[MichellesMirror] You might have thought after the politicization of football and children’s library books there would be nothing left to politicize but you would be wrong. Robin Givhans has managed to make the case that even clothing is political – not to mention racist.
Before we get into the specifics, allow me to establish Ms. Givhan’s credentials. A Detroit native, she graduated from Princeton, holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Michigan and has been a fashion writer – for the Detroit Free Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Vogue, The Daily Beast, and currently the Washington Post - for nearly 30 years.
In 2006 she received a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, the first ever awarded to a fashion writer: “the Pulitzer Committee explained its rationale by noting Givhan's "witty, closely observed essays that transform fashion criticism into cultural criticism.”
Despite once having the audacity to criticize Michelle Obama for wearing shorts to the Grand Canyon ("Avoiding the appearance of queenly behavior is politically wise. But it does American culture no favors if a first lady tries so hard to be average that she winds up looking common," ) she otherwise checked every politically correct box out there.
Still, her column from last month seems to go beyond the norms of standard cultural political correctness: Neo-Nazis are using fashion in an attempt to normalize, and the fashion industry needs to speak up. It’s about the White Supremacists who marched in Charlottesville and what they wore. Her main objection is that the Neo-Nazis didn’t don the cloaks and hoods of the Klu Klux Klan
...why would they?
and instead wore “ordinary” clothes.
This suggests that those condemned as neo Nazis were actually the ordinary people their ordinary clothes suggested, since Antifa, for instance, has their own all-black-and-balaclavas look.
And she’s also upset that the fashion world has not vociferously condemned this cultural appropriation. Excerpts from her emotional column:
Fashion has been weaponized. And the fashion industry has been all but silent…
In the multitude of images from Charlottesville, the race-baiting protesters are decked out in white polo shirts and khakis. Others are wearing neat jeans, button-down shirts, cargo shorts.
Mr. Wife dresses like that. He used to wear suits to work, but when casual Friday became everyday business casual, he went shopping. It's the uniform of the suburban male.
They are wearing jeans and striped pullovers that look like they could have come from the sale rack at a local Gap…
...and very probably did. That stuff is not cheap at full price.
But the relevance of fashion in the conversation about racial hatred goes well beyond any particular brand. For an observer cognizant of the internal symbols and visual language of white nationalists, there was a lot to read: neo-Nazi, Proud Boy, skinhead, alt-right. But for the uninitiated, the style of dress was unremarkable. This wasn't a crowd filled with white robes and hoods…
Why wouldn’t fashion speak up? Especially now that fashion has become a stealth weapon for white nationalists. Neo-Nazis have bought into fashion’s ability to camouflage, distract, embolden, reassure, flatter and, quite simply, lie…
I’m not sure how Robin feels about the NFL but she clearly thinks the fashion industry needs to speak up against this existential racist, sexist, homophobic threat:
Not every industry needs to make a public statement with every turn of the news cycle…
Still, the fashion industry is anchored by large public companies that carry just as much cultural clout as any athlete or actor. Many fashion brands have built their businesses on the mythic melting pot of the American Dream. Fashion owes an especially large debt to those communities targeted by white supremacists: Designers regularly draw artistic inspiration from communities of color. Some of fashion's earliest and most influential merchants and editors have been Jewish.
Confusingly, Jews are now considered as white as the Americans of Asian and Protestant English descent.
And the industry has benefited greatly from the creativity and ingenuity of those who identify as LBGT.
White nationalists are moving through communities cloaked in the most mundane, banal kind of fashion. Clothes that do not inspire a double-take. Clothes that are acceptable and appropriate. Clothes that make them look like they belong. And the fashion industry has yet to tell them that they do not.
Hey, I’ve got it! How about if we make the Alt-Right all wear pink pussy hats when they assemble?
Just what America needs, another industry telling us to check our privilege, stop with the cultural appropriation and just shut up.
#2
I wear cargo shorts to work a lot because I have a lot of pockets to stick my smaller tools in. No t one of the black ppl around atlanta I have worked for over the years have called me racist. Not to mention my very short hair.Guess it's a good thing I work in the John's Creek, Alpharetta neighborhoods where a little more common sense prevails.
Posted by: Chris ||
10/02/2017 9:04 Comments ||
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#3
Not one of the black ppl around atlanta I have worked for over the years have called me racist.
Could be that heavily laden 'cargo pocket' on the right. Nobody wants to become the perp in an NRA self-defense story.
