Category Archives: Political Correctness

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For years, we have anxiously awaited Leslie Iwerks documentary about Walt Disney Imagineering. Well, its finally here as part of the launch of Disney+.

The first episode spans the course of an hour and basically covers the advent of WDI through to the end of Walt Disneys life. In the course of the program, we see the creation of Disneyland, its evolution into a world renowned tourist destination, Walts triumphs leading him and the folks at WED Enterprises to create attractions for the 1964-65 New York Worlds Fair, take a trip through Pirates of the Caribbean, and delve into his final dream, Walt Disney World.

In the midst of this introductory episode, we are briefly introduced to the earliest Imagineers such as John Hench, Harriet Burns, Marc Davis, Alice Davis, and Mary Blair, just to name a few. The documentary doesnt delve too far into the full stories of these individuals, rather introducing them and enough about them to adequately tell the tale of the development of Disneyland and WED Enterprises from the early 1950s until 1967.

Even as a well-versed Disney Parks aficionado, I was delighted to see some footage I had never seen before related to classic attractions such as The Jungle Cruise, the Autopia, and the Matterhorn. For example, actual footage is shown of Autopia cars smashing into each other (violently, I might add) before the bars were added in to keep the vehicles traveling in their own lanes. I had certainly heard this story told a million times regarding Disneylands opening days, but I had never seen the playful car crashes for myself. The Imagineering Story offers plenty of moments like this, along with remastered clips and captivating visuals that will keep you entertained, even through those stories youve already been told.

While it certainly could go further on controversial topics, there were moments of surprise in the documentary where Disney allows it to be brutally honest. I was surprised to hear mention of buckling to political correctness overtime on Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as references to the many amusement and theme parks that tried to rip-off Disneyland following its many successes.

I see that websites like IGN have reviewed this show and given it mediocre ratings. Im sorry, but this isnt for you. Its for us. Disney+ seems to have an opening lineup striving to reach every one of the companys fans in every corner of the fandom. If you read this website, you love the Disney Parks, and it is likely that you have seen every documentary, TV special, or anything of the like about these places because there are really so few. We are in many ways starved for content as a fandom in the grand scheme of things (to the point where many of us have made careers of creating our own content at the parks), and now we have a brilliantly assembled documentary series about what we love. It is thoughtfully put together with footage and interviews never-before-seen, enough to make a hardened curmudgeon like myself remember what it was like so many years ago to learn new things about the parks for the first time. I felt that same childish wonder I once had hearing the story of the creation of Disneyland for the first time as I did seeing footage of a bobsled gliding through the unfinished Matterhorn. Moments like that made me forget that I had stayed up past 2am to watch this. Moments like Bob Gurr sinking a basket in the Matterhorn basketball hoop and Marty Sklar walking amidst the audio-animatronic cast of Pirates of the Caribbean made me feel more awake at 3am than I did at 3pm yesterday.

Yes, the Imagineering Story will undoubtedly tell you things that you already knew as a hardcore fan, but there is enough in the way of glorious visuals, never-before-seen footage, and appearances from those who created this magical thing we love so much, that you will be enthralled every moment of the first episode. Disney+ has offered more than enough reasons for you to get onboard already, but The Imagineering Story honestly would have been enough for me to feel good about my subscription.

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DISNEY+ REVIEW: The Imagineering Story - Episode 1 - "The Happiest Place on Earth" Will Put a Smile on Any Fan's Face - wdwnt.com

MADRID, SPAIN - Prime Minister Pedro Snchezs Socialists won Spains national election on Sunday but large gains by the upstart far-right Vox party appear certain to widen the political deadlock in the European Unions fifth-largest economy.

After a fourth national ballot in as many years and the second in less than seven months, the left-wing Socialists held on as the leading power in the National Parliament. With 99% of the votes counted, the Socialists won 120 seats, down three seats from the last election in April and still far from the absolute majority of 176 needed to form a government alone.

The big political shift came as right-wing voters flocked to Vox, which only had broken into Parliament in the spring for the first time.

The far-right party led by 43-year-old Santiago Abascal, who speaks of reconquering Spain in terms that echo the medieval wars between Christian and Moorish forces, rocketed from 24 to 52 seats. That will make Vox the third leading party in the Congress of Deputies and give it much more leverage in forming a government and crafting legislation.

The party has vowed to be much tougher on both Catalan separatists and migrants.

Spain's National Vote an Epic Struggle Between Left, Right

Spaniards are voting in the country's fourth election in as many years

Abascal called his partys success the greatest political feat seen in Spain.

Just 11 months ago, we werent even in any regional legislature in Spain. Today we are the third-largest party in Spain and the party that has grown the most in votes and seats, said Abascal, who promised to battle the progressive dictatorship.

Right-wing populist and anti-migrant leaders across Europe celebrated Voxs strong showing.

Marine Le Pen, who heads Frances National Rally party, congratulated Abascal, saying it was impressive how his work is already bearing fruit after only a few years.

In Italy, Matteo Salvini of the right-wing League party tweeted a picture of himself next to Abascal with the text Congratulations to Vox! above Spanish and Italian flags. And in the Netherlands, anti-Islam Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders also posted a picture of himself and Abascal and wrote FELICIDADES Spanish for congratulations with three thumbs-up emojis.

