- Modern European Jews have been absorbed into general whiteness
- This makes the label tenuous
- William the Conqueror brought Jews to England after the Normad conquest
- They were the property of the King
- They were not permitted to own land
- They were permitted to lend money for interest
- Interest was “evil” in the Christian church, so no one else did it
- The King collected taxes on the money earned, so encouraged the practice
- “Racism” does not translate pigment-by-pigment but adapts as needed
- Jewish communities (“People of the Book”) in Arabic nations did not face racism like in Europe and North America
- In the colonial era, “Jews were white Africans”
- “Race is the child or racism, not the other way around”
- The West has been driving for a “Eastern” colony; Israel can be that
- Judeo-Christian narratives were created to make it seem like we are all related
Category: Reading
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“Off White” by Rachel Shabi
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“A Mind of Your Own” by Kelly Brogan, M. D.
- Food is an information source for the body
- Much of current medical practice is based on theory, not reliable evidence
- Inflammation is a key correlate
- Depression is a symptom of problems
- Short-term stress is okay but long-term is deadly
- Depression shares a lot in common with inflammation
- There is probably not “good” and “bad” bacteria but relative levels
- Cholesterol is needed for a healthy brain
- “If you need an antacid daily, maybe you should consider a dietary changes”
- Acetaminophen blunts emotions
- No indigenous diet is strictly vegetarian
- Cellular starches are okay
- Beans, beans, beans
- Most cholesterol in your body is produced by your body
- Scents come alter moods and hormones
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“Our Kids” by Robert Putnam
- ‘If the kids you are with can only afford a Coke, that is all you order.’
- In the 1950’s, lower classes could more easily excel than today
- “We were poor and we didn’t know it”
- Gender had little effect in High School but a powerful effect in College
- Generally, Americans agree in equality of opportunity
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“NOTES ON COMPLEXITY” by Neil Theise
- Chaos theory led to Complexity theory
- Complexity requires
- Numbers matter
- Fewer than 20 ants and no one follows order
- Everything is local
- There is no mastermind
- Quenched disorder (low-level disorder)
- Something to explore with possible alternative
- Negative feedback loops are critical
- Otherwise you get runaway growth
- Numbers matter
- Thinking of the body as a fluid may help explain how acupuncture works
- Body heat is crucial to allow mechanical processes
- Something smooth can be subdivided
- Until very recently, metaphysics was basically worthless to the scientific community
- The brain does not create consciousness but transduces it
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“Exclude” by Richard D. Kahlenberg
- Economic blending (poor people living next door to rich people) does more to boost student performance than does giving poor schools more money
- Discriminatory housing today looks like mandating lot sizes, embellishments, and house sizes
- Meritocracy strikes again
- (Things are rarely truly meritocratic; they almost always involve circumstances and bias)
- All affordable housing is dense
- “Housing policies are school policies”
- In progressive areas, racial discrimination is not acceptable but class discrimination is
- The US is unique in that is does not protect class… unlike most other countries
- The biggest problem for businesses is not that people do not know their jobs but that people cannot get along with other people
- Expanded housing would adjust market values down
- (This is problematic for a lot of localities that tax percentages of housing value
- A 0.01% property tax feels fine but a 10% tax is outrageous, even if the dollars are the say)
- More subsidies go to homeowner subsidies (interest deductions) than rental subsidies (Section 8)
- Gentrification is different from displacement
- It is important to make clear that poor white people are also benefited by anti-racism legislation