equality

A collection of 116 posts

Crime & Punishment

Inductive Reasoning and Black People Hanging

For those of you who don't know, there has been some very dubious activity concerning two black men who were found hanged within ten days and 50 miles of each other. One was found near a homeless encampment in Victorville, the other across from Palmdale City Hall. Both

conceptual nominalism

Statues, The Sorites Paradox & Slippery Slopes

It's my favourite philosophical thought experiment. There is a reason that I find the Sorites Paradox compelling, insightful and very important: it is everywhere and has ramifications right across the board. I'll get onto it later. In my opinion, it goes hand in hand with conceptual

Crime & Punishment

This Just Utterly Blew My Mind

This absolutely blew me away if even remotely true, and there is absolutely no reason to think it isn't. Watch this, please, and let me know your experiences and thoughts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLUcS9X93NA   Stay in touch! Like A Tippling Philosopher on Facebook: A Tippling

Crime & Punishment

The Myth of Heather MacDonald's "The Myth of Systematic Police Racism"

Confirmation bias is a pervasive challenge. I am victim to it; you are victim to it. I have been embroiled in many arguments about racial equality in many different places. I was beset on Twitter by a number of people after I took issue with someone who posted this: There

Black Lives Matter

On Racism and Changing Minds: Lurkers and Sowing Seeds

It's at times like these, as an atheist, that I like to listen to the words of Jesus... “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky

Black Lives Matter

On Racism and Changing Minds

The reason I am saying this post is that it is setting up a second piece after it. Racism is high on pretty much everyone's agenda right now. I am an active poster on my own personal Facebook page and in this time of turmoil, there have been

equality

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson: "Where Are You?" Ouch.

Dwayne Johnson, though people have previously actually asked him to run for president because he's such a good guy, has distanced himself from any outright political position or statement. Until now. And my, he's saved up for a good one. This should hurt. He carries a

equality

Quotes of the Day on Equality Politics

In my recent blog piece, "Black.", there was a number of very thoughtful or interesting comments to further discuss. This, from (((J_Enigma32))): I'm from Flint, Michigan, and as a disclaimer, I'm so white that the SPF on my sunscreen is measured in scientific

equality

Black.

Obvious disclaimer: I am white. I suppose I am very white British and so speaking to the experiences of black people in the context of police violence and racism in the US is possibly problematic. Yes, I am privileged, and I don't give a damn if that triggers

equality

On Castigating Peaceful Protest

This isn't something that I haven't said before. A part of Minneapolis is on fire as a result of the protests about police violence after George Floyd died after a policeman knelt on his neck for nine minutes, in a rerun of Eric Garner's

equality

Equality of Opportunity, Homogeneity & Granularity

Here's the context: During our Tippling Philosophers' Zoom meeting last night, we got to discussing identity politics, positive discrimination and positive action. Being the leftie liberal I am, I was arguing that positive discrimination is most often straw manned (as I thought it was last night), is

equality

Uganda: ‘Kill the Gays’ Law Imposing Death Penalty on Homosexuals

Uganda is one of those countries that has had the unfortunate "privilege" of receiving money and missionaries from the United States. And those missionaries and that money isn't about making the country a nicer, more cohesive country. It's not about pulling those communities together.

equality

Warren's Drop Mic Moment on Same-Sex Marriage

This is great. Warren also gives a slant on this from a religious bent, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr8-Ln3FK64

Crime & Punishment

Responding to the "Race Realist" Challenge

As my regular readers will know, I have issued a challenge to a regular "race realist" who has been frequently posting about the IQ differences between blacks and whites and the subsequent (and independent) criminal behaviour differences between these two groups of people. I will put aside the

Democratic Party

The Party Switch (and PragerU)

I had not been aware of who PragerU were. It amazes me how insidious the disseminators of supposed information are, particularly in the US. For those who don't know, PragerU (Prager University) is not a university but an online "educator" funded by right-wing, conservative organisations and

Conservatives

Why Diversity in the Conservative Cabinet Is a Bad Thing

This is an absolutely fascinating call into James O'Brien on LBC. Listen to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZfDh5zC-tg The opportunism or downright Machiavellian plans of the Johnson administration to create one of the or even the single most diverse cabinets ever can be seen in

equality

Link Between LGBT, Religion & Homelessness, Suicide

Being gay or in any way sexually different can be a real challenge for people who live in religious communities, and it appears that the higher the religiosity, the more challenging this will be. The BBC recently reported on the phenomenon of homelessness in the context of those who have

Democratic Party

Trump, his Racism, and the Reaction

I'm sure that everyone who reads this will know exactly what has happened over the last few days. But in case you have been on holiday to Antarctica, here it is. Donald Trump, as President of the United States of America, and as most powerful man in the

Crime & Punishment

Evangelical Group Wants Gays Removed from Anti-Lynching Bill

Wow. The only reason you would want to remove a category of people from an anti-lynching bill is so that you have legal permission to lynch them. This group of people want to lynch gays. Let that sink in. This is modern America. A federal anti-lynching bill has aroused the

equality

Humanists Join Other Civil Rights Groups in Support of NO BAN Act

This from the American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association is pleased to be an official endorsing organization of the NO BAN Act, a bill to repeal the discriminatory Muslim ban and prevent any such future unconstitutional bans. The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act will be introduced in both

discrimination

Texas 'religious freedom' bill opens door to LGBT discrimination, opponents say

Things are a mess, this way and that, in the States. The Guardian reports on the latest worry: Civil rights advocates are condemning a proposed Texas law they say opens the door to discrimination against the LGBT community and religious minorities. The Texas state senate passed Senate Bill 17 earlier

equality

On the Shaming of Karen Pence

The Wall Street Journal recently reported, in "The Shaming of Karen Pence": Will no one speak up for Karen Pence other than her husband? In scarcely a week, the vice president’s wife has become a public face of hate. CNN’s John King suggests that what Mrs.

AHA

Humanists Denounce SCOTUS Decision to Allow Trans Military Ban

Below is a press release for the American Humanist Association. I thought it might be worthy of a little discussion. The question, I suppose, is whether the military is any way different to any other walk of life. There are arguments that are similar to the women on the frontline

equality

Races Do Not "Exist" Even Though They Might "Exist".

Yup, you guessed it, we're gonna return to the Sorites Paradox. Sorry to bore you. This comment came up on the older post "IQ: Using Race Divisively" and I thought I would go over some points I have previously made: You are clearly not very bright

equality

A Maori Santa

This guest piece comes from guerrillasurgeon over in New Zealand, and he tackles people's cultural indignation at a Maori Santa: This week there’s been a huge fuss about a “Maori Santa”. I’m not sure that this counts as a tremendously philosophical question, but maybe it is.