[NYPost] For the last 30 years, the Puerto Rican government has been completely inept at handling regular societal needs, so I just don’t see it functioning in a crisis like this one. Even before the hurricane hit, water and power systems were already broken. And our $118 billion debt crisis is a result of government corruption and mismanagement.
The governor Ricardo Rossello has little experience. He’s 36 and never really held a job and never dealt with a budget. His entire administration is totally inexperienced and they have no clue how to handle a crisis of this magnitude.
For instance, shortly after the hurricane hit, the government imposed a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am and then changed it. Now, it’s 7 pm to 5 am, and makes no sense. The curfew has prevented fuel trucks from transporting their loads. These trucks should have been allowed to run for 24 hours to address our needs, but they have been stalled, and so we have massive lines at gas stations and severe shortages of diesel at our hospitals and supermarkets.
I’m really tired of Puerto Rican government officials blaming the federal government for their woes and for not acting fast enough to help people on the island. Last week I had three federal agents in my office and I was so embarrassed; I went out of my way to apologize to them for the attitude of my government and what they have been saying about the US response. When the hurricane hit we had experts from FEMA from all over the US on the ground and I was really proud of their quick response. The first responders and FEMA have all been outstanding in this crisis, and should be supported.
I have 50 engineers that I have sent out pro bono to help local companies get back on their feet. This includes getting people gasoline and cash, and helping them connect to others that can assist with repairs without delays.
I won’t allow my people to work with the local government.
I have a message for the U.S. Congress: Watch out what relief funds you approve and let our local government handle. Don’t let the Puerto Rican government play the victim and fool you. They have no clue what they are doing, and I worry that they will mishandle anything that comes their way.
They don’t need another aircraft carrier. They need experienced people to run a proper disaster command center.
#1
Sounds like an opportunity to practice 'nation building'. Had some uniformed personnel with recent experience. Could come in handy after our own civil war. Treat it as a large scale field exercise.
#2
I heard an interesting discussion regarding Puerto Rico and the VI. A building disaster engineer said Guam regularly gets much worse storms. Said the problem with those islands that Guam doesn't have are totally centered on building codes, and code enforcement. Said one building not built to good codes (which the Caribbean doesn't have) is like a hand grenade to every building down wind. He calls them House Grenades.
#3
Many construction techniques have been developed. The KISS technique is best. Something the average person can be taught. The problem here and in many countries is the layers of corruption. When Iran got their billions I guarantee you many political and politically connected people siphoned off most of the money. href="">money.
#6
I enjoyed this construction. I could see myself doing this. Raw materials seem to be least expensive construction. Labor help I would think would be plentiful. Efforts could be learned and duplicated with others. Integrated logistical assistance would be very important.
#7
I remember photos of Florida after a hurricane back in the 80s or 90s. Houses built by Habitat for Humanity were still standing (I assume they use KISS techniques since so many amateurs are involved, and they avoid the corruption endemic of Florida as well).
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The decision to grant Saudi women a license to drive was no ordinary decision. It actually confirms Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... ’s decisive journey towards civilization, modernization and development. This has been Saudi Arabia’s orientation for many years, as it opened its markets and economy for foreign companies, sent its students to study abroad and strengthened its ties with world powers. However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... the decision to allow women to drive sent a clear and frank message to those who oppose the kingdom and which stipulates that Saudi Arabia is heading towards the future and it will not regress, as they are planning and hoping.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2017 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
#1
It actually confirms Soddy Arabia's decisive journey towards civilization, modernization and development.
I'm picturing a guy running after a train that left 5 centuries ago.
#2
No, it - along with any other concentration of Muslims - is a cancer growth on the body of humanity. That one is a particularly dangerous because of petrodollars.
They're a state that is desperately trying to overcome its self-imposed religious stupidity in an effort to regain what its taken them nearly 100 years to lose. The Saudi leadership thinks that giving women the right to drive will suddenly make the rest of the world see that KSA is a strong, vital part of the 21st century so please invest here because we need yer money.
Um, no. It's not. The women ain't gonna stop just at driving, and everyone else seems to know it except those wacky al-Sauds. The Saudi enforcement apparatus - the mutaawa, the cops - aren't going to suddenly change their tune towards women just because the King says so, and I would bet dollars to shwarma that you're going to start seeing vicious, fatal attacks on driving women. Needless to say, that's not going to draw investments from anybody who could make a difference though there's some countries that I have no doubt will jump at the chance to sink their talons in.
