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In “The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organized Wealth and Power” (Little, Brown), Steve Fraser fumes that what’s gone wrong with political discourse in America is that the left isn’t willing to blame anyone for anything anymore. There used to be battle cries. No more kings! Down with fat cats! Damn the moneycrats! Like Putnam’s argument, Fraser’s is both historical and nostalgic. Fraser longs for the passion and force with which Americans of earlier generations attacked aggregated power. Think of the way Frederick Douglass wrote about slavery, Ida B. Wells wrote about lynching, Ida Tarbell wrote about Standard Oil, Upton Sinclair wrote about the meatpacking industry, and Louis Brandeis wrote about the money trust. These people weren’t squeamish about villains.

Why Inequality Persists in America

zanabism-deactivated20200529

Srebrenica: the forgotten massacre

The Srebrenica massacre of 1995 claimed the lives of more than 8000 Bosniak Muslims during the Bosnian war. It was described as the worst genocidal act on European soil since the Holocaust. Bosniak Muslim men and youth were routinely killed by Serbian soldiers belonging to the army of Republika Srpska from July 11th-13th, their bodies were dispersed in deep lesions in the ground in a manner that has made the identification process an impossibly difficult task, and hidden mass graves are still being uncovered. Thousands of Muslim women and young girls during this time were regularly assaulted and raped with the incentive in mind of creating more soldiers. The attack occurred under the purported safe-guard of the U.N. As the anniversary of the massacre enters its 21st year, a staggering amount of people remain still unaware of the perpetrated genocide that took place, of the Muslim lives that were taken, and of the people that are still mourning their loss. Don’t forget Srebrenica.

zanabism-deactivated20200529

600+ body parts were discovered in a mass grave on October 31st, 2015 in Bosnia. The site is being linked to a nearby mass grave where nearly 400 people were discovered buried in 2013. Almost 10 000 victims still remain unaccounted for from the genocide in 1995.

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Flute Sonata: II. “Cantilena”: Assez lent - Francis Poulenc

Flute: Emmanuel Pahud Piano: Eric le Sage

“Jean-Pierre,” said Poulenc: “you know you’ve always wanted me to write a sonata for flute and piano? Well, I’m going to,’ he said. ‘And the best thing is that the Americans will pay for it! I’ve been commissioned by the Coolidge Foundation to write a chamber piece in memory of Elizabeth Coolidge. Inever knew her, so I think the piece is yours.”

Click to listen to Movement I. Allegro malinconcio Click to listen to Movement III. Presto giocoso

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Flute Sonata: III. Presto giocoso - Francis Poulenc

Flute: Emmanuel Pahud Piano: Eric le Sage

Written for Jean-Pierre Rampal in 1957, Poulenc and Rampal first performed it in June of that year at the Strasbourg Music Festival. The third movement is one of my all time favourites for Flute; I love the playful animé feel, as well as the strong powerful delivery that is given in the high notes.

Pahud and le Sage’s interpretation is my favourite out of many recordings I’ve heard - definitely masters of French music!

Click to listen to Movement I. Allegro malinconico Click to listen to Movement II. “Cantilena”: Assez lent

mikrokosmos

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D, mov. 1 [arr. for erhu]

Had to break my “don’t sign in on Tumblr at work” promise to share this find

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John Cleese: Nobody Has Any Idea at First

We shy away from creative thinking or endeavors for a few possible reasons, a common one of which is fear; fear of failing, of being ridiculed, or of wasting time and money.

We don’t pursue writing a New York Times best selling book because we wouldn’t even know where to start. We don’t attempt to pick-up painting or music because that’s simply not who we are. Or we don’t try a new way to do what we do every day because, well, what we’ve done before has always worked so why change that now?

Who knows what would happen if we allowed ourselves a bit more creative freedom and courage. If we tried new things for the sake of trying them, or if we diligently chased after our passions or dreams with the same gusto we chase after easy entertainment and familiar settings.

In-fact: a common saying in creative circles is that what makes the creative greats in history so great wasn’t their talents or their fortune, but rather their ability to simply take action.

