Spent the day going to pick up Christion, and since I do not listen to the radio anymore when I drive (I just like the peace and quiet), I was startled to find out Turkey is going through a military coup. I know nothing about what is going on other than what Adam has written, and I didn’t understand all of that, so I’ll just not write about it.
My gut instinct is to support democracy, but Erdogan is such an asshole I’m kind of curious to see if maybe we, the United States, will be better off with their military in control. Either way, I’m sure that somehow or other this will make us more hated in the middle east because reasons.
Thurston was so excited to see Christion that when we pulled up to the house and got out to unload, I swear I thought he was going to break the window with his tail and got so excited he pottied on the floor. I’m glad to have Christion back, too. He’s caught up in this Pokemon Go thing (I guess he is the right age because he grew up playing Pokemon), and the dogs are happy because this means more walks.
We’re celebrating Christion’s return with celebratory steak dinners. Oh, and “adopted” son number #2 leased a car yesterday (Ford Focus), so he is now mobile and looking for a job within the area of his degree rather than one he could just get to. So good things happening in the Cole household.
Baud
Brian Williams essentially has no clue what’s going on because the news networks have fired all of their real reporters. It’s funny.
Corner Stone
@Baud:
To be fair, Richard Engel can only be in one hot zone at a time.
ETA, I want to know why MSNBC in NYC can’t find one fucking translator to put on air and tell us what Turkish air is saying.
Roger Moore
That sounds about right. At its core, Pokemon Go is a (not so) secret plot to make people walk more. That makes it a fine game for those of us who already walk a lot; we get an automatic leg up.
Baud
Not too happy to see that Turkish roads are in better shape than American streets.
debbie
I don’t think anyone’s ever any better with the military in control.
Manyakitty
Good to find sone calm.
Baud
@Corner Stone: MSNBC needs to clone him.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
The news wants to go heavy with Turkey because they know it’s big, but no media idiots have anything to say except of course Syria, border, ISIS something something something ISIS. No ISIS connection to Nice apparently, but it didn’t stop them from showing pictures of ISIS propaganda, and they’re pushing the terror narrative in order to make sure we’re terrified of being mowed down in Times Square.
I’m officially starting vacation, so it’s a good time to make a #PoliticsExit.
dmsilev
@Roger Moore: I like the conspiracy theory that says that the game is a way to get people to carry live-feed cameras to every nook and cranny around, so that They can monitor Everything.
MomSense
Good on you, Cole. It’s fun having young adults around.
Miss Bianca
@debbie: Turkey might prove the exception to this particular rule…
MomSense
@dmsilev:
Oh it’s a privacy nightmare but also a lot of fun. My youngest told me he and his friends found water Pokemon at the beach.
Shana
Glad to hear Christion is back. Please give him my sympathy. Enjoy your steaks. Hope it’s better weather than here in the DC area. Horribly hot and humid which means my hot flashes are back, but better than before I started meds.
Revel in “your guys” and your pets. Enjoy each other’s companionship. That’s what’s most important.
Younger daughter (23) and her boyfriend are spending a lot of time with Pokemon Go but older daughter’s (26) holding off until after the Bar on the 26th and 27th. Then I expect not to hear from her much while she moves and catches up.
Raven
I was surprised how shallow Engel’s book was. He’s so good I thought it would be much better:
Baud
@Miss Bianca: As would the U.S. under President Trump.
ruemara
I’m nearly done with my first ever pedicure and I just discovered the chair has a massage button. $35, a paraffin treatment, a leg massage, a foot massage, a hot stone massage and a chair massage. Why didn’t anyone tell me?
Miss Bianca
@Baud: You know, if anything would make me welcome my insect/military overlords, it would be President Trump.
rikyrah
Glad to hear that Christion is back.
JGabriel
John Cole:
Yep, I’m of the same mind. The Turkish Army’s role in past coups has frequently been to protect or restore secularism, and, as far as I know, they’ve usually re-instituted democratic norms relatively quickly. So I’m inclined to think they may be actually working on behalf of maintaining or building a better society, rather than for the sake of their own power.
That said, I don’t know if that’ll be the case this time around. So I’m largely adopting a wait and see attitude. I suspect the US gov’t may take a similar stance.
dmsilev
@Miss Bianca: Yeah, but if Trump is ousted, we’d get President Pence and how bad could that be?
(Spoiler: Very bad)
Corner Stone
@ruemara:
Cole’s been telling you for years.
rikyrah
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
You are right. They have no one that understands complexities or nuances. Once upon a time, CNN would have had a local reporter who could tell you. Same with the NYT and WaPo. Those days are past.?
ruemara
FYI, reports are no political support for the coup & it’s just a faction of the military, soooo, we will see on the strengths of this coup.
SiubhanDuinne
@ruemara:
And adorable toes!
Trollhattan
Leave a Subaru in a field somewhere nearby and things will be darn near normal.
ruemara
@Corner Stone: it’s Cole. I can’t take fabulousity advice from him.
hovercraft
@Corner Stone:
Richard Engel has lived in Turkey for I believe the last 10 years, he had called in earlier, but I guess he’s out there doing actual reporting. And yes Brian Williams is useless, he is a news anchor who only sounds semi informed if he has a script in front of him. Live international coverage about a place he has visited but has no in depth knowledge of is painful to watch.
ruemara
@SiubhanDuinne: this is true. My feet haven’t looked this cute since I was in diapers. So, this morning.
