wilwheaton:

Does this look to you like a president who “lost jobs”, or like a president who inherited an economy in free fall?

(via Obama, Romney, Jobs - NYTimes.com)

stfuconservatives:

ajonesco:

College Conservative Meme

Almost missed this epicness.

weexist-weresist:

Ron Paul’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

liberallyinclined:

steviemcfly:

Today, fifty new scans from Ron Paul’s racist newsletters, which I previously covered here (PDFs of the first batch of newsletters here, Ron Paul defending his racist comments five years before he started denying them here), were released. With them comes a new set of heinous quotes to be added to Dr. Paul’s greatest hits collection.

• “And Stanford, Michigan, and many other universities have banned speech that offends privileged groups. Anti-white, anti-male, anti-heterosexual or anti-Christian remarks are perfectly OK, of course.”
• “But now homosexuals are being asked ot contribute memorabilia of their struggle for ‘civil rights.’ The Smithsonian is planning an exhibit to advance the gay political agenda, which is uniformly statist.”
• “[Dr. Martin Luther] King, the FBI files show, was not only a world-class adulterer, he also seduced underage girls and boys. The Rev. Ralph David Abernathy revealed before his death that King had made a pass at him many years before. And we are supposed to honor this ‘Christian minister’ and lying socialist satyr with a holiday that puts him on par with George Washington?”
• “Kids growing up in today’s hyper-sexual atmosphere believe the safe sex propaganda that condoms prevent AIDS. The only safe sex, medically and morally, is that between husband and wife.”
• “Black leaders sure are radical in this country. Benjamin Hooks, president of the NAACP, is considered a moderate, but he’s an arch statist who wants government programs to abolish black unemployment, poverty, and low levels of education, and he calls the Supreme Court ‘racist’ for slightly questioning preferential treatment for blacks.”
• “Black leaders are calling for a’fundamental’ change: uprooting the entire ‘White Establishment.’ They want to replace ‘Eurocentrism’ with ‘Afrocentrism,’ and make white schoolchildren ‘more humble.’ Although I am not clear on what that means, I do know that, as Ludwig von Mises said, ‘the idea of liberty is Western.’ If they intend to replace Western culture with third-worldism, they are looking for a battle.”
• “If there is any issue the Republicans have in their favor for the next presidential election, it is the question of race. It was all over for Michael Dukakis when Jesse Jackson gave his awful prime-time speech at the last Democratic convention, and the cameras focused on masses of teary-eyed, left-wing blacks.”
• “In January 1990, I predicted major race riots before this decade ends. I may have to move up my timetable!”
• “A well-known libertarian editor just back from New York told me: ‘The ACT-UP slogan, on stickers plastered all over Manhattan, is “Silence = Death.” But shouldn’t it be “Sodomy = Death”?’”
• “St. Martin [Luther King] was a world-class philanderer who beat up his paramours (‘non-violence’ didn’t apply in all spheres, I guess).”
• “J. Edgar Hoover once called [MLK] ‘the most dangerous man in America.’ Who could have known the danger would continue after his death and threaten to strangle our culture?”
• “President Bush invited the heads of homosexual lobbying groups to the White House for the ceremony. As Congressman Bill Dannemeyer (R-CA) noted, ‘It’s a tragic message that is being sent,’ that normality and deviance are equal. I miss the closet. Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities. They could also not be as promiscuous. Is it any coincidence that the AIDS epidemic developed after they came ‘out of the closet’ and started hyper-promiscuous sodomy? I don’t believe so, medically or morally.”
• “Further note: the largest blood bank in San Francisco succumbed to political pressure and holds blood drives in the gay Castro district, where the people give at least three times the usual level. Either they are public spirited, or they are trying to poison the blood supply.”
• “A mob of black protestors, led by the ‘Rev.’ Al Sharpton, occupied and closed the Statue of Liberty recently, demanding that New York be renamed Martin Luther King City ‘to reclaim it for our people.’ Hmmm. I hate to agree with the Rev. Al, but maybe a name change is in order. Welfaria? Zooville? Rapetown? Dirtburg? Lazyopolis? But Al, the Statue of Liberty? Next time, hold that demonstration at a food stamp bureau or a crack house.”