Sundays results means there will be no end to the stalemate between forces on the right and the left in Spain, suggesting the country could go many more weeks or even months without a new government.

The mainstream conservative Popular Party rebounded from their previous debacle in the April vote to 87 seats from 66, a historic low. The far-left United We Can, which had a chance to help the Socialists form a left-wing government over the summer but rejected the offer, lost some ground to get 35 seats.

The undisputed loser of the night was the center-right Citizens party, which collapsed to 10 seats from 57 in April after its leader Albert Rivera refused to help the Socialists form a government and tried to copy some of Voxs hard-line positions.

Snchezs chances of staying in power will still hinge on finally winning over the United We Can party and several regional parties, a complicated maneuver that he has failed to pull off over the past few months.

These elections have only served for the right to grow stronger and for Spain to have one of the strongest far-right parties in Europe, said United We Can leader Pablo Iglesias. The only way to stop the far-right in Spain is to have a stable government. We again extend our hand to Pedro Snchez.

Vox has already joined forces with the Popular Party and Citizens to take over many city and regional governments in the past year. Those three groups would readily band together to oust Snchez, who is seen by the right-wing opposition as too soft on the Catalan secessionist movement.

Julia Giobelina, a 34-year-old web designer from Madrid, was angry at having to vote for the second time this year but said she cast her ballot in hopes of stopping the rise of Vox.

They are the new fascism, Giobelina said. We citizens need to stand against privatization of health care and other public services.

Spain returned to democracy in the late 1970s after a near four-decade right-wing dictatorship under the late Gen. Francisco Franco. The country used to take pride in claiming that no far-right group had seats in the national Parliament, unlike the rest of Europe.

That changed in the spring, but the Socialists April victory was still seen by many as a respite for Europe, where right-wing parties had gained much ground.

Vox relied on its anti-migrant message and attacks on laws that protect women from domestic abuse as well as what it considers leftist ideology disguised as political correctness. Still, it does not advocate a break from the EU in the very pro-EU Spain.

But it has flourished after recent riots in Catalonia by separatists, capitalizing on Spanish nationalist sentiment stirred up by the countrys worst political conflict in decades. Many right-wingers were also not pleased by the Socialist governments exhumation of Francos remains last month from his gargantuan mausoleum so he could no longer be exalted in a public place.

Dozens of people cheered and shouted President! President! on Sunday as Abascal voted in Madrid.

Only by getting rid of Snchez we can preserve Spain as it is, not by reaching agreements with the (Catalan) separatists, said Alfonso Pedro Monestilla, a 59-year-old civil servant who voted for Vox.

The debate over Catalonia, however, promises to fester.

The three Catalan separatist parties won a combined 23 seats on Sunday. Many Catalans have been angered by the decision last month by Spains Supreme Court, which sentenced to prison nine Catalan politicians and activists who led a 2017 drive for the regions independence. The ruling has triggered massive daily protests in Catalonia that left more than 500 people injured, roughly half of them police officers, and dozens arrested.

More protests are expected beginning Monday.

Some of Catalonias 5.5 million voters said they wanted their vote to deliver a message that politicians had to resolve the situation.

We are a bit tired, but I hope that the Spanish government understands that there is no other remedy than taking us into account, said Cari Bailador, a retired teacher in Barcelona.

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Socialists Win Spanish Election but Far-right Party Surges - VOA News

This whole concept of political correctness its going to destroy our nation. That was the no-nonsense response of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson last week to Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va.

Wexton was trying for a gotcha moment in a congressional hearing when she asked Carson if he would apologize for being quoted for expressing concern over big, hairy men trying to gain entry to an Alaska womens homeless shelter.

I could not have said it better. On the most recent edition of Washington Watch, Carsonor Dr. Politically Incorrect, as Ive called himjoined me to make it clear he will not kowtow to political correctness.

Its foolishness because, you know, the First Amendment guarantees people freedom of speech, he said. What political correctness does is it makes people afraid to express themselves. So coming in the back door, it actually suppresses the First Amendment. And we need to be very, very wary of anything that takes away our constitutional rights.

Carson went on to nail the consequences of caving into the lefts tantrums:

Anything that doesnt agree with them is a hateful word, and thats what I mean when I said we need to be more mature than that. Thats what I might expect from a third-grade playground. If we make everything such a sensitive subject and everybody has to sit down and filter everything that they say, and were listening carefully to their words instead of what their meaning is, what do we become as a society and as a people?

Weve got to nip it in the bud before it gets to the place where everybody just is silent. And they cant say anything because its going to offend somebody.

Carson is speaking up for what is a commonsense policy: Sexually assaulted and abused women seeking shelter should not be forced to sleep next to men who think or act like they are women when they are biological men.

But he is also speaking up for free speech and freedom of religion. The left portrays the Trump administration as lacking compassion for people who need housing, but the opposite is true.

It is the Department of House and Urban Development under Carsons leadership that has expanded access to people who need housing because the agency is once again allowing faith-based organizations to partner with the government after they were excluded during the Obama years. This inclusion of faith-based organization helps meet the needs in local communities all across America.

The Obama administration required faith-based groups to leave their faith at the door and pushed bizarre policies that put men in womens homeless shelters. Thankfully, we have a HUD secretary who understands the principle that has guided America for centuriesequal rights for all, special rights for none.

Thats what makes America work, not political correctness.