Baud
@ruemara: Maybe it’s a warning coup.
Roger Moore
@dmsilev:
They already could hijack people’s phone cameras if they wanted to. But the creators have been perfectly clear that at least one goal is to encourage people to get outside and walk around. That’s why they have things in the game that reward players for moving around, both directly (some things happen only when you’ve traveled a certain distance) and indirectly (you have to visit different places to have access to all the different types of Pokemon).
Baud
@hovercraft: I just saw Engel on the nightly news.
geg6
@debbie:
Ordinarily, I’d agree with you, but Turkey’s history is an outlier in that, historically, the military has been sort of the good guys in protecting their secular democracy. Which, like many democracies around the world, looks very different from an American democracy.
Major Major Major Major
The Turkish military seems to be pretty good at the whole secular-democracy-at-swordpoint thing.
FlipYrWhig
This guy on MSNBC has no idea what “denouement” means, but that isn’t stopping him from using it repeatedly.
Baud
MSNBC now says that Obama has come out against the coup.
dmsilev
NYT headline:”President, on iPhone, Urges Resistance”.
Man, product placement is _everywhere_.
geg6
@ruemara:
Pedicures are heaven. I’d have told you if I’d known you were unaware. Now you know!
And welcome back to Chez Cole, Christion! Been a tough month or so for you but it sounds like things are looking up! Tell Thurston that Lovey says hi!
ruemara
@FlipYrWhig: word a day calendar finally paid off
@dmsilev: that hypocrite who cut off social media, using social media .
Betsy
I think it is so sweet and practical that you have a Cole household with your buddies. Really part of your extended family.
It seems like as a society we’re really moving toward letting people choose *all* of the different ways to form the ties that bind.
Corner Stone
@FlipYrWhig: Well, that begs the question as to what exactly we’re seeing here that resembles a denouement.
NotMax
Which, historically, is what the Turkish military does, defend and restore democracy.
Sounds counter-intuitive, but that’s the way Turkish history since Ataturk rolls.
Baud
@dmsilev:
I guess Android users are supporting the coup.
Misterpuff
@hovercraft: But he understands NASCAR!
Corner Stone
@ruemara:
Are you kidding? This is a single male who has attended baby showers and went to the DNC convention pantsless. Helll—OOOOO!!
Poopyman
@ruemara: I know a good massage of my stones is great, especially when I’m hot, but I didn’t expect you to mention these things.
guachi
@Baud:
I’m actually surprised he said this. I will be more surprised if actual concrete action results from this. Sure, Erdogan is awful, but I would probably hate Trump more as President and I’d never follow orders to overthrow Trump.
I’m basically with Cole, I support democracy and Turkey would probably be better off without Erdogan. But it’s democracy; you break it you buy it. Constant “do overs” isn’t really much of a democracy.
[EDIT] I’ll edit to add that I’m actually unsure if there is anything explicitly illegal that Erdogan has done.
FlipYrWhig
@Corner Stone: He meant rapprochement, but he doesn’t know that word, in the heat of the moment at least.
p.a.
@dmsilev:
Wow. I’m surprised. I expected boilerplate “we’re monitoring the situation and hope for a peaceful resolution… yadda yadda”
Erdogan seemed to be moving to the ‘one vote one time’ system of democratic government.
Baud
@guachi:
Millions of protest voters haz a sad.
JPL
@geg6: It’s amazing that you both got the dog you wanted.
debbie
@geg6:
Protecting democracy is one thing, but administering it is something else. The nature of the military is the antithesis of a democratic institution.
Emma
@ruemara: I tell people that they will pry my pedicures from my cold dead toes. Every two weeks, short of health or family emergency.
Baud
Those aren’t protestors in the streets, MSNBC. They are all playing Pokémon Go.
Corner Stone
@FlipYrWhig: Sorry, that was a throw back I thought might land but maybe I’ll have to try again soon.
Kristine Smith
You’re a good dad, Cole.
Poopyman
OT, but probably OK with the folks here:
I got an email this evening with an update on the West Virginia Flood Relief from Heather. They’re a few hundred dollars short of their $12K goal, so if you missed it the first time around, here’s your chance.
Corner Stone
@Baud: Niantic really needs to dial it the fuck back down.
Corner Stone
Malcolm Nance really spooks me the fuck out. He’s like a really nutty right winger who can speak coherently.
FlipYrWhig
@Corner Stone: Zing!
Major Major Major Major
@Corner Stone: Whoever put the Pokemon lures in the middle of Istanbul’s bridges should be arrested.
eclare
@Baud: Especially those folks in the UK…
aimai
@ruemara: I have been thinking about getting my first one ever, too. Enough yoga and you start to really hate the site of your own toes.
Corner Stone
Dare I say it? Where is eemom when we need real clarity in analysis for what’s happening in Turkey?
John Cole
@ruemara: Ahem…….
Steeplejack (phone)
As usual, France 24 has good coverage. Talking to correspondents in Ankara and Istanbul via phone.
