More about this Objective
We began this course with a reminder about the killing of George Floyd and its impact on the Black/Minority and White communities. In this module we have more information on that killing and the reaction to it, set alongside a reminder of the killing of Michael Brown, and an analysis of the local economic/financial situation that made it all but inevitable. These are just two of the thousands of people on the receiving end of the worst aspects of our society. There is also an amusing but very serious piece on a woman who infiltrated an online band of white supremacists, whose ideology included mythologies remarkably similar to the Nazis: a lost mystical power to be regained. Those supremacists consider themselves a militia, protected by the second amendment, and so we round that off with a very accessible history and explanation of second-amendment militias by Trevor Noah. All this is how life “on the ground” is lived by the least privileged of us, and to say that it is unacceptable must surely be an understatement.
Meanwhile, we have also looked at repeating issues that made some people extremely wealthy even as they left many in a state of prolonged suffering. These seem to go with a sense of entitled superiority on the part of the movers and shakers. This sense of superiority may be born of master race (and class and nation) thinking in tandem with a particular brand of economic thought (Neoliberalism) that has divorced itself from moral considerations (and therefore truth or accountability) and believes it has an inalienable right to use up everything and everyone, and brooks no protest.
The Assessment
So now, the question for this discussion is this: what do we do on the ground to help turn this situation around? You now have some idea of the vast funding available to those who seek to perpetuate the system, and the implacable ruthlessness of their responses to challenge. You know that civil protest – however peaceful – will be hijacked by the government or by militias to make the victimized populations look worse than ever. And you know that they probably do accept the science privately: its validity or otherwise is not the point for them. So what can be done instead of protesting or persuading? What would be constructive, productive, and generous to all? There may not be any answer, but we should go out trying to find one!
How to make sure this discussion grades you fairly
A last-time reminder for convenience!
The grading system looks for you to answer with courtesy and reasonable coverage. It does this by counting the keywords that introduce the parts of a courteous and competent discussion. If you use these components, you will be answering courteously and competently, no matter what your opinion is. So, here are the keywords (if there are other words you feel would work, by all means let me know, and I’ll consider adding them to the system):
The Greeting (with or without extras like exclamation points, names and so on)
Greetings! Greetings, Greetings
Hi! Hi, Hi
Hello! Hello, Hello
Identify your Post (important if there are many participants separating comments and responses)
I am posting about
I am responding to
In response to
Identify your starting point (quote or paste a relevant and easily identifiable section from the post you are responding to. If you are making a new post, signal that instead, with the no quote keywords)
No quote
I quote: [type or paste it in]
For example [type or paste it in]
Because
And these are some topical words for this discussion
master race
ideology
beauty
science
evolution
Make at least one Point (begin with what works, e.g. “I agree that,” or “I would point out that,” or “I want to refute that,” or “In order to clarify that, ” or “Let me suggest that,” etc. Note that the system is looking for the word-sequences in red below, and these include the word “that”.
I … agree that
I … support that
I … add that
I … point out that
I … say that
I … object that (politely!)
I … deny that (politely!)
I … refute that
I … question that
I … clarify that
I … suggest that
I … argue that (politely!)
I … put it to you that
I … posit that
My/the … point is that
Round it off nicely with a conclusion (note that these words and word-sequences include a comma! Be sure to use it when posting!)
In conclusion,
So,
Therefore,
Thus,
Finally