Originally published in Tony PerkinsWashington Update, which is written with the aid of Family Research Council senior writers.

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Ben Carson Rejects Political Correctness as Fatal to the Nation - Daily Signal

The Thanksgiving Play

Written by Larissa Fasthorse, Directed by Scott Edmiston; Scenic Design, Janie E. Howland; Costume Design, Rachel Padula-Shufelt; Lighting Design, Karen Perlow; Sound Design and Original Music, Dewey Dellay; Props Artisan, Jennifer Butler; Production Stage Manager, Diane McLean; Assistant Stage Manager, Betsy Pierce

CAST: Amanda Collins, Jesse Hinson, Grace Experience, Barlow Adamson

Performances through November 10 at Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-585-5678 or http://www.lyricstage.com

Get in the mood for the rapidly approaching holiday season by going to the Lyric Stage Company of Boston's production of The Thanksgiving Play, a sharp and funny satire by Native American playwright Larissa Fasthorse that holds a mirror up to reflect the craziness of political correctness on steroids. How does a quartet of white theater artists tell the Thanksgiving story and honor Native American Heritage Month in a 45-minute elementary school play without offending anyone while being historically accurate? Very carefully, and not without numerous false starts, each one more ridiculous than the last, until not to decide is to decide.

FastHorse scripts a wild ride that Director Scott Edmiston wrangles into a delectable offering, thanks to the great ensemble work and comedic skills of Amanda Collins (Logan), Jesse Hinson (Jaxton), Barlow Adamson (Caden), and Grace Experience (Alicia). Logan is a drama teacher who is anxious to create a meaningful play while responding to the requirements of several overseers. Her boyfriend Jaxton is an earthy-crunchy, yoga-loving street performer who is uber-supportive of Logan's needs, and together they aspire to be allies to people of all stripes and beliefs. Caden, a geeky third grade teacher, is their history expert and wannabe playwright, and Alicia is a beautiful actress from Los Angeles hired to provide the Native American perspective to the project.

As different as they are from each other, the characters share their whiteness and varying degrees of cluelessness about the subject matter they're trying to dramatize and the unrepresented people whose viewpoint is essential to an accurate narrative. Even as she is making gentle fun of her characters, FastHorse draws them sympathetically, making them likable and making it clear that no one has a nefarious agenda. Simply, their desire to do the right thing far exceeds their capacity to do so. Watching them interact with each other, we see a broad range of reactions, with patience, frustration, and confusion topping the list.

For those of you who think it might be easy to devise an appropriate play, FastHorse provides brief interstitial scenes, a series of vignettes inspired by actual teachers' Pinterest boards showing lame attempts to put on a Thanksgiving play. Edmiston has fun staging these snippets, with a big assist from costume designer Rachel Padula-Shufelt. They serve as examples of what many of us probably grew up with in elementary school, as well as what Logan et al are trying desperately to avoid in their devised educational piece. Knowing that this is satire, it makes it easy to relax and laugh at it, although if we're being honest, we are actually laughing at ourselves.

Significant points hiding in plain sight in The Thanksgiving Play include the seriousness with which Logan and Jaxton take themselves, Caden's need to explicitly follow the history as he knows it, and Alicia's buy-in to the American beauty culture. The more serious the characters become, the more ridiculous they are and the funnier the play becomes. Adding to the overall enjoyment is a feeling of nostalgia, visually evoked by Janie E. Howland's classroom design, the visceral connection to this most American of holidays (be it positive or negative), and the experience of sitting in the dark and laughing with a bunch of strangers who share our love of good theater.

Photo credit: Glenn Perry (Jesse Hinson, Amanda Collins)

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BWW Review: THE THANKSGIVING PLAY: Pardon Our Political Correctness - Broadway World

In a strange sort of way, a recent Sky News story reminded me of Luke 11. Thats where Jesus asks whether, if your child asked fora fish, youd give them a snake? Or if they askedfor an egg, would you hand them a scorpion?

Heres the articles headline: Hundreds of young trans people seeking help to return to original sex. The story featured a woman who, after publicly admitting regret over her so-called surgical transition, was contacted by hundreds of people in her part of England who felt the same way.

One of those people, Ruby, also struggledwith eating disorders.One would think that thecombinationof gender dysphoria and eating disorders wouldsuggest to medical professionals that Ruby was suffering from body image issues. But, as she told Sky News,the doctors never even suggested there might be a connection there worth exploring.

Instead, it was Heres your hormones, heres your surgery, off you go.Or, to borrow Jesus words, Heres your scorpion, heres your snake.

This story is far from uncommon.Youngpeoplein emotionalpain and distress are asking adults for help. But, because of our ideological blind spots, we give them serpents and scorpions instead of what they really need.

Just consider the name given toa new childrens pediatric clinicat Akron Childrens Hospital: Center for Gender Affirming Medicine. Since the fundamental connection between gender and biological reality has already been severed by our ideological commitments, its safe to assume that doctors there will affirm, both in their diagnoses and with their prescribed treatments, whatever gender a child claims they are.

But what about the Rubys of the world? What about the hundreds of people in that one part of England who were given the wrong treatment for their psychological issues? They are victims of our bad ideas, and our blind spots. Too often, they are forced to be invisible victims, ignored because their very existence challenges the new sexual orthodoxy.

