly been debating the rights and wrongs of allowing the controversial British National Party [BNP] leader to appear on the BBC’s ‘flagship’ politics programme Question Time. Despite attempts to halt Nick Griffin’s appearance, the programme finally aired on Thursday 22 October 2009, … Continue reading »
Census Worker’s Murder Part of A Larger Picture
by NickieWild What is the poverty rate? How should the government allocate local funds? How many people in an area need representation by Congress? These are just some of the crucial questions that can only be answered by an accurate census of the American people. But lately, anything associated with the Federal government has come … Continue reading »
Racism, the Holy Ghost and 12-stepping
by enteringthewhirlpool 1.) There is a conjecture that the decline of organized religion in Western societies has not led to more rational modes of thought, but rather to a disaggregation of magical thinking as people find other ways to express the innately human religious impulse. This may manifest itself, for example, through belief in horoscopes. … Continue reading »
Racist Language in the U.S.: Alive, But Not Well
by NickieWild Is racist language still acceptable in the United States? As with most things in social science, the answer depends on the situation and people involved. Recently, the television program on the CBS network “Big Brother” self-censored an episode where two contestants used a derogatory term to describe fellow contestants who were of Mexican … Continue reading »
The lone survivor of British fascism?
by paulabowles Since 9/11, the world’s attention has increasingly been concentrated on the threat of terrorism and the mechanisms designed to uncover and combat it. Much of the focus has been on Al Qaeda; however, a recent British case suggests that this is not the only terrorist threat faced today. On Wednesday, Neil Lewington was … Continue reading »
Bullet Proof Turbans
by paulabowles Ten years after the publication of Sir William Macpherson’s report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, and the allegation of ‘institutional racism’ still hangs heavily over British policing. Although, there remains doubt over whether or not this allegation is still relevant – and indeed some confusion, for many, as to what the term … Continue reading »
Fearmongering, Racism, Border Control, and Swine Flu
“No contact anywhere with an illegal alien!” “This disgusting blight is because MEXICANS ARE PIGS!” ”It would be easy to bring an altered virus into Mexico, put it in the general population, and have them march across the border.” These and many other quotes made by individuals in connection to the recent outbreak of swine flu are … Continue reading »
Racial Segregation
On a recent episode of ABC’s “What Would You Do?” an experiment was conducted on racial segregation. During an open house, a white actress played the role of a racist home-seller who doesn’t want to sell to “certain people”. In front of others she attempted to steer away certain racial and ethnic groups, making statements that … Continue reading »
“I Missed the Joke”: Race, Rupert Murdoch, and the NAACP
by NickieWild Last week, a very racially charged cartoon appeared in the New York Post, featuring a couple of police officers having killed a chimpanzee, with the caption, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” The cartoon was supposedly a somewhat weak joke about an animal that attacked a woman, … Continue reading »
