Interesting Links for 06-02-2020

[andrewducker]

Do men want to protect their families? Or do they just really love guns?

(tags:guns fatherhood parenting safety men society )

FactCheck Q&A: can the government change the law to keep terrorists in prison?

(tags:crime law terrorism UK )

Welcome to the Bullshit Economy

(tags:fraud software business politics viaNancyLebov )

Gungan Diplomat Interrupts State Of The Union To Propose Immediately Granting Emergency Powers To President Trump

(tags:StarWars politics usa )

Why literary blackface is not a good idea

(tags:race writing society )

Comments

[coth]

The men protecting their families one is brilliant!

[rmc28]

Isn't it!

I remember catching some random radio DJ doing a spoof of "Grenade" by Bruno Mars that covered things like "take out the bins for you", "walk your dog for you", "find a seat for you on the train", and he thought he was being hilarious at the triviality of his ideas, and I thought "all of those things are far better expressions of love than wittering on about grenades and bullets".

[dewline]

I've done grocery and pharmacy runs for my mother. I figure that counts as "protecting my family", too.

[agoodwinsmith]

I found the Bullshit article an accurate articulation of the current miasma of badness. I found its conclusion to be pat and trite and NOT HELPFUL.

[adrian_turtle]

The idea of men wanting to protect their families with guns, more than they want to protect them with carseats and hygiene. Dramatic fixes are appealing even when they aren't violent. Not just appealing to men. Inventing a new kind of prosthetic leg that helps runners go faster than they could before they were injured? Dramatic. Building more and more wheelchair ramps? Not dramatic.

[channelpenguin]

Wouldn't we all rather do "one-off" (high risk?) dramatic projects, than the tedious daily grind of doing the (same) little things over and over and over? But it is so very often the latter that gets more (and more overall beneficial) things done.

just e.g. exercise, eating healthy, savings/investment, studying, learning an instrument - one off dramatic actions in these areas will almost never help with any of the goals (health, wealth, knowledge, skills) long term. Only the daily grind ...

Literary blackface

[anna_wing]

Neither Alexandre Dumas was black. They had an ascendant who was of African origin. That made them mixed race, if skin colour is your primary parameter. What they were, most relevantly to pretty much everything, was French.