SiubhanDuinne
@Corner Stone:
@FlipYrWhig:
Surprised he didn’t say décolletage.
Poopyman
As Adam said downstairs, this is the 6th time since Attaturk that the military has “stepped in” in an attempt to secularize the govt. Or maybe more accurately, to return the govt to a secular state. Erdogan had been moving more towards making Turkey an Islamic state in recent years.
I’m surprised at Obama’s statement too, but as Turkey is a long-time member of NATO, he may see it as best policy to position the US as friend to NATO heads of state for reasons having to do more with the newer NATO states than for Turkey alone.
Poopyman
@John Cole: Maybe she just thought it was a guy thing?
Emma
@aimai: Mine is not as elaborate as Ruemara’s but I get the massage chair that comes with a jet-massage basin (you can put your arches right on the water jets and it’s bliss), a foot and calf massage, nail cleaning and shaping, and polish. Coffee and snacks are often provided, too. Good gossip is considered essential. All in all, a lovely experience.
Major Major Major Major
@Poopyman: My thoughts, though I’m certainly no expert:
Erdogan, one imagines, is not enamored of Realpolitik and seems to have a fragile ego, whereas the military would more likely recognize that stated support for Erdogan was just business, no hard feelings; so if the coup succeeds, no harm no foul, and if it doesn’t, Obama ends up on Erdogan’s good side.
The Thin Black Duke
Alright, this might be OT, but here’s something for the Idris Elba fans. I figured we needed a break from the tsunami of horrific political and global events happening, y’know?
hovercraft
@The Thin Black Duke:
Why thank you, thank you very much. Tasty.
debbie
@The Thin Black Duke:
Yowsa! I’m halfway through the second season of Luther and saving the third season for next week. Dark, but less depraved than the GOP.
eclare
@The Thin Black Duke: Oh my…He will always be Stringer to me.
JGabriel
@guachi:
Traditionally, the President is a figurehead position in Turkey, with the Prime Minister leading the civilian gov’t. But Erdogan has not shown the partisan impartiality expected of Turkey’s President, has arguably exceeded the presidency on some occasions, and has tried to get Turkey’s gov’t to redefine the presidency to give it more power. That last effort may be a primary reason that the army overthrew Erdogan, as it could be seen as threatening Turkey’s internal balance of power.
Also, Erdogan has had Turkey build him an enormously expensive and fucking huge Presidential Palace.
So, I’m not sure how much of the above is illegal, but I think it’s likely that, should the Turkish gov’t ever put Erdogan on trial, they’ll be able to charge him with legitimate infractions rather than just making up shit to justify the Army’s coup.
eemom
@ruemara:
@Emma:
That does it. I am SO getting a pedicure.
Mary G
@ruemara: @aimai: I discovered pedicures in my late 30s and after a couple of years of nagging got my mom to go for her first in her 70s. We went regularly after that and she paid for them all. It’s a self-pampering I need to get back to. The cost/benefit ratio is off the charts.
The image of Thurston being so excited to see Christion is a bright spot in a sucky news day/year.
Cacti
This seems to be the unusual case of secularist elements deposing a theocrat.
As a matter of general principle, I’m against the undemocratic ouster of elected regimes.
OTOH I don’t think the world or the region will be substantially worse off with Erdogan out of power.
Corner Stone
@Cacti:
This is Tyrant writ into real life. Wait for Erdogan to clean up shop after this is over.
notquiteblindbutcertainlynearsighted
I am skipping through comments just to say how pleased I am that Christion is back and has reliable transportation. And this: John Cole, you are a fine presence in our lives.
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne:
Maybe he has Cinemax so he actually knows that word
Miss Bianca
@dmsilev: No, no, Pence would have to go, too. It would have to be a package deal.
@ruemara: Heighten the contradictions.
And, you’re making me want to get a pedicure. I was just looking at the state of my feet and getting depressed.
Steve in the ATL
@Miss Bianca: Perfect–then we get Paul Ryan!
Miss Bianca
@Baud: a coup de theatre?
laura
@ruemara: because we deny ourselves nice things even though we wish them for others. Speaking only for myself.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Miss Bianca: Then you get President GrannyStarver.
Miss Bianca
@Steve in the ATL: @?BillinGlendaleCA: Look, you’re all somehow presuming that we’ll be following the Constitution in the wake of a military coup, which I just think is sort of adorable. The Speaker of the House? The VP? We’re going to get some four-star general as our Chief Executive – on a “temporary basis”, perhaps. Just until we can hold “democratic elections.”
Jeffro
OT but has there been an article yet (I’m sure it will be in the NYT) that most of the original HAMILTON cast has now departed, and folks who paid big bucks 6 months ago are now ‘stuck’ with the newbies? I know Miranda and others left July 9th, saw that Daveed Diggs is leaving after tonight’s performance, and figured there must be a ‘poor us’ piece coming soon.
(We don’t worry about seeing HAMILTON in the Jeffro household; we know the cast recording well enough that we could put on our own production ;)
Prescott Cactus
@ruemara: on the other arm there is also a button. A red button. Don’t.
redshirt
So…. there’s lots of stuff going on. Apparently.