Many physicians today simply ignore that up to80 percent of the children who suffer from gender dysphoria will eventually outgrow those feelings. Even worse, they fail to connect the dots between gender dysphoria and potentially serious mental illnesses that often accompany itlike depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Or, in Rubys case, a severe eating disorder.

Multiple issues like this spark the chicken and egg questions. Does gender dysphoria cause depression and anxiety? Or is gender dysphoria a symptom of depression and anxiety?Thetruthis that no one knows with any certainty. But, the new gender ideology is leading many professionals to proceed with treatment as if gender dysphoria is no disorder at all.

So, the best treatment (the theory goes) is to affirm the young personsbelief that they are transgender and initiate the transition process as soon as possible. This will supposedly reduce the inner conflict, and in turn help with their other disorders.

This neat and tidy theory has one big problem: Theres no evidence it works.In fact, evidence points the other way.A 2011 study that followed 324 Swedish menwho had undergone sexual reassignment surgery found that 10-15 years later,their suicide ratewas 20 times higher thanthat of their peers.

Anearlier study in Britaincommissionedby the Guardiannewspaperfound that There is no conclusive evidence that sex change operations improve the lives of transsexuals, with many people remaining severely distressed and even suicidal after the operation . . .

Today, affirmation passes for care, not because it actually is, but because it affirms gender ideology, even ifit leads to life-altering surgery or hormonal treatments.If the patient later regrets it, or hurts themselves, or are miserable, well just blame it on transphobia.

Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have victims. We need to ensure that the victims of bad gender ideology are no longer invisible. Their stories must be heard.

Download MP3 Audio Here.

BreakPointis a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.

John Stonestreetis President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host ofBreakPoint,a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN),and is the co-author ofMaking Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

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Affirming Rather than Treating Gender Dysphoria: The Invisible Victims of Political Correctness - Christianheadlines.com

Players and coaches often wont outright admit that some games mean more than others either out of political correctness or respect for their opponents. But the reality of college football and sports for that matter is that all games are not created equally, and thats perfectly fine.

For weeks, members of the Florida football team have been saying something along the lines of this is the biggest game of the season because its the next game.

Well, this Saturdays game against Georgia is truly the biggest game of the season.

The Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party gets this honor by virtue of it being a rivalry game, having College Football Playoff implications and its winner deciding which team represents the SEC East in the conference championship game over the past four years.

The No. 6 Gators expect to be healthy for their third top-10 matchup of the season against No. 8 Georgia.

Linebacker Jonathan Greenard (ankle), defensive end Jabari Zuniga (ankle) and wide receiver Kadarius Toney (shoulder) are all expected to return.

It will be good with everybody back there, even on the offensive side with KT (Toney), Greenard said. Just seeing guys like that running the ball again, Zu (Zuniga) back out there and everybody back out there how it was Week 1 or Week 0.

His comment shows just how long its been since the Gators (7-1, 4-1 SEC) have not had key contributors sidelined. UF will welcome the reinforcements on both sides of the ball.

In its past two meetings with Georgia (6-1, 3-1 SEC), Florida has been outscored 78-24.

The Bulldogs offense runs through its ground game and it has been stellar in that regard during its current win streak over Florida. UGA has run for 481 yards in the teams past two meetings, including 104 yards by running back DAndre Swift last year.

Having Greenard and Zuniga back will bolster the Gators run defense, which suffered in their absence. Their return will also help the pass rush against Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, one of the most accurate passers in the FBS. Hes ranked eighth in the nation in completion percentage, connecting on more than 70 percent of his passes.

He's a patient, smart quarterback who doesn't do anything to lose the game, Greenard said.

Fromm, though, is coming off the lowest passing yardage total of his career (35) in an underwhelming 21-0 win over Kentucky. This came after a 20-17 overtime loss at home to unranked South Carolina, a team UF beat on the road 38-27 two weeks ago.

Still, Fromm is 2-0 in his career against the Gators and has thrown four touchdowns to one interception in those games.

On the other side of the ball, Florida has struggled against UGA as well. The Gators have less than 200 passing yards in their past two games against the Bulldogs.

But this season, UFs offense is more defined by its aerial attack than its running game with the emergence of quarterback Kyle Trask and the comfort of having one of the deepest receiving rooms in college football. And Toneys return only bolsters Floridas best unit.

I think its going to help our offense a lot this week, just having him back as a weapon, going against a great defense like Georgia has, Trask said.

The road to Atlanta will be paved in Jacksonville this weekend. Florida is better prepared to knock off Georgia than it has been in three years and the Bulldogs appear more vulnerable than they have been in that same time frame.

Weve got a chance to make the SEC Championship, cornerback C.J. Henderson said. It starts with this game.

Follow Kyle Wood on Twitter @Kkylewood. Contact him at[emailprotected]

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Gators better positioned for Georgia game than in recent years - The Independent Florida Alligator

A skull door knocker and cobweb decorations on the day before Halloween in Philadelphia. Bastiaan Slabbers/Getty Images hide caption

A skull door knocker and cobweb decorations on the day before Halloween in Philadelphia.

It's that time of year: Leaves are falling, temperatures are dropping, families are heading out to the pumpkin patch and that one neighbor is preparing to hand out raisins to kids who'd much, much rather have candy. All is well at least until our social media feeds are flooded with the annual onslaught of racial Halloween faux pas.

