Death Penalty and Disability: Ethnic Adjustments

My latest for Pacific Standard: As a concept, IQ is terrible. The idea that we can reduce intelligence to a simple number, quantifiable in a test, exacerbates inequality in numerous racist, classist, sexist, and ableist ways. Not only do people have worth beyond their measurable cognitive ability, but IQ also routinely awards higher numbers to … Continue ReadingDeath Penalty and Disability: Ethnic Adjustments

Annals of Criminalization: Distracted Walking and Cult of Compliance

The things we criminalize reveal a lot about risk and value much more than actual dangers. Here’s a fascinating piece from The Baffler on “distracted walking.” The issue isn’t safety but enforcement of car culture. “Distracted pedestrian” laws aren’t really about the evidence, though. They are about maintaining the privileges of car culture as that culture … Continue ReadingAnnals of Criminalization: Distracted Walking and Cult of Compliance

ADAPT: Effective Activism takes Practice

I interviewed Anita Cameron for Pacific Standard about the WORK that goes into ADAPT actions. ———– So you stage mock actions to practice? What are those like? It can be anything! It’s usually taking over something: An office, a bathroom, whatever, to simulate, as close as possible, what you do [in a real protest]—the adrenaline, the chaos, … Continue ReadingADAPT: Effective Activism takes Practice

Western Civilization and Immigration

From The Guardian: A Pakistani man who renounced his Muslim faith and became a humanist has had his application for asylum in the UK rejected after failing to correctly answer questions about ancient Greek philosophers. The Home Office said Hamza bin Walayat’s failure to identify Plato and Aristotle as humanist philosophers indicated his knowledge of … Continue ReadingWestern Civilization and Immigration