Emma
@eemom: My biggest advice would be to find a salon. The “factory” nail places can be hit-or-miss, at least in Florida.
SiubhanDuinne
@The Thin Black Duke:
Dear Christ, that man is gorgeous.
:: fans self vigorously ::
Kathleen
@Baud: As if BriWi ever had a clue about anything other than his “coolness”.
Kathleen
@Corner Stone: Because no one in Turkey is attacking Hillary Clinton so there’s nothing else to know about Turkey.
rikyrah
Raising my fist at the Olympics cost me friends and my marriage — but I’d do it again
After I retired from running, I was a counselor for 20 years at several schools in Southern California. At first, no one knew I was an Olympian who’d made international news for raising my fist on the medals podium in 1968 — not the district, and definitely not the students.
One morning I spotted four kids sneaking out of the school building, trying to play hooky. I ran after them, and I was right on their butts. Then they turned a corner and disappeared. At first I didn’t know where they’d gone. And then, from the bushes, I heard one of the kids saying to the others:
“Man, who the hell is that old man? He can run.”
When I told them to come on out, they asked me, “Who are you?”
I said, “Maybe if you was in school, you might look up one day and find out who I am.”
A year later the very same kids came to me with a history book. They said, “Man, we see this picture in the history book and they don’t have any story about it. It’s just a two-liner with the people’s names. We see this guy with your name. Were you in the Olympics?”
I said, “I’ll tell you what. You guys go back and research it. Then come back and we’ll have a discussion about it one day.”
That right there is a pretty good illustration of how I’ve approached my fame as an athlete. Ever since I was a teenager and realized I was good at running, I wanted to use my skills as a way to help people.
Why I protested on the Olympic podium
That was the same attitude I had in 1968 in Mexico City. Before the games, some other athletes and I tried to organize a mass boycott to protest the International Olympic Committee and the low numbers of black coaches at the games. It didn’t work, but I still wanted to make a statement.
So after Tommie Smith and I came in first and third in the 200-meter race, we went to the medals podium without our shoes on. We were both wearing black gloves on one hand. And when we stood on the podium, we lowered our heads and raised our fists in protest.
I’m really frustrated with a lot of today’s stars, who have an opportunity to speak up but don’t
I don’t care what your ethnic background was, how much money you had in the bank, or how much money you didn’t have in the bank, whether you lived in the hills, or whether you lived in the gutter. It didn’t matter. You never saw anything like that before.
As soon as we raised our hands, it’s like somebody hit a switch. The mood in the stadium went straight to venom. Within days, Tommie and I were suspended from the US Olympic team and had to leave Mexico City early.
The aftermath was hell for me and my family
The first 10 years after those Olympics were hell for me. A lot of people walked away from me. They weren’t walking away because they didn’t have love for me or they had disdain for me. They were walking away because they were afraid. What they saw happening to me, they didn’t want it to happen to them and theirs.
My wife and kids were tormented. I was strong enough to deal with whatever people threw at me, because this is the life I’d signed up for. But not my family. My marriage crumbled. I got divorced. It was like the Terminator coming and shooting one of his ray guns through my suit of armor.
Still, I wouldn’t change what I did.
That picture of me and Tommie on the podium is the modern-day Mona Lisa — a universal image that everyone wants to see and everyone wants to be related to in one way or another. And do you know why? Because we were standing for something. We were standing for humanity.
Robert Sneddon
The Turkish predilection for military “coups” is a major factor in their attempts to join the EU being regularly knocked back.
I put “coups” in inverted commas as the Turkish military strongmen who normally organise them don’t seem to want to hold on to power after deposing the democratically elected politicians in charge. The tanks get off the streets and the troops go back to the barracks and fresh elections are called. It’s still not something applicants for EU membership are supposed to do in the first place.
Kathleen
@ruemara: Had you asked prior I would have bored you to death with the glories of pedicures (I splurged on a spa pedicure today). Best place for pedicures/manicures – Tampa!!! So cheap! And great quality.
iLarynx
Commercial radio is the pits. Try RadioParadise.com. I have their app on my phone and listen to them in the car all the time. They are quite eclectic so take a look at their playlist for the past 6 hours and see if it’s something you might like.
jerry
Historian David McCullough comes out strong against clueless asshole Donald Trump:
McCullough, raised in a Republican home and now aligned with no party, said the prospect of a Trump presidency so distressed him that he felt he could not remain publicly detached. “When you think of how far we have come, and at what cost, and with what faith, to just turn it all over to this monstrous clown with a monstrous ego, with no experience, never served his country in any way — it’s just crazy,” he said. “We can’t stand by and let it happen. The Republican Party shouldn’t stand by and let it happen.”
McCullough and Ken Burns, the filmmaker and author, have assembled a group of distinguished American historians to speak about the candidacy of Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, in videos being posted to a Facebook page, Historians on Donald Trump.
It is a diverse, honored group — including, among others, Robert A. Caro, Ron Chernow, David Levering Lewis, William E. Leuchtenburg, Vicki Lynn Ruiz
h/t Scholars Steeped in Dead Politicians Take On a Live One: Donald Trump, NY Times, 7/12/16
rikyrah
With Obama, the Personal Is Presidential
Timothy Egan
JULY 15, 2016
We always knew he could keep his head when others were losing theirs and blaming him, knew it from the 2008 financial crisis and on to the hard, lasting words he spoke at Tuesday’s memorial for the slain police officers in Dallas.
