Category: human rights

ethics, human rights

“Be a warrior not a wokester.”

Rick Mc

Professor Galloway — like many of us — is turned off by out-of-control political correctness.

People are increasingly afraid to say what they think for fear of online backlash.

Similarly, I’m embarrassed by people outraged that William Shakespeare (for example) was racist. You shouldn’t judge people in the 1500s by today’s standards.

Instead of complaining, take ACTION.

Do something REAL.

Be a warrior for social justice.

Listen to Professor Galloway‘s podcast here.

… Structural racism is real, and our economic system is tilted, if not rigged.

The most accurate predictor of your opportunities isn’t your intelligence or work ethic but where you’re born.

But playing the victim decreases your capacity to be a warrior against these injustices. …

Reacting to every slight and demanding satisfaction from every insult is what the system wants you to do. Joining a Twitter mob seizing on a hapless middle manager or an out-of-touch English professor may feel like justice, but it’s just a cheap drip of dopamine ….

Be a warrior. 

Advice to Grads: Be Warriors, Not Wokesters

ethics, GOP USA, government, human rights

“All Lives Matter” is denial of systematic racism

Rick Mc

When your All-Lives-Matter friend has a birthday, be sure to message:

“All Birthdays Matter”. 😀

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by a white cop. 

I’m hopeful things have change for the better.  

BLM haters have been more muted since their racist President departed for the golf courses full-time. 

According to professor of critical race theory, David Theo Goldberg, “All Lives Matter” reflects a view of “racial dismissal, ignoring, and denial”.

Philosopher Chris Lebron describes “All Lives Matter” as a “disingenuous retort” that misunderstands the problem raised by Black Lives Matter proponents.

On Real Time with Bill Maher, Bill Maher expressed support for use of the “Black Lives Matter” phrase, stating that “‘All Lives Matter’ implies that all lives are equally at risk, and they’re not”. …


human rights, TV

Good Girls Revolt – season 1

Rick Mc

Good Girls Revolt is an American period drama streaming television series.

It only lasted 1 season. Too bad. I found it far more entertaining than Mad Men.

The series follows a group of young female researchers at News of the Week magazine in the revolutionary times of 1969. Women in the newsroom are relegated to low-level positions. Many researchers are more talented and better educated …

Based on true stories, News of the Week is Newsweek. In 1970, 46 women researchers, reporters and the magazine’s one woman writer staged a revolt. They complained to the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Finally, in 1972, Newsweek promised that by the end of 1974, one-third of the magazine’s writers would be women.

I like Chris Diamantopoulos as Finn. And Erin Darke as Cindy Reston.

Actually, all the cast is good.

Jim Belushi is cast against his usual character as pro-Vietnam war, Wick.

Grace Gummer (daughter of Meryl Streep) as Nora Ephron is a glimpse into the future. She went on to write Silkwood (1983), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), and Sleepless in Seattle (1993).

Here are just 6 reasons why Amazon’s “Good Girls Revolt” should not be cancelled

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

books, ethics, government, human rights, TV

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

Rick Mc

Faceless Killers is a 1991 crime novel by the Swedish writer Henning Mankell, and the first in his acclaimed Wallander series.

Happily, the audio book is read by one of my favourites — Dick Hill — of the excellent Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch series. Hill has 542 audio books, last time I checked.

Inspector Kurt Wallander is called out to a seemingly senseless and brutal murder on a Swedish farm.

Wallander is forty-two-years-old. His wife left him unexpectedly 3 months earlier. He’s constantly worried about his estranged daughter. And unsure whether his own elderly father can continue living alone out on another farm.

Also, he’s gaining weight.

Uncoordinated. Accident prone.

Near broke.

Troubled, to say the least.

Author Henning Mankell was a left-wing social critic and activist. 

But the themes of the book include Sweden’s liberal attitude regarding immigration, racism and national identity. The character Wallander is conflicted.

Kenneth Branagh is one of the actors who’s played Wallander in adaptations.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

ethics, government, human rights

Staying Quiet helps the Oppressor

Rick Mc

Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. 

Immediately after they were sent to Auschwitz, his mother and his younger sister were murdered.

Wiesel and his father were selected to perform labor so long as they remained able-bodied, after which they were to be killed in the gas chambers.

Wiesel and his father were later deported to the concentration camp at Buchenwald. …

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Quote by German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller 
ethics, human rights, music

Miley Cyrus – Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl”

Rick Mc

I’d say Miley Cyrus was musical artist of the year for me in 2020.

Fierce.

She decided on a punk Lesbian anthem for the uber-MACHO Super Bowl crowd, for example. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

“Rebel Girl“ is a song by American punk rock band Bikini Kill released 1993.

… emblematic of the riot grrrl movement of the 1990s. …

Riot grrrl bands often address issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy, classism, anarchism and female empowerment. 

Click PLAY or watch one of the original artists’ versions on YouTube.

I was reminded of the song by Amy Poehler’s ‘Moxie’.

Apple, ethics, Facebook, good news, Google, government, human rights, internet, things getting better

Why we LOVE Stacey Abrams

Rick Mc

If you’re celebrating seeing Donald Trump and the worst of his deplorable followers driven off social media, thank Stacey Abrams.

She devoted years to building the Democratic Party in Georgia. Wrote a book about voter suppression and co-produced an Amazon Prime documentary, “All In: the Fight for Democracy.”

People in the know credit Stacey Abrams for flipping the 2 Senate seats from Republican to Democrat.

NOW the Biden team has control of all 3 branches of government for 2 years.

NOW the Biden team can enthusiastically regulate BIG TECH.

NOW Twitter, Facebook and pretty much every other major platform is banning Trumpy hate speech.

Thanks Stacey.

books, human rights, TV

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

Rick Mc

Troubled Blood (2020) is the fifth novel in the Cormoran Strike series …

I ASSume Galbraith is a moral man — respecting human rights.

Cormoran Strike is as irritable and irritating as ever.

We can’t imagine why partner Robin Ellacott likes him as a boss — or for possible romance.

Happily, Robin finally divorced her husband. What a relief.

Troubled Blood is well written. But I enjoyed it least of the series, so far.

The 40 year old cold case is too long, too slow. I definitely couldn’t get into it.

More insight into Strike’s odd family was interesting. In fact, all the other story lines were engaging.

I’ll definitely be continuing with the series, even if it turns out Galbraith is a horrible person in real life.