As one example: If you want to write a best seller, the theory goes, you first need to start writing. Easy as that, right? Of course, what comes after the writing matters too, and will be faced with equally frightening uncertainty. But in those instances you must take action yet again: keep writing, contact publishers, make friends with editors and book cover designers. Before you know it you might just have a best selling novel on your hands. Maybe not, but maybe you will, who can ever really say?

In his superb book, So, Anyway…, writer, director, and actor John Cleese gives us some assurance:

“Very very few people have any idea what they’re talking about.”

John goes on to explain that, for anything in life, you and I are just as uncertain about what we’re doing as those we idolize or otherwise look up-to. He writes: “Every now and again you learn another rule until eventually you know enough to play properly.”

How true! The fear of doing something wrong, of failing, of sheer uncertainty about how to go about it, should not prevent us from doing it. Nobody knows how to do anything the first time (not Einstein and his first paper, nor Picasso and his first masterpiece, certainly not me the first time I sat down to write a blog post).

We should not pursue the ideal result or the complete fantasy package when we first pursue any endeavor. Instead: we should embrace our uncertainty and take a first step towards what we dream, whatever first step that may be for us as individuals.

Uncertainty and fear don’t need to prevent you from pursuing your creative self, because everyone encounters those obstacles. It’s what the successful do in those moments that can inspire us to do the same: take action.

Read this next: What’s more important for creatives?

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From the Graphic Culture Department:

From graduation to garbage job (literally): One twentysomething’s struggle

Jackie Roche is a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer from New England, currently living in Minneapolis, MN. She specializes in nonfiction comics. For more of her work, visit jrocheworkshop.com or follow @jrocheworkshop on Twitter.

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Real talk.

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10.16.15

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Last week, a group of legal experts ruled the November 2014 police shooting of 12-year old Tamir Rice “objectively reasonable.” Tamir was shot by police as he sat in a local park where he frequently played, holding a pellet gun. The ruling came despite the fact that there were less than two seconds between the time the police first make contact with Tamir and the time he fell to the ground shot. Almost no time for the officers to communicate any set of instructions to the boy about what they wanted or what they needed him to do. They simply drove up and started shooting. That’s “objectively reasonable.” .. (more here)

feelinthat

sonicthetrapgod-deactivated2016

the thing about housing discrimination is that i’ve sat in multiple lectures that covered it and in those lectures, the professors made it clear in no uncertain terms that housing discrimination happened, white people did it, and the effects of it are blatantly apparent in modern society. to sum up, white privilege is real and white people made sure of it in the past and continue to make sure of it in the present. what kills me about these lectures is that, like i said, the professors are blunt about it. they don’t cut corners to make the kids at the PWI i go to feel better, and certainly don’t mince on the facts they have to back the lessons up. i look around whenever i’m in lectures like these and i see the kids im class with. i see a group of mostly white students, probably middle class, and likely republican since this is louisiana (or at least not socially aware in the way that we think of it), and i wonder just wtf they’re hearing? because we’re both in the same class hearing the same proof of white privilege (and being tested on it so they have to actively learn it in some way) yet when i leave the class room, i’m reaffirmed in my understanding of institutionalized oppression, and when they leave, they still look down on lower class members of society (especially poc), are actively anti-black, appropriate everything under the fucking sun, deny things like gentrification and the prison industrial complex, and blame black on black crime for every injustice in the world just for good measure??? like???

revealnews

The VA is struggling with its promise to end long benefits waits this year

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has reduced its chronic backlog of veterans’ disability claims – deemed unacceptable by President Barack Obama when he campaigned for office – but so far, the agency is struggling to meet its self-imposed deadline of eliminating long wait times by 2015.

And despite making inroads over the last two years in streamlining the system for compensating conditions such as service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer, the VA is back to square one in some ways.

Read the full story.

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Carrera 4S

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Violence is rampant in El Salvador. In the month of August alone, there were 900 homicides. That’s a daily average of 30 murders in a country with a population of 6.3 million — less than New York City.

At least 35 of those murders have been officially ruled feminicides — a crime involving the violent and deliberate killing of a woman.