• “The ‘gay community’ went berserk at the suggestion that sodomy might cause AIDS, or that its practitioners might be in some way responsible for the consequences of their conduct. (I know it’s hard to believe, but that’s the official line in such places as New York City.)”
• “CBS forced [60 Minutes host Andy Rooney] into an apologotic [sic] interview with The Advocate, a homosexual magazine filled with classified ads for pervert prostitutes. The reporter—who certainly had an axe to grind, and that’s not easy with a limp wrist—claimed that Roony [sic] said ‘I’ve believed all along that most people are born with equal intelligence, but blacks have watered down their genes because the less intelligent ones are the ones that have the most children.’” Paul goes on to write that “only in today’s crazed environment could such statements get you in trouble.”
• “The liberals promised us relief from guilt, points out Murray N. Rothbard, of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and they did abolish sexual guilt (and gave use widespread sodomy, AIDS, promiscuity, illegitimacy, and abortion in the bargain). But they imposed a thousand new guilts over racism, sexism, speciesism, ageism, and homophobia (the dread belief that normal sexual conduct is superior to abnormal).” 
• “Even absent Christianity (or AIDS), natural law proves that sexuality ought to be restricted to marriage (between a man and a woman, I guess I have to say these days.) Approval of anything else means societal disintegration.”
• “Just after a basketball game ended on June 14, blacks poured into the streets of Chicago in celebration. How to celebrate? How else? They broke the windows of stores to loot, even breaking through protective steel shutters with crowbars to steal everything in sight.”
• Paul continues in the article about the basketball riot to make a crack implying that black people can’t or don’t read: “Of all the stores that were looted, only one had its goods simply thrown on the sidewalk rather than stolen: a bookstore.”
• “Jury verdicts, basketball games, and even music are enough to set off black rage, it seems.”
• “What does it say about a party when its candidate can’t criticize those who advocate killing white people without upsetting its core voters? What does it say about blacks that they would find it upsetting to hear this criticized? My guess is that Jesse Jackson and friends talk like this in private.”
• On anti-semitic chess prodigy Bobby Fischer, who openly praised Hitler and blamed more things on the Jews than Mel Gibson: ”It turns out that the brilliant Fischer, who has all the makings of an American hero, is very politically incorrect on Jewish questions, for which he will never be forgiven, even though he is a Jew. Thus we are not supposed to herald him as the world’s greatest chess player.” 
• “If you live in a major city, you’ve probably already heard about the newest threat to your life and limb, and your family: carjacking. It is the hip-hop thing to do among the urban youth who play unsuspecting whites like pianos.”
• “Nearly every other group but whites are allowed a certain degree of cultural autonomy. Blacks have black schools, clubs, and neighborhoods. The same is true of Hispanics. It is human nature that like attracts likes. But whites are not allowed to express this same human impulse. Except in a de facto sense, there can be no white schools, white clubs, or white neighbor hoods [sic]. The political system demands white integration, while allowing black segregation. The youth culture is already driven by ghetto music and ghetto values…. And the sexual ethics of our youth are also degenerating to the level of the ghetto.”
• Implying that gay people enjoy getting AIDS: ”They enjoy the attention and pity that comes with being sick. Put it all together, and you’ve got another wave of AIDS infections, that you, dear taxpayer, will be asked to pay for.”
• “During the presidential campaign, black activist Robert ‘Say’ McIntosh of Arkansas distributed a list of Clinton’s illegitimate children, black and white: ‘woods colts’ in the backwoods slang…. Why? ‘Bill Clinton told me he would get my son out of prison,’ McIntosh said in an interview, according to a front page story in the Washington Times.”
• “AIDS was ‘originally known as GRIDS—gay related immune deficiency syndrome.’ For political reasons, it was changed to AIDS. “A whole political movement has been created and sustained on a single notion: homosexual sodomy.”
• “The average homosexual has 1,000 or more partners in a lifetime, and the average homosexual has only one sexual enounter per partner and never sees the person again after that encounter.”