Often these incidents trigger debate about what should and shouldn't be allowed when it comes to festivities. It's a tired conversation that often ends in diatribes about the tyranny of political correctness and how no one knows how to have fun anymore. We don't want to have that conversation; we'd rather just eat our treats in peace. That's why we're bringing you our Code Switch Guide to Halloween. Unsure if your decorations have racial overtones? Wondering what costumes are fair game? We've got you covered so you can have some fearful fun.

Let's start with some terminology: Halloween is all about the fantastical world of horror. Scary costumes, eerie noises, creepy decorations, cursed images. But ... "spooky"? It's a term some people use around this time of year without much thought. But in the era after World War II, it also became a slur for black people. An Ask Code Switch reader wrote in 2017 to ask us about the appropriate use of "spook" and "spooky," so we dove into its history and offered some guidance:

"Be thoughtful about the fact that [spook] now might have the connotation of referring to a black person in a disparaging way," sociolinguist Renee Blake told us. "If someone says, 'Did you get spooked?' and there are no black people there, then, OK, you mean 'Did you get scared or frightened?' That's fine I get it." In other words, be conscious of your surroundings.

Of course, when it comes to Halloween, language is just the beginning.

We have a joke here at Code Switch that Halloween is like blackface Christmas. And every year, there's at least one headline with the story of one very tasteless costume. These scandals cycle back around again and again and again.

When it comes to this topic, we've been there before with a whole podcast episode about it. As our very own Gene Demby put it, in response to the infamous Megyn Kelly statement that she didn't understand why blackface on Halloween is a problem: "Maybe these annual conversations should be less about whether blackface is bad, but why so many of us have so much historical illiteracy about its badness."

Sure, no one ever *really* intends to offend others with their rendition of a famous black character or icon (do they?), but intent shouldn't be at the forefront of our examination (nor should it take precedent in the apology that follows).

Moving on from shoe polish, here are some more costume ideas that fit into our do's and don'ts.

First, under the do's:

Go for one of the classics: pirate, astronaut, ghost, cheerleader. You know the drill. Or spice it up with some pop culture creativity: Harness physiological terror by dressing up as a Tethered from Us, an alien at Area 51 or, if you're looking for a group costume, 30 to 50 feral hogs.

Now for some don'ts:

Let's start with the obvious. Stay away from the sexy Indian fringe-and-headdresses idea (there's nothing erotic about genocide!). Geisha wear (yes, this includes kimonos) and transphobic ensembles are also off-limits. Anything that makes a spectacle out of a culture or ethnicity is to be avoided.

But what if there hasn't been a media storm condemning a certain costume and you still sense something is off? Like when a reader wrote to us about her child wanting to dress as a voodoo doll. "I don't know enough about Louisiana culture or African religious traditions to know whether this would hurt or offend someone," she said.

Her instinct that something felt off? Right on the mark. NPR's Leah Donnella scouted out the origins of "voodoo" and its use as a catchall for many religions. The best known of those is Haitian Vodou, which is vastly misunderstood by Americans and is not to be confused with what you see in movies like Indiana Jones or The Princess and the Frog. The conclusion, as our story put it, is that "when it comes to Halloween, treat Vodou like you would any other faith. That is to say, don't delve into anyone else's religious traditions (real or dreamed up by Hollywood) in search of a costume."

All in all, you should trust your suspicions. If you have to ask yourself whether your costume is offensive, it likely is. And you don't want to be the only one in on the joke.

Great. So your language is in check. Your costume is in check. You're on track to become the best on the block. Now let's talk decorations.

There are endless ways to funk up your displays: jack-o'-lanterns, broomsticks and cobwebs. But then there are optics that send a much more sinister message. In 2018 we answered a question from a listener who asked about hanging skeletons by a noose outside his home. Was this, he wanted to know, reminiscent of a lynching?

Well, yeah. Images carry meaning that far surpass what may appear to be true at face value. It's our responsibility to seek that understanding even when and especially if our identities have shielded us from those legacies of horror. The era of lynching in America began after Reconstruction, and between 1877 and 1950, over 4,000 African Americans were murdered in racial lynchings, often becoming public spectacles for white community residents. (Our podcast episode "A Strange and Bitter Crop" explores the horror of the Claude Neal lynching of 1934.)

Don't worry you can still make use of your skeletons. NPR's Mayowa Aina suggests sitting the skeleton up in a tree so it looks like someone died and decomposed or even using spiderwebs instead of rope. Decorations are fun because you can use your imagination, so get creative and avoid invoking historical trauma.

So this year and always, be mindful of your mischief. Entertainment this All Hallows' Eve doesn't have to come at a cost to anyone, and avoiding missteps doesn't take much extra effort.

Oh, there's still a perennial Halloween debate that we're not going to solve here. Even after years of controversy, the Code Switch team is split on this one: Is candy corn good or bad? We'd love to know what side you're on.

The rest is here:

The Code Switch Guide To Halloween : Code Switch - NPR

In 2015 Patricia Marcoccia and Maziar Ghaderi started filming a documentary about a little-known Canadian psychology professor named Jordan Peterson. They were a year and a half into the project when Peterson posted a viral YouTube video railing against political correctness, which quickly transformed him into a lightning rod for controversy.