What we didn’t know, what could not be predicted of one so young and new to the impossible task of living round-the-clock under the glare of the entire world, was how Barack Obama would hold up as a father, a husband, a man.
No matter what you think of Obama the executive branch, it’s hard to argue that Obama the human being has been anything less than a model of class and dignity. If, as was often said about black pioneers in sports, you had to be twice as good to succeed, Obama’s personal behavior has set a standard few presidents have ever reached.
………………………………………..
You see him teasing, bantering or dancing with his wife of nearly a quarter-century. And while no outsider can know what goes on inside another’s marriage, you can’t help feeling some of the joy of that union. They still finish each other’s sentences.
It’s not fair to give him his due as a person, his high grade for character, for being scandal-free in his private life, just because a potential successor has no character, no class, and breaches a new wall of civility every time he opens his mouth. If Obama had bragged about infidelities and the size of his genitals, if Obama had talked about wanting to date his own daughter and reduced women to a number on a hotness scale, it would be about race. But when Donald Trump says such things, nobody ties it to his being white, nor should they. Trump is a singular kind of vulgarian.
And those who praise Obama as a model father or husband for the black family do him a disservice. He’s a model, without asterisk for race. It’s a hard thing to go nearly eight years as the most powerful man in the world without diminishing the office or alienating your family. He’s done that, and added a dash of style and humor and a pitch-perfect sense for being consoler in chief.
Kathleen
@Misterpuff: And listens to Limbaugh because real Americans!!!
eclare
@Emma: Yes, go with a quality place. Woman I used to work with went with a cheap-o place, got an infection for which she had to have surgery. Could have lost her foot. Also, you may want to take your own nail polish, so you don’t get a brush that has touched other tootsies.
Kathleen
@Emma: I use the time to catch up on the latest between Blake and Gwen and ask myself who the hell are 90% of these people in Us Magazine.
redshirt
So I’m unclear who’s in the Cole household now.
There’s a cat, 3(?) dogs, two young men, and some other dude maybe?
rikyrah
What it’s like to be black in Naperville, America
Editor’s note: Brian Crooks moved to Naperville when he was in the 5th grade; his parents still reside here. On Saturday, he wrote a Facebook post about his experiences being an African-American living in America that has since gone viral and has elicited hundreds of comments from people around the world. Because of its length, we’re publishing excerpts here. To read the entire post, go here.
The first time I was acutely aware of my Blackness, I was probably 6 or 7 years old. Like, before then obviously I knew I was Black, but I hadn’t really had it put in my face like this until I was about 6 or 7. I used to go to daycare back then, and we went on a field trip to a water park one time. One of the other boys from the daycare came up to me and told me he was surprised I was going on the trip because his dad told him all colored people were afraid of the water since we sink to the bottom. He didn’t know he was being offensive. He was just curious why someone who would sink to the bottom would want to go to a water park.
•••
From elementary school through middle school, I can’t remember how many times the White kids asked if they could touch my hair. I’m not kidding when I say it happened pretty much once a week at least. At first, it didn’t bother me. But eventually I felt like an exhibit in a petting zoo. And I didn’t have the vocabulary to explain to them that it was really weird that they kept asking to touch my hair all the time. See, I was a pretty shy kid. I was the only Black one, I was overweight, and I’d moved three times before I turned 10. So, rather than tell the White kids that no, they couldn’t rummage through my hair, I just said yes and sat there quietly while they marveled at how my hair felt.
………………………………………………..
I got pulled over a lot in high school. Like, a lot a lot. By this point, I was no longer driving the Dodge. I had a Mazda of my own. It was flashy and loud, but this was 2002 and everybody with a Japanese car was doing a Vin Diesel impression, so it’s not like mine stood out that much more than anyone else’s. I spent a ton of money on my car and was especially aware of its appearance. You can understand, then, why it was weird that I was routinely pulled over for a busted taillight. After all, that’s the kind of thing I would’ve noticed and gotten fixed, especially if that taillight tended to burn out once a week or so. My parents had told me how to act when pulled over by the police, so of course I was all “Yes sir, no sir” every time it happened. That didn’t stop them from asking me to step out of the car so they could pat me down or search for drugs, though. I didn’t have a drop of alcohol until I was 21, but by that point I was an expert at breathalyzers and field sobriety tests. On occasion, the officer was polite. But usually, they walked up with their hand on their gun and talked to me like I’d been found guilty of a grisly homicide earlier in the day. A handful of times, they’d tell me to turn off the car, drop the keys out the window, and keep my hands outside the vehicle before even approaching.
……………………………
I’ve never had a Black boss. I played football from middle school through senior year of high school and only had one Black coach in that whole time. Not just head coaches, I’m talking about assistants and position coaches. I’ve had two Black teachers in my entire life. One was for my Harlem Renaissance class, and one was for my sign language class. I’ve never been to a Black doctor, or a Black dentist. I’ve never been pulled over by a Black police officer. What I’m trying to explain is that, in 31 years, I’ve seen three Black people in a position of authority. Think about what that does to the psyche of a growing young man. I remember being excited just a few years ago when we started to see Black people in commercials without there being gospel or hip hop music in the background (remember that McDonald’s commercial where the little kid was pop-locking with the chicken McNuggets?).