The violence is seen largely as a product of two warring criminal gangs, MS-13 and the rival Barrio 18. There are very few spaces in the country that these gangs have not staked out.

The violence is often as senseless as it is massive. Just a day after arriving in the country, our reporting team found ourselves at a grisly scene: A 15-year-old girl had been shot at close range while crossing a busy intersection. Marcela’s family told us they believed she’d been murdered for living in one gang’s territory but selling tortillas in another. She’d crossed the wrong street.

The Rev. Gerardo Mendez, who has been a priest in San Salvador for nearly a decade, works closely with at-risk populations — youths living in areas firmly under a gang’s grip. He sat down with us and answered some questions about the situation in El Salvador.

Warning: Some of the depictions and images in this story are graphic.

How El Salvador Fell Into A Web Of Gang Violence

Photos: Encarni Pindado for NPR

votedami

I have read it though..... Feminism is the political, social economic ect equality to men as it says on ur blog. But the Quran contradicts this on all levels eg 2 women equal to men, women get less inheritance. Verse 4:34 need i say more? I could go on forever But ya know Islam is all about equality lol

(Forgive me, this got much longer than I intended, and I apologize for that. There’s a lot of good information in there though, if you take the time to read it! But if not, and you don’t have the time or patience, you can private message me and we can have a conversation about things!)When you read something, it’s important to take the author’s bias into account, even if you’re reading a translation of the Qur’an. You’ll find that there’s several translations, each one interpreting the text a little differently. My favorite one is by Muhammad Assad, who also provides great interpretation of the text (just in case you’d ever like to reread it).In addition, it’s not the Qur’an isn’t as black and white as you put it, and it’s just as important to take the historical perspective and look at the society that the Qur’an is speaking to, as well as the words it’s telling them. For example, in reference to two women being equal to one man:In matters of law and business, it was practically unheard of to even have a woman’s contribution in medieval Arabia. Of course, there were anomalies where women ran very successful businesses, but in general it’s important to remember we’re dealing with a society that was previously burying their infant daughters in the desert (just because they’re not male). The Qur’an not only says that the woman’s perspective is important in judicial and business matters, but that another woman, not another man, should be there to make sure the previous woman doesn’t make any mistakes in their testimony or insight.(2:282)As far as women getting less inheritance:Upon a family member’s death men received more inheritance because it was their obligation to take care of the women and children who were left behind by the family member who passed away. That inheritance was specifically to be used to make sure that the remaining family was supported. However, any wealth that a woman accumulated, whether via inheritance or of her own accord, was hers and hers alone. In Islamic Arabia it was not permitted for men to take from their wive’s wealth, so whereas a man received more inheritance, it had to be used to take care of other people, and a woman’s inheritance could be used as she saw fit.(Also, depending on the situation there are instances where women inherit more than men, and where women inherit while men don’t. Those scenarios are deeper in the study of Shari’ah and I can expound on them if you’d like. Just send me a message and I can explain it.)This post is getting longer than I intended, so I’ll stop it here, but you can find the interpretation of that verse you mentioned (4:34) in the Tafsir (exegesis) of Muhammad Assad’s Qur’an translation.Now, I try to be a rational and academic person, and I can certainly agree that medieval Islamic society was patriarchal, by our standards misogynistic, and often more barbaric than the modern person is comfortable with. However, the words of the Qur’an were groundbreaking at the time, and I mean that word “groundbreaking” quite ardently. If you examine the word groundbreaking, you’ll notice its is an architectural metaphor in that it implies that something started a foundation for a structure to be built upon it, in this case for feminism and equal rights. That’s why today, I can call myself a feminist, because the structure, height, and aptitude, of my mind is built upon a foundation that started 1400 years ago and has ethically advanced with every generation.I hope that all made sense, and if you have any further comments or questions I implore you to send me a private message. If we’re going to argue about this, I’d prefer it be between you and I, and not for everyone else to spectate. It also provides us both with a sense of respect for the other person, because it’ll be a conversation and not an argument. I wish you the best!

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