I’ve been posting a lot about him lately, but we need people to realize what this man is really about while it’s still possible to stop him from taking the Republican nomination. He’s leading the polls some-crazy-how, and that is not a good thing.

The real Ron Paul. 

oppressionisyucky:

What’s wrong with cultural appropriation?

field-day-for-the-sundays:

Anon asked:

What’s wrong with cultural appropriation? I mean, I know it’s bad, but I need this one kind of spelled out for me. Is it always bad? Are some cases worse than others? I want to be a good anti-racist, but I fear I’m not educated enough.

whatfreshhellisthis responded:

Cultural appropriation exists because of centuries of:

• Imperialism: more specifically, cultural imperialism which is essentially one cultural dominating another. (IE: white folks and everyone we’ve ever invaded ever. Including each other.)
• Racism: justifies the appropriation by making various cultural/racial/ethic groups marginalised, oppressed and seen as inferior by the privileged group.
• Exoticism: justifies commodification and objectification.
• Orientalism
• Colonisation
• Entitlement: thinking that oppressed people’s culture, society, and spirituality are up for grabs.
• Oppression
• Power
• Capitalism
• Unawareness of privilege: based on misunderstanding of power dynamics, entitlement, exoticism and racism

Why is cultural appropriation harmful?:

Cultural appropriation reinforces oppression because it invalidates and commodifies marginalised groups.

• Invalidates: the culture/society/the people
• Homogenizes: lets look at the white girls wearing warbonnets and mukluks. War bonnets are worn traditionally only by various Native plains tribes and mukluks are boots made of usually seal skin warn/made traditionally by Alaskan/Arctic natives. This haphazard and disrespectful throwing together different pieces of two completely different Native cultures which is portraying an image of homogeneity and reinforces the stereotype that there is just one Native American culture and they are all the same, which reinforces oppression and racism.
• Commodifies: putting a monetary value on something that should not be sold or purchased or marketed in any way, eg. spiritual practices.
• Reinforces stereotypes: which reinforce oppression and racism-a tool of colonisation.
• Distorts traditions into inaccurate and offensive caricatures
• Romanticises cultures: often this is something that results in entire groups of people being seen as ‘something that used to exist’ as opposed to people with lives and cultures that exist and flourish today. You get this a lot with Native American and Canadian culture.
• Eroticises/exoticizes people: this is incredibly dehumanising.

Here is an awesome post about the line between appropriation and appreciation. (Reboggable version).

Here are some awesome people who talk about appropriation and how it is shitty- linked is all their posts tagged appropriation. Please look through their archives, and do not just message them asking the same question, they are people not encyclopaedias.

Jaded

Karma

Thursday

Dr. Syrup

These are just the first four who lept to mind- there are doubtless many, many more.

Original post: http://whatfreshhellisthis.tumblr.com/post/5261084308/whats-wrong-with-cultural-appropriation-i-mean-i

oppressionisyucky:

titotito:

mehreenkasana:

Aisha’s disappearance is only one in a long line of crimes in the South Asian American community that have happened in the past few weeks.

• On December 14th in Texas, a 61 yr old Pakistani named Yaqab Bham was attacked when doing an ADT home security installation inspection. Attacked by the home owner after being asked questions of where Bham was from, he had his ear bitten off and 10 broken ribs. [full story]
• On December 8th, a Hindu Sri Lankan professor in Champaign, Illinois named Dhammika Dharmapala was stabbed in his throat at a train station by a man who wanted to “save his country.” [full story]
• On December 4th, a turbaned Sikh man was stabbed in his upper torso at the Fresno airport. The man that attacked him was a 26 year old white man and was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon  and possession of a knife in an airport. [full story]
• On November 25th, a 32 year old Hindu man originally from Calcutta was attacked in San Jose in the grocery store parking lot. Six of his teeth were knocked out. His attackers spit on him and called him a terrorist. The attackers have not been found. [full story]

Most of the crimes mentioned above are not currently considered hate crimes by local police and local advocates are working hard to make the crimes recognized as such. It’s difficult to imagine, especially seeing the crimes listed side by side, how the incidents were not fueled by islamophobic and xenophobic hate.

(continued)

Read how racism and hate against the South Asian Community in America continues to grow stronger and more violent. This is disturbing. If you have seen Aisha, please make sure to contact the TIPS HOTLINE at 816-474-TIPS as soon as possible.

It’s also fucked up that I haven’t heard any of these mentioned in the mainstream news.

^Ugh. THIS

feministslut:

booksbeautyandbottles replied to your post: I’m Australian and recently went to Amsterdam…

Yall, as this happened in Amsterdam. It might just be that those Americans forgot their history classes in a local cafe.

If only Americans forgot their history in a local cafe in Amsterdam. However, Americans are not taught their history. They are told George Washington is a hero for winning the American Revolution. Abraham Lincoln is a hero for freeing the slaves. Fredrick Douglas and Harriet Tubman were ex slaves who did amazing things despite being black and former slaves. They are told the Great Depression really sucked because no one had jobs. They are told Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. are the Civil Rights Movement. They are told WWII was about the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor and the Nazis. They are told Thomas Jefferson was the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence. If they live in VA, they might actually go see Monticello. If you live in the states surrounding DC, you might get to see the Washington Monument and visit the other sites in DC. According to my professor and couple friends from CA, people from CA learn about their history. Also, you will most likely learn about Pocahontas but its the mythical version of Disney. Also, you might get to learn about the American War in detail. You will learn about the Civil War and how it is either about states rights or slavery. It really depends on the state. You’ll also learn about Thanksgiving and do some crafts around Thanksgiving while in Elementary School. 

What you will not hear about is how the British, Spanish, Dutch, and French colonized the US. You wont hear about the mass genocide against the Native population in the US, Caribbean, and South America. You will hear about the slave trade unless it is in relation to the Civil War. You wont hear how the British became one of the leading forces behind the African slave trade. You wont hear about the majority of the wars in US history or how we are an imperialistic power. If you are lucky the 19th Amendment will be mentioned in passing. You wont hear about women the rest of the course besides when Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks are mentioned. If you are really lucky your teacher might mention Abigail Adams while discussing the American Revolution because of how close she was with John and the fact she was the mother of a president. However, the teacher will probably be too busy hero-worshiping George Washington. People of Color will only be mentioned during slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and President Obama. You wont get a complete picture of any of the movements from the 1950s-1980s. Feminism will never be mentioned. The Irish will probably be mentioned and how they were treated horribly until the mid 20th century. It will be your “see, people can pull themselves up by their bootstraps” story. You’ll also most likely learn this country is founded on Christian principles, but you will never hear of the Treaty of Tripoli where in Article 11 it states we are not founded as a Christian Nation. If students are lucky they will get to read the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. 

The US education system is crap. Our k-12 history courses are just a bunch of hero worshiping of the “great” white men of this country. People do not learn jackshit about our history or the bloody history we have. We get a nice clean version so when people take classes in college on US history they are not prepared. I’ve been in one to many classes were people knew nothing going into the course. I was in an American Revolution course were one woman thought women could vote. I took a course on African American Women’s History where people assumed Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. were the only people involved in the Civil Rights Movement. I’ve taken senior level history seminars where people called WWII the Pearl Harbor War. The things people say about US history is truly laughable but they don’t know our history. No one is taught US history. Not a single person who has gone through school in the US could pass the citizenship test they would need to become citizens if they were raised in a different country. Our education system in America is truly laughable. People in other countries know more about our history than we do. It is truly pitiful.