•••
Before you say it, I don’t want to hear that you’re “sorry I had these experiences.” Because it’s not just me. It’s not like I’m some kind of magnet for all of the racists in America and I’m some weird anomaly. This is what it means to be Black in America. I appreciate that you’re sorry for me, but I’m not seeking your sorrow. I’m seeking your understanding. I just want you to understand that this is real. We’re not exaggerating it, and we’re not making it up. White people often say that we make everything about race. That’s because, for us, damn near everything IS about race. It’s always been that way. When I have a great phone interview, but go for my in-person interview only to be told that the position has been filled, how am I supposed to know that’s not just because they expected a White Iowa graduate to show up for the interview? When I have an especially-attentive employee keep checking in with me at the mall, how am I supposed to know they’re shooting for employee of the month, not watching me to make sure I’m not stealing? What do you think it’s like when someone says “You don’t sound Black at all” when I have a phone conversation with them and then meet them in person? What do you think it’s like seeing Confederate flags on cars and flag poles in northern states, only to have someone tell me I’m being too sensitive for not liking it?
…………………………………
When we say “Black Lives Matter,” understand what that actually means. We aren’t saying that ONLY Black lives matter. We’re saying “Black lives matter TOO.” For the entirety of the history of this country, Black lives have not mattered. At a minimum, they haven’t mattered nearly as much as White lives. If a Black person kills another Black person, and we have it on tape, the killer goes to jail. If a White police officer kills a Black person and we have it on tape, the entire judicial system steps up to make sure that officer doesn’t go to jail.
That is why Black people are in such pain right now. The deaths are bad enough. But having the feeling that nobody will ever actually be held accountable for the deaths is so much worse. And then watching as the police union, the media, and conservative politicians team up to imagine scenarios where the officer did nothing wrong, and then tell those of us who are in pain that our pain is wrong, unjustified, and all in our heads just serves to twist the knife.
If you read all this, I really, really want to say thank you. I know it was a lot to get through. But this is real. This is me. This is what my life is and has been. And I’m not alone
SiubhanDuinne
@eclare:
Good advice. I always take my own polish.
Kathleen
@rikyrah: I remember it well. I thought what they did was very cool. What they endured after sucks.
Miss Bianca
@The Thin Black Duke: HOLY GOD, THANK YOU. Today has been full of smoke in the air obscuring the mountains and smoke being blown over the Internet, but HOLY GOD THANK YOU I have seen something beautiful today. : )
HinTN
@debbie: As opposed to religious zealots?
Emma
@Kathleen: I know! I love the women’s magazines with the “ten inexpensive beauty products to try” and they turn out to be $150 creams made from some “exotic” herb. Or the “midprice investment purses” that are more expensive than an Aspinal briefcase.
Kathleen
@Emma: I like “Who Wore It Better”, where two different “stars” are wearing the same dress and someone votes on which one looks the best. And fortunately I’ve never had any problems with the shops my daughter has taken me to in Tampa (we refer to it as our “Tampa Toes” ritual). And the pedicures last forever. Sigh.
JMG
Obama would never have spoken against the coup unless US intelligence told him it was going to fail. Of course, their track record on predictions is, well, checkered is a nice way to say it.
Jon H
@Corner Stone: Even the BBC has been forced to cut funding for their BBC Monitoring operation which specifically exists to have translators monitoring foreign media broadcasts. Considering that they also worked for the government’s Foreign Office, this seems like a typically shortsighted Conservative blunder.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: wow
guachi
Looks like the coup is a big, fat failure.
HinTN
@debbie: As opposed to religious zealots?@Jeffro: The play’s the thing.
SiubhanDuinne
@Kathleen:
Never mind all that. Who the hell are Blake and Gwen?
bluehill
Saw a link to this at another site.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/435527/anti-semitism-donald-trump-right-nationalism-white-supremacism
I guess he had his they-came-for-me moment. I wonder if he will be more empathetic to other races and religions. More importantly, now that he’s had his awakening, what is he going to do about it. RBG put herself out there in a big way. Does this guy have half the courage she has?
Emma
@SiubhanDuinne: Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, I assumed. Tabloid darlings.
Villago Delenda Est
@Jon H: It’s sad that the rape and run attitude of the MBA is so obvious across the pond.
JosieJ (not Josie)
@SiubhanDuinne:
I used to be in the habit of getting a pedicure once every couple of weeks. I patronized the same salon every time, so not only did I bring my own polish, but my own tools and my own flip-flops as well, or rather, left them there in my own little numbered drawer!
Major Major Major Major
This is like an episode of Next Generation where there’s a stalemate on the Desert Planet between autocratic secular humanists who hold most of the values of the Federation and democratic theocrats who hold the big one, democracy, and the Enterprise has to decide who to support
Also it’s a two-parter but the second episode isn’t on until tomorrow
Kathleen
@SiubhanDuinne: Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. Those were about the only 2 people I recognized or knew anything about.