Russia and China, for instance.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/02/2017 5:49 Comments ||
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#4
They forced school girls back into a burning building rather than let them appear in public "uncovered". They're barbarians.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
10/02/2017 6:56 Comments ||
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[Townhall] - The Telegraph U.K. reports that Bath Spa University initially approved a professor’s research grant to study "de-transitioning" transgendered individuals, but revoked the money after surprising early results in the study were deemed "politically incorrect" by the ethics committee.
"De-transitioning" is the term used to describe the process in which individuals operationally change their sex choice back to their biological sex after regretting a transgender reassignment surgery.
Professor James Caspian is a psychotherapist whose specialty is transgendered individuals.
In 2014, Caspian had a conversation with Professor Diroslav Djordjevic that sparked curiosity. Djordjevic is the "world-leading genital reconstructive surgeon." 'Reconstruction'...? No, just check plugs, points, and timing please.
Djordjevic mentioned to Caspian interesting empirical evidence; his own surgeries that he preformed. Djoredjevic is convinced that the number of individuals who undergo sex change operations, regret their decision, and opt to change back to their biological sex is on the rise. 'Empirical evidence'... wouldn't want any of that now would we.
His patients come from all over the world, experience depression, and sometimes have suicidal thoughts, says the surgeon.
#2
The children exhibit the biggest problems as though the adults don't have enough problems themselves. Just a dead end game or should I say experiment. Probably funded by Planned Parenthood types. I call the drug problem Planned parenthood for adults.
#3
I look at "sexual reassignment" (in quotes until they find a way to change the subjects DNA) surgery as something akin to applying paint over structural irregularities.
#3
Assuming there still is a United States and that neither has succumbed to significant economic collapse. Can't build stuff if you don't have the monetary resources to do it with.
#4
Assuming there still is a United States and that neither has succumbed to significant economic collapse. Can't build stuff if you don't have the monetary resources to do it with.
#5
Prob not monetary, raw materials and manufacturing.
No rare earth ores or copper, can't make steel, not allowed to make plastics or paint anything. Can't even drive boats.
h/t Instapundit
[PJMedia] Seems like everyone's a victim in the USA these days, from college "snowflakes" who can't abide someone with views unlike theirs within miles of their campuses to allegedly assaulted women wearing sexually explicit hats to multi-millionaire football players who are sure there's something wrong but can't always remember what it is (other than Donald Trump). The latest of the many entries in this "Great American Victim Derby" is Puerto Rico -- or at least a significant part of the island's leadership.
...It's an old story. The island has always hovered on the brink of collapse. Self-sufficiency was an illusion. I remember growing up in New York City in the fifties and the non-stop immigration of Puerto Ricans (I lived on the edge of Spanish Harlem). No one seemed to be going the other way -- to Puerto Rico -- despite its balmy Caribbean climate and gorgeous beaches. Maybe that was part of the problem. If you visit a tropical island, the last thing on your mind is work. You want to kick back and enjoy neverneverland as long as you can. To some extent, it's the same for locals. Dolce far niente is a great lifestyle, if you can hack it -- seemingly stress free. I'm envious. But everything has a price. You look around and things are dissolving . No infrastructure. No nada. Calamity strikes. And there you are asking for a handout again.
I'm not saying we shouldn't help Puerto Rico. We must and should. The situation is dreadful. But this is a learning opportunity for the islanders. They should take it. Blaming Donald Trump is the most reactionary and self-destructive thing they can do. It's victimhood redux. Leave that to the rapacious ideologues at CNN, the New York Times, etc. They'd blame the eruption of the Indonesian volcanoes on Trump, if that were possible -- and even it it weren't.
It is the best and worst of times for progressives and liberals.
Politically, their obsessions with identity politics and various racial and gender -isms and -ologies have emasculated the Democratic party: loss of governorships, state legislatures, the House, the Senate, the presidency, and the Supreme Court.
Democrats, for the time being at least, are now reduced to largely a coastal, big-city party. It can certainly pile up lots of blue electoral votes. And, thanks to California, Democrats can capture the popular vote, without necessarily winning presidential elections.
Continued on Page 49
#1
The most important thing to remember about "the New Class" is that they're second raters whose main activity is defense of their social & economic positions against competition from their betters. The ideology they profess is a perfect tool for it.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Townhall] - The Telegraph U.K. reports that Bath Spa University initially approved a professor’s research grant to study "de-transitioning" transgendered individuals, but revoked the money after surprising early results in the study were deemed "politically incorrect" by the ethics committee.