Politically, Maz and I both come from a left-of-center place, so a lot of our friends and colleagues are also in that space, in the arts world, Marcoccia says in Episode 384 of the Geeks Guide to the Galaxy podcast. So it made it an uncomfortable situation in our social space, talking about what we were working on.

Marcoccia chose to set aside her initial projectwhich focused on Petersons friendship with indigenous artist Charles Josephand instead began documenting Petersons new life as a best-selling author and TV star. The resulting film, The Rise of Jordan Peterson, thoughtfully explores the ways in which Peterson has been both celebrated and reviled.

Im not interested in pursuing propaganda in my filmmaking, Marcoccia says. I think its most important for me to reflect back to society what Ive witnessed over these last few years.

Peterson is so radioactive in certain quarters that screening the film has been difficult, with several theaters refusing to show it or backing out at the last minute. Its a bit annoying, because people are talking about the controversy surrounding the distribution of the film and not the film itself, Ghaderi says. But on the other hand, weve gotten a lot of press, and weve also gotten support from people.

And while some theaters have been blunt that they dont want to deal with the backlash, others have made excuses, saying that nuanced films dont connect with audiences. Marcoccia says shes not convinced.

The responses that weve been getting, even when were in a room full of Jordan Peterson fans, they have really responded positively to the critical parts about Jordan in the film, she says. So I guess Im finding it hard to believe that its a market-driven decision, to say that nuance doesnt sell.

Listen to the complete interview with Patricia Marcoccia and Maziar Ghaderi in Episode 384 of Geeks Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.

Maziar Ghaderi on screening The Rise of Jordan Peterson:

In the United States weve partnered with Gathr, which is a cinema-on-demand platform where individual people can host a screening, and if a certain number of tickets are sold then the screening happens at a commercial cinema, and then they get to turn it into a bit of a social event. Its been a crazy ride with a lot of highs and lows. Right now were in San Diegowe have a screening tonightand weve done Vancouver, Toronto, and Portland. In Portland we got a threat from antifa. Portland of course is very left-leaning, and it was quite a violent threat that we got on Facebook. But in the end they didnt even show up. We had undercover cops there, it was a full crowd, but in the end nothing came of it, in terms of those threats. So things have been overall quite positive, and were looking forward to the next leg of the tour.

Patricia Marcoccia on young men:

[Jordan Peterson] has always had this kind of life-changing effect for students, because of the nature of the topics he would talk about in his classes. This is a topic thats been coming up on our tour a lot, and one of the conversations weve had is about how what it means to be a man is something that does need to be constructed, and its such a confusing time right now with regards to gender and masculinityto know what healthy masculinity looks like. I think a lot of men are being told to kind of step out of the way and make space for women, so where does that leave you, and what is your purpose? And Jordan is giving people a strong purpose, and saying, Take responsibility. Theres a lot of value that you can bring to the table.'

Patricia Marcoccia on the media:

If I knew nothing about Jordan Peterson, and when this controversy was coming out, and continuing to evolve, if I just read that New York Times article Custodian of the Patriarchy, and maybe, I dont know, a Huffington Post article, and I saw a Vice piece, what would I think about Jordan Peterson? And life is busy, theres a lot going on, I have other things to deal with, maybe I decide not to dig any deeper into it. I think a lot of us are guilty of that. So that would have painted a very different picture to me of Jordan Peterson. There are so many impressions that people get of Jordan, and in some ways its because you can just see any type of media out there, and just find other stories that will continue to reinforce whatever that impression was.

Maziar Ghaderi on polarization:

A lot of what Jordan talks about is similar to somebody like Jonathan Haidt, whos an NYU professor who speaks a lot about political correctness and partisanship. His recent book The Coddling of the American Mind kind of speaks to the new generation and how theyre having problems with free speech and being able to have viewpoint diversity, especially on campuses. But for some of these right-wing and libertarian types, they dont like how Haidts too soft. They like how Jordan is combative in these interviews. So then what happens is its even more polarized, because then [people] identify Jordan with the much more tabloid-y, inflammatory, unhelpful, name-calling cruelty thats becoming more popular with the populist right.

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The Rise of Jordan Peterson Doesnt Tell You What to Think - WIRED

The first thing one notices about R.R. Renos new book, Return of the Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West, is the dust-jacket photograph. Its a classical statue of a warrior-angel, sword in his hand. The message seems unmistakable: This is a heavy book about fearsome themes.

Yet anyone thinkingor hopingthat this book will be a hymn of praise for, say, the Roman god Mars, or Conan the Barbarian, will be disappointed.

As Reno writes, By strong gods I do not mean Thor and the other residents of the Old Norse Valhalla. Instead, he lauds the strong gods of love and devotion, the sources of the passions and loyalties that unite societies. Continuing in that irenic vein, Reno adds, Truth is a strong god that beckons us to the matrimony of assent, adding that strong gods can be traditionalthe American Founding is a strong god worthy of our devotion.

Yet at the same time, Reno concedes that strong godscan be destructive. In the twentieth century, militarism, communism, racism, and anti-Semitism brought ruin. So we can see that in the authors view, strong gods are prime moversthe demiurges that inspire us to take action, for good or ill.

Thus while Renos strong gods are beneficent, thats not true of all strong godsand none of them should be trifled with.

So as we weigh risk and reward, we might be tempted to ask: Do we want strong gods in our midst? Would weak gods be preferable?