ETA @Emma beat me!
SiubhanDuinne
@Emma:
Thanks. Have vaguely heard the name Gwen Stefani, but don’t know who she is. Have never heard of Blake Shelton.
And if you love me, y’all, I don’t need to know and I don’t want to know. Save your typing for something important.
Emma
@bluehill: Ben Shapiro has made it his profession to badmouth just about anyone to the left of Ronald Reagan. Even that article is peppered with comments about his anti-semitic encounters with “leftists.”
No, I’m not suggesting that what happened to him is payback or any such thing. I feel sorry for anyone who is hit by the pro-Trump crazyness. But let’s not lie to ourselves. He was right in there with them until they started in on him. It was a good swimming pool until some of his fellow travelers started to pee in his direction.
HinTN
@HinTN: That’s very strange that two separate comments got conjoined like that…
redshirt
@SiubhanDuinne: Gwen is awesome! Lead singer of No Doubt, with lots of hits, but their biggest: Just a Girl.
Emma
@SiubhanDuinne: @SiubhanDuinne: I would like to torture you but I don’t know either! just two names in the cover of US magazine at the beauty salon. :-)
dmsilev
So, it’s been basically all day now, and Trump’s website still doesn’t have any mention of his running mate except for a widget down at the bottom that reproduces his Twitter feed.
Is there only one person on the campaign who knows how to update the website and that person just quit in disgust?
father pussbucket
Trump / Pence logo animated.
Corner Stone
@Jon H: That;s fine. But based in NYC? You can’t have a stringer or two online who can speak Turkish?
I live on the steppes of The Greater Houston Metro Area and I can drive 3 minutes to find a guy who could do this.
Major Major Major Major
@Emma: I didn’t follow the link–that was Shapiro? I suddenly don’t feel bad for him.
ruemara
@aimai: kickboxing for me. and my teacher has a fabulous mani pedi at all times. She’s like Elle magazine does fitness. Reprehensible.
Alright. Pedicure; very amazing dress thing & jacket, fancyish but comfy sandals. Bring on fancy not a date, we’renotdatingweswear thing.
redshirt
@Corner Stone: Do it.
Emma
@Major Major Major Major: Yep. The Virgin Ben himself.
ruemara
@John Cole: Yes, but you voted republican a lot. I can’t just take your judgement at face value.
Y’all, if he bans me, love you all. Organize a San Diego meet up next week.
bluehill
@Emma: @Emma: Yes, he is particularly odious. Hope he realizes his role in the rise of Trump.
Major Major Major Major
@bluehill: He knows it perfectly well. Screw him.
philadelphialawyer
Kind of a canard that the Turkish military has historically protected “democracy.” Secularity, sure, but not democracy. If the majority wants an Islamic state, it is hardly democratic for the military to constantly intervene to prevent that.
As for why the US might get some of the blame for the coup, that might be because the US and Turkey have strong military to military ties, plus the US has given Turkey fourteen billion dollars in military aid over the years. Having military allies and client states has consequences. It is not just for some unfathomable “reasons” that folks in the Middle East are suspicious about US interference. The US arms the Turkish military, and, as reflected here, seems to commend it for its frequent interventions to thwart the Islamists and protect “democracy.”
It is probably no secret to the Turkish military, and everyone else concerned, as well, that the US is not really all that sorry to see Erdogan go, either.
Keith P.
In other news, featured GOP Convention speaker Dana White had (yet) another one of his fighters piss hot for a PPV. That’s 2 on this PPV, and I’ve lost count how many more since they started testing. Easily in the double digits. Hell, you might be in double digits just counting his *champions* the last few years.
I’m still hoping for Don King (convicted murderer) and Mike Tyson (convicted rapist) showing up to elaborate on their endorsements.
raven
@philadelphialawyer: This is a pedicure thread, dawg.
Keith P.
@Keith P.: Sorry, left off that it was Brock Lesnar (in addition to champion-in-recess Jon Jones). Before the fight, Lesnar said “I’m jacked…deal with it.”, so they did.
Emma
@philadelphialawyer: Except the President has thrown his support to him. Whether it is out of political calculation or true belief in the primacy of elections. Of course, once Erdogan hunkers down, well, no more elections ever.
Emma
@ruemara: *snicker* you sound like my sister on a certain first date…
West of the Rockies (been a while)
This thread is an estrogen-fest… Pedicures, photo spreads of Idris…
Actually, I kind of dig it. I do appreciate it when my own lovely lady comes home with a fresh pedicure. (Insert Dick Morris joke here…. Wait, can I take that back? Any sentence that begins “Insert Dick…” sounds pretty bad.)
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
Fuckin A.
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: Reposted:
I was reacting to our dinner conversation tonight. My wife and I were eating with our friend and she was SOOO excited and said “you have to hear this”. She then proceeded to blabber on for 10 minute about finally finding a hair dresser who make her happy. SAY WHAT???
philadelphialawyer
@Emma: Sure, but it is not such a stretch to think that President Obama is sending one signal for public consumption, while the US military is sending the other in private.
“Of course, once Erdogan hunkers down, well, no more elections ever.”
