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Dispatches From the Culture Wars - July 9, 2019

The camps; New data on income and racism; Scabby is free speech; Language and misogyny; The new NIMBY; Democrats behind the curtain; Editorial cartoons are scary

IAM Local 701 auto mechanics use Scabby the Rat to make their point in Bensenville, IL, Photo courtesy of Ryan Kelly of IAM Local 126.

 

 

‘Nothing Prepares You for the Inhumanity of It’

By Elaine Godfrey
July 2, 2019
The Atlantic

At a visit to Border Patrol facilities this week, the freshman congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania met weeping women and exchanged notes with detained children.

 

Poverty Doesn’t Make You Racist

By Nathan Newman
June 26, 2018
Dissent 

According to a recent study, white voters who support anti-racist policies generally have less income than their more racist peers.

 

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By Shaun Richman
July 6, 2019
New York Daily News

By taking aim at an inflatable rodent, the NLRB invites a First Amendment challenge.

A Cultural History of Feminine Nouns Turned Into Insults

By Amanda Montell
May 21, 2019
Medium

‘Slut’ and ‘hussy’ used to have tame meanings. Then, like so many other feminine nouns, they came to mean ‘prostitute’.

The New NIMBY

By Michael Hobbes
July 6, 2019
Huffpost

Residents of wealthy neighborhoods are taking extreme measures to block much-needed housing and transportation projects.

The Democrats Aren’t a Left-Wing Party — They Just Play One on TV

By Eric Levitz
July 2, 2019
New York Magazine

Liberals may set the pace in Democratic discourse and presidential debates. But on Capitol Hill, the centrists often take the wheel. 

Why Editorial Cartoons are Endangered

By John Diaz
July 6, 2019
San Francisco Chronicle

One factor that may work against editorial cartooning is a diminished appreciation for pointed satire in this polarized era.