Answering that question is the task Reno takes up, and it provides, yes, a brooding, even primordial, backdrop to his tome. Indeed, World Wars I and II serve as his cataclysmic predicate:

The violence that traumatized the West between 1914 and 1945 evoked a powerful, American-led response that was anti-fascist, anti-totalitarian, anti-colonialist, anti-imperialist, and anti-racist. These anti imperatives define the postwar era.

Indeed, the world wars, and their associated isms, were so horrible that it evident that some sort of collective postwar course-correction was needed. And yet at the same time, we must remember that not everyone in the first half of the 20th century was guilty; there were plenty of good guys, as well as bad guys.

Thus we come to the heart of Renos argument: The Western elites went from correction to over-correction. And in that over-correcting, the virtues of the strong gods were lost, or at least exiled. Reno sums up the thinking, after 1945 and to this day, of the great and the good:

Their aim is to dissolve the the strong beliefs and powerful loyalties thought to have fueled the conflicts that convulsed the twentieth century.

And how will the elites go about dissolving the strong beliefs? The strong gods? With openness, thats how.

Reno thus warms to his theme: He starts with the emigre philosopher Karl Popper, who, in 1945even as the embers of war still burnedpublished The Open Society and Its Enemies. Poppers two-volume work is an extended attack on closed thinking, going back all the way to Plato. Such closedness, in Poppers view, was the prelude to intolerance, even totalitarianism. Comments Reno on Poppers gist: The imperative is bracingly simple: Never again. Indeed, given the enormity of the wars and the death camps, we can detect a note of sympathy in Renos voice.

Yet theres no sympathy when Reno sums up Poppers prescription: We must banish the strong gods of the closed society and create a truly open one.

In fact, to Renos distress, Popper went further, applying a materialist understanding to the course of events. Although history has no meaning, wrote Popper, we can give it meaning. And heres where Reno draws his brightest line, because he is an unabashedalbeit, at the same time, measureddefender of Western Civilization and the Judeo-Christian tradition. Thus words such as justice, truth, and transcendence dot his text.

Yet in the meantime, Reno chronicles Poppers dolorous influence: By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Poppers open society had evolved to include open marriages, open drug use, and a general conviction that open discussion of the most intimate details of life would bring greater happiness and self-acceptance.

And yes, Reno is fully mindful that Poppers ode to the open society inspired one of his students in London in the early 50s, George Soros. Upon leaving the academy, Soros became a speculator and made many billions; he is has since transferred much of his wealth to his many-tentacled Open Society Institute.

Reno further walks us through a terse but concise guide to other champions of openness, deftly weaving together such disparate figures as Albert Camus, Milton Friedman, Jacques Derrida, Friedrich Hayek, and Norman O. Brown. Of these, perhaps the most impactful has been Friedman, because the Nobel Prize-winning economist helped apply Popperian philosophy to the international economy. Reno argues that the result has been high economic growthbut at an even higher societal price.

To clinch the case that Poppers ideas have had consequences, Reno cites President George H.W. Bush, speaking to the United Nations on October 1, 1990: I see a world of open borders, open trade, and, most importantly, open minds. Those words might seem woozily utopian today, and yet at the time, Bush 41s rhetoric seemed perfectly unobjectionable and normaland thats Renos point: in the postwar era, the radical had been made to seem normal.

Indeed, in the three decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the radical has become even more radical. As Reno describes todays zeitgeist: The one-sided extremism of the open-society consensuspunitive political correctness, undiluted liberalism, and unfettered free marketshas done great damage.

As one can gather from his disdaining reference to unfettered free markets, Reno is an old-line conservative. Such paleoconservatism is quite distinct from the liberalism and libertarianism that has predominated in the open era, even if the distinctions have oftentimes been fudged over. In fact, using vivid language, Reno has been at pains to disentangle conservatism from the fusionism that has sought to blend hawkish foreign policy and libertarian economic policyalong with, somewhere back in the caboose, conservative social policy. Fusionism might have made sense during the Cold War eraReno writes favorably, in fact, of William F. Buckley in his fusionist heydayand yet in the decades since, it has become a counterproductive god.

Yet while some paleocons might hanker for the truly old times, Reno inclines toward a distinctly mid-20th century policy vision, which he defines as markets moderated by government intervention and backstopped by social programs. Here we see the hand of Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, not Thomas Aquinas or Opus Dei.

Of course, Reno is ultimately less concerned about policy; he is more interested in the metaphysical than the physical. He yearns for a return of the Western tradition [that] has championed as fitting objects of our lovenot only God, but the nation and our cultural inheritance, even truth itself.

Indeed, putting all his cards on the table, Reno adds, I am a Catholic. Id like to see a widespread revival of Christianity in the West. He argues that traditional faith can make religious believers stable and stalwart citizens, less likely to be inflamed by ideological causes that are surrogates for true religion.

Indeed, so true is Reno to his vision that he scorns not only the openness of liberals and libertarians, but also the certitudes of some others on the right. He derides those who draw their conservatism from the perverse gods of blood, soil, and identity, seeing them as a throwback to the pre-1945 era. And he also rips those who are too likely to reduce classical questions of truth, beauty, and justice to the play of economic interests or to speculate about the blind cleverness of selfish genes.