That sounds a lot like the Cold War rationale against “allowing” Leftist electoral victories in Third World countries. Somehow, preventing speculative future harm to democracy justifies destroying it in the here and now. That theory was revived as an excuse against early elections in “liberated” Iraq as well, and against “allowing” the Islamists to take and keep power (“One man, one vote, one time”), after they won the elections in post Mubarak Egypt too.
In Egypt, the military, which, like the Turkish military, has extensive ties to the US military, and benefits from US military aid, ousted the elected government. With a wink and a nod from DC. In Iraq, the US kept direct control until it could manipulate the elections into a result that it desired.
Somehow, this doesn’t seem like a recipe for democracy, to me.
Islamism is popular in the ME. Maybe the US could just learn to deal with that. Instead of constantly trying to support unpopular secularists to thwart it. I see no good reason why the US can’t deal with an Islamist government in Egypt or Turkey, nor why it can’t get along with the Islamist government in Iran.
Emma
@raven: Yeah but this is different. Here’s just girls (and John) sharing tips and goodness. The Idris pics just make it chocolate with whipped cream goodness…
raven
@Emma: It was just girls (and me) at dinner. I said I had to get the dogs out and beat feet.
Major Major Major Major
@philadelphialawyer:
Vonnegut
redshirt
@Major Major Major Major: Vonnegut is the best.
Have you seen the movie “Back to School”?
Emma
@philadelphialawyer:
Actually to me it sort of falls into the “US controls everything — US influences everything — US is always secretly acting in a terrible way” conspiracy theory. This whole thing in Turkey isn’t about us. Like the French issue with Tunisian immigrants or citizens with Tunisian family backgrounds isn’t about us.
Major Major Major Major
@redshirt: Dangerfield? Not in years.
Emma
@raven: Good excuse. You really always need a good excuse. Actually, I think this is about as much conversation as I’ve had on frivolous topics, except with my sister, in the last six months.
ETA: see, this is where the Cuban system works better. Dinner is usually about dinner. After dinner, men go out to the porch or the back yard and the women congregate in the kitchen. Neither group annoys the other.
philadelphialawyer
@Emma: Again, the US actually DOES have real influence over the militaries that it bankrolls, arms, trains, manoevers with and generally cozies up to. The US is a super power, if not the super power. It does have a lot of influence. That doesn’t mean it controls everything, but it is not just some crazy, CT notion that its friendly military allies reflect its desires, to some extent.
Major Major Major Major
@Emma: You know I don’t like that thought process at all, but in this case it makes sense. They’re a key key key key ally and our military haaaaates Erdogan.
Not that we *caused* this or whatever, but what’s so unreasonable about the dual signaling hypothesis?
Brachiator
@Jeffro:
I was listening to a discussion between people who had seen Hamilton 3 times, and never with all the main cast. One person loves the guy replacing Miranda, who had been his understudy. She said Miranda is the Hamilton you introduce to your mother. The replacement is the man you sneak through the backdoor into your bedroom.
raven
@Emma: It’s always in my hip pocket! We eat a a joint right up the street every Friday and our friend just can’t take the heat so I grudgingly eat inside with them but I wanna hang with my pups so I bolt. They also must drink their wine and I’m even less interested in that.
divF
@raven: I’m at that awkward age: too old for a pedicure, and not quite ready for a podiatrist.
Emma
@Major Major Major Major: I am a big fan of Occam’s razor. Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate. It’s not that there couldn’t have been a conspiracy; it’s that it shouldn’t be the first thing we go to.
Emma
@philadelphialawyer: All of that is true. But things happen in the world without US input. It’s not only unnecessary but unseemly to immediate look to “what did the US do/not do” in any particular situation.
Major Major Major Major
@Emma: I’m talking about how the U.S. responded.
Fact: Thing in Turkey happened.
Assumption 1 (95% certainty): We would like Erdogan gone.
Assumption 2 (99% certainty): We certainly can’t say that out loud, either way.
Therefore, we didn’t, but probably expressed support through back channels. Frankly, this makes a hell of a lot more sense than assuming there we no secret communications during an international crisis.
Renie
@raven: Hey do you know how hard it is for women to find a good hair person?!? That’s like finding the Holy Grail.
Emma
@Major Major Major Major: *Shrug*. To each his own.
Emma
OK, this is weird. “undefined” is me. And the post got eaten except for one sentence.Time for bed.
Merci
@Kathleen: ( Anyone?) I have pedicure questions ! What to look for, what to ask to find a good place? Is there a difference in the solutions they use? I react to fumes and don’t know if there are places that don’t use strong chemicals. And what’s a good price?
Merci
Brachiator
@philadelphialawyer:
There are liberals and conservatives who oddly share a stubbornly held belief that the US has miraculous powers over its client states, and a refusal to accept the simple fact that other countries have a sense of their own national interest that has absolutely nothing to do with the US.
History easily refutes this idea, going back to the earliest days of the republic, when Americans were shocked by the XYZ affair revelations that French diplomats viewed us as ignorant rubes who could be manipulated by European powers. This sentiment was reinforced during the Cold War era, when dictators could get the US to drop millions in foreign and military aid on them by shouting”Communists here!” And the exclamation point on American stupidