SPOTLIGHT
The Political Correctness of ‘People of Colour’
By: Javahir Askari
I’m a person, not a crayon.
Trying to be politically correct today feels like walking through a minefield. The language we use is constantly changing, and what was acceptable a few years ago may not be so any longer. When writing about groups of people, it can be difficult to know how to discuss different categories respectfully without perpetuating stereotypes.
Even those in politics can’t seem to be politically correct; this year Amber Rudd had to apologise for calling fellow MP Diana Abbott a ‘coloured woman’ and admitted the term was ‘outdated and offensive’. But why is it so? And what’s the correct phrase to use? As a ‘person of colour’ myself, even I find racial terms and political correctness a constantly moving target.
It’s offensive because it implies that a person’s ‘colour’, or skin tone, is something that’s been added to them and that being white is the default and thus normal. But a person who isn’t white has not coloured their skin. (more…)
Long Walk to Freedom: Xenophobia Continues Against African Migrants in Johannesburg, South Africa
By: David O. Monda
I had the opportunity to do a three-month research project in Johannesburg that ended in late August 2019. It centered on the impact of xenophobia on African migrants looking to set up businesses in the city. I was based in Hillbrow, which is a dangerous part of Johannesburg, a no-go zone. What Hillbrow lacks in safety, however, it returns tenfold in the depth of African migrant experiences to be found there. These are experiences that reveal a cacophony of tears, trepidation and sorrow; of dreams turned into nightmares, of years of waiting for refugee papers that never get processed; of the horror of having to face xenophobic attacks from other black Africans taking out their anger and frustration over a weak economy and high unemployment on African migrants. Many of these migrants originate from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Somali and yes, even from Kenya. (more…)
THEORY
The Political Correctness of ‘People of Colour’
For me, “people of colour” feels like a hiding place, as if I must hide an important part of me because it still isn’t deemed vital enough to define myself.
Arguing Dialectically about Abortion
How do we talk about abortion? How do we make arguments about a topic that evokes such strong reactions? In opposing articles, Nathan Nobis and Kristina Grob and Hendrick van der Breggen, approach the issue dialectically. One approach is to think dialectically--to critically examine arguments pro or con, in order to uncover the assumptions and grounds they rest on, and develop new arguments that respond to the faults we find in our prior positions.
Untangling popular “pro-choice” claims and arguments concerning abortion
I favor the pro-life position on the abortion issue, all the while realizing that many good and decent people disagree with me. Why do they disagree? It seems they are influenced by popular claims and arguments favoring the pro-choice view. I intend no disrespect to anyone in saying this, but I think that many popular claims and arguments favoring the choice for abortion consist of knots of illogic that should be untangled.
PRACTICE
The Political Correctness of ‘People of Colour’
For me, “people of colour” feels like a hiding place, as if I must hide an important part of me because it still isn’t deemed vital enough to define myself.
Long Walk to Freedom: Xenophobia Continues Against African Migrants in Johannesburg, South Africa
South Africans need to have a national dialogue about what it means to have immigrants in their midst and what part of this falls outside the country’s earlier vision of being a Rainbow Nation. South African cannot continue to preach the gospel of African Renaissance while it practices the talk of xenophobia
Naomi Klein, Autism & Climate Activism
By Craig Collins In a recent interview (TruthOut, Sept. 17, 2019) with Amy Goodman, Naomi Klein linked Greta Thunberg’s autism
JUSTICE
Long Walk to Freedom: Xenophobia Continues Against African Migrants in Johannesburg, South Africa
South Africans need to have a national dialogue about what it means to have immigrants in their midst and what part of this falls outside the country’s earlier vision of being a Rainbow Nation. South African cannot continue to preach the gospel of African Renaissance while it practices the talk of xenophobia
Weathering the Storm: Revisiting the Hariri Resignation
U.S. policymakers must realize that Lebanon is, indeed, the “eye of the storm” in the Middle East and devise policy accordingly.
Civil Disobedience and the Separation of Powers
From an Arendtian concept of power, we might argue that a more effective way to think about restoring the proper balance of power within the government is civil disobedience.
ARTS & LETTERS
Trump Forecasts Hurricane Dorian to Return and Decimate All 50 States
Washington, D.C. - After swiping at the Eastern seaboard of the United States and then heading out to the Canadian Maritimes last week, Hurricane Dorian will be coming back with a vengeance, according to Meteorologist-in-Chief, Donald Trump.
Woodstock Turns 50: Behind the Curtain with John Morris, Head of Production
When you have a master or a leader, there’s always another master somewhere fighting them off or trying to contest them. The masters of other people can look pretty annoying to you, if not contemptible, irrelevant, reprehensible. I think about Beatlemania, where people were just horrified — What the hell is going on? These four guys with weird floppy haircuts. Or with Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, or any of the other rock stars. The disgust and terror that people have that others are caught up.
A Tribute to D.A. Pennebaker
When you have a master or a leader, there’s always another master somewhere fighting them off or trying to contest them. The masters of other people can look pretty annoying to you, if not contemptible, irrelevant, reprehensible. I think about Beatlemania, where people were just horrified — What the hell is going on? These four guys with weird floppy haircuts. Or with Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, or any of the other rock stars. The disgust and terror that people have that others are caught up.