Interesting Links for 12-12-2025

[andrewducker]

1. The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations

(tags:punctuation language writing ai funny )

2. Where Are School Uniforms Common?

(tags:school clothing regulation maps )

3. Disney making $1 billion investment in OpenAI, will allow characters on Sora AI video generator

(tags:ai Disney )

4. Revealed: UK's 'racist' system of stripping citizenship (more people than any other country other than Bahrain and Nicaragua)

(tags:uk citizenship OhForFucksSake )

5. Are economic bubbles good, actually?

(tags:economics business history )

Comments

2 School Uniforms

[agoodwinsmith]

In Canada (& probably USA), in the last 100 to 150 years, there is at least one big confounding factor. Children in school uniforms were likely to have been indigenous children removed by violence from their homes and held against their will in remote location "schools" (Indian Residential Schools). It made the children easy to identify when searching for a "runaway" (child trying to find their way home).

Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that retaining economic and social clues about status was deliberate, and seeing "ethnic" clothing on children was an easy way to keep watch on people who might break the rules to speak anything other than English on school property. Beating children for speaking their mother tongue was common later than you might think. That's teachers beating children, in case you were wondering.

[anna_wing]

In my schools ( primary and secondary), the nuns made the uniforms, which were sold at a discount price to poorer families. Families were also encouraged to donate second hand uniforms that were still in good condition. The lack of visible wealth markers is a real benefit. Though of course in an East Asian context our exam results were (are) the only status symbol that mattered.