Happy Wednesday Readers! The Hellions are back in school for the 2017-18 school year. Which means I get my house back from two mopey tweens and one hyperkinetic 8 year old who think it’s too hot to play outside. Bwahahahahaha!
After four hours of deliberation a jury ruled in favor of pop star Taylor Swift in her countersuit against former radio talk show host David Mueller, who was accused of groping Swift at a photo op in 2013. A win for the sight of light against the douchebags!
Japanese born actor Diane Huey, playing Ariel in the touring company of the musical based on The Little Mermaid, got a rude welcome from middle America when the show opened in Memphis…
Diana Huey doesn’t seek out negative social feedback. But too often, it finds her.
That’s what happened one recent day in Memphis, where Japanese-born Huey was set to perform the role of Ariel in a touring production of “The Little Mermaid” at the historic Orpheum Theatre.
Before the show, scrolling through Facebook, she came across outraged comments from Disney fans criticizing the casting of an Asian-American in a role they expected to be played by a white woman. That’s despite the fact that the character is based on an animated film featuring a mythical creature who cavorts with singing crustaceans.
“It’s hard not to take it personally,” Huey said in a phone interview from Nashville in advance of the tour’s visit to Shea’s Performing Arts Center from Aug. 15 to 20. “I had kind of a funky first part of the show and I was like, how do I get out of this? I can’t let that affect me.”
Teen Vogue is once again taking point in the battle against bigotry, explaining How “Nice White People” Benefit From Charlottesville and White Supremacy.
White people benefit from white supremacy. Period. Peggy McIntosh spelled this out for us in 1989, but apparently we’re still not quite getting it. Her famous piece, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” lays out undeniable ways that it is simply easier to be white in this country, like always having a boss who is a fellow white person, or, you know, being able to eat Skittles at night without getting shot. Most white people didn’t ask for this privilege. Actually, that’s the whole idea. White privilege is an inherent advantage that easily goes unnoticed and unacknowledged. Rather than stuffing down the sense of shame associated with this obvious unfairness, why not work to even the playing field?
Look, getting a job because your name is Geoff is not the same thing as joining the KKK, but that privilege is precisely the thing white supremacists were working to reassert in Charlottesville. They chanted about not being “replaced.” Their very existence is grounded in insisting on a moral claim to this country as a superior race. They want to continue having every possible advantage based on the color of their skin; that’s practically the mission statement. Most white people are at least aware that they benefit from white supremacy, and yet we stuff down these painfully obvious truths, tending to our cognitive dissonance like a paper cut that won’t heal, worrying more about being called racists than the effects of racism itself.
Libby Anne has an answer for Donald Trump’s question from yesterdays pathetic press conference…
In a press conference today Trump posed the following questions:
“George Washington was a slave owner. Was George a slave owner? So will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? Do you like him? OK, good. Are we going to take down the statue? Cause he was a major slave owner. Now are we going to take down his statue?”
You do not ask questions like this in a press conference. These are questions you find answers to before you go into a press conference. It just so happens that these questions do in fact have answers. In a strange twist of fate, I answered these exact questions myself in a blog post back in May. In that post, I was responding to an article in which slavery-apologist Doug Wilson posed the same questions. Here is an excerpt:
Hey, actual parenting content! Megan Leahy answers a reader question… My 6 Year Old has a Fun Comfortable Life, Why isn’t She Grateful?
If you follow the Grounded Parents Facebook page (and you should,) then you’ll see a lot of links we share over the course of the week. Here’s a round up…
Renegade Mama responded to this weeks events in Charlottesville… Dear White Women: This is Definitely Us.
In somewhat more inspiring news, Toddler Spills Massive Slushee In Target. When Witness Sees Dad’s Reaction, She Whips Out Her Phone. It should be noted that the bar for decent parenting in this story isn’t that high. And readers should consider whether a Mom would be receiving internet acclaim for the same actions.
Our own Steph writes… Sorry, But I’m so Happy World Breastfeeding Week is Over.
This week’s video is because we can’t not talk about Charlottesville. Stephen Colbert explains what should be an easy choice for the Cheeto Tinted Tyrant.
Featured Image Credit: Mark Tracy Photography