Yet here its possible to note a problem for Renos argument. Yes, hes obviously right in his basic thesis: that the openness of the postwar era has become an emptiness. And yet at the same time, there are plenty of strong gods still on the scene, albeit many of them of a new kind. These Reno acknowledges when he writes of the paradoxically totalitarian culture of openness and weakness.

Yes, theres that strong god of political correctness, and alongside it, all the associated devils of domineering and dictatorial thinking, made all the stronger by new kinds of technology. Indeed, this author has speculated that the next wave of tyranny will be rooted not just in the human mind, but also in the computer mind.

Can Renos strong gods withstand the onslaught of the cyber gods? Can the old gods repel the assault of the new gods of Silicon Valley? And beyond the fight against American techsters, will the old truths be able to thwart, say, the Chinese Social Credit System?

For the faithful, theres hope eternal. Yet between today and eternity, a great struggle looms. So as the tech hordes amass their might, believers must gird their loins, because the 21st century will bring trials to rival the 20th century.

James P. Pinkerton is an author and contributing editor atThe American Conservative. He served as a White House policy aide to both Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

The rest is here:

Can the Old Gods Survive Liberalism's Furies? - The American Conservative

Derrick Tran, Contributing

Canadian Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella stressed the importance of pursuing universal democratic values and human rights in an emotional speech at the eighth annual David J. Bederman Lecture, held in the Tull Auditorium at the Emory School of Law.

Speaking on the state of international law, Abella described what she saw as an atmosphere polluted by bombastic anti-intellectualism, sanctimonious instability and a moral free-for-all, which she believes sets a dangerous precedent for the future.

Everyone is talking, and no one is listening, she told the audience. We are in danger of a new status quo where anger triumphs over indignity and indignity over decency.

A renowned human rights advocate, Abella pointed to recent events concerning the treatment of Syrian Kurds, which she described as the latest unconscionable global tragedy, as confirmation of her deepest fears that the relationship between international human rights law and justice is becoming increasingly dysfunctional.

Abella clarified that one cause of this increasing dysfunctionality may be confusion over the term rule of law, which she argued was used merely as a justification for the legitimacy of a perspective.

This generation has seen the rule of law impose apartheid, segregation and genocidal discrimination, she said.

Abella instead called for the universalization of democratic values such as due process and the right to religious freedom, which she argued were more important.

When we trumpet those core democratic values, we trumpet the instruments of justice, and justice is what laws are supposed to promote, Abella said.

Abella related to the audience a narrative of American legal history, which she argued was synonymous with liberal democracy, and how attitudes towards individual rights were in part responsible for rights discrimination, a reality that was not confronted the aftermath of the Holocaust.

We were so far removed from what we thought were the limits of rights discrimination, Abella explained. [After 1945], we had no moral alternative but to acknowledge that individuals could be denied rights not in spite of, but because of their differences.

Abella reckoned that we have since relapsed into individualistic thought with regard to human rights, rationalising it with terms such as political correctness, cultural relativism and domestic sovereignty.

These are concepts that excuse intolerance, she said. Silence in the face of intolerance means that intolerance wins.

Abella identified recent incidences of religious terrorism in Pittsburgh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka as evidence that the horrifying spectacle of group destruction had returned.

We have also had, among others, the genocide of Rwanda, the massacres in Bosnia and the Congo, the repression in Chechnya, child soldiers in Sudan, Zimbabwe, China, Myanmar, Pakistan and more, Abella continued.

Abella also cited the fact that, since 1945, 40 million people have been killed as a result of military conflicts.

Nevertheless, Abella did recognize the great success of several UN agencies in their efforts since 1945. However, given the enormous capacity for constructing legal systems and institutions to advance international human rights law, Abella noted her disappointment in the overall lack of progress in the area, particularly when compared to progress in international economic law.

What states have been unable to achieve in 65 years of international human rights law is up and running after 25 years of international trade regulation, Abella said. I find this dissonance startling and unsettling.

Although Abella did admit she had no solutions, she elucidated that her ideas were not purely hypothetical but also based largely on her experiences.

To me this is not just theory, she explained. I am the child of Holocaust survivors.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1946, many of Abellas relatives were killed in the Treblinka extermination camp in German-occupied Poland.

My father was the only person in his family to survive the war, Abella disclosed.

Abella came to Canada in 1950, shortly after the publication of the Nuremberg principles, a set of guidlines for determining what constitutes a war crime. She admitted that the publication of these principles provided little consolation for her family.

Im sure that they would have preferred by far that the sense of outrage that inspired the Allies to establish the military tribunal at Nuremberg had been around many years earlier, before the events that led to it ever took place, she explained.

Abella made history in 2004 when she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, becoming the first Jewish woman to ever do so. Abella was also the youngest and first pregnant judge in Canadian history when she was appointed to Ontario Family Court in 1976.

Speaking on her own life and career, Abella revealed that it had never occurred to [her] to be anything but a lawyer.

My life started in a country where there had been no democracy, no rights and no justice, she said. It created an unquenchable thirst in me for all three.

Abella also revealed that the best advice she could give law students was to not listen to anyone.

Dont take anybodys advice! she quipped. If I had, I would not be a lawyer, and I certainly would not be serving on the Supreme Court.

Abellas elegiac lecture was received tremendously by the Emory community, who gave her a standing ovation at the lectures conclusion.

Link:

Canadian Supreme Court Justice Disappointed by Lack of Progress in International Human Rights - The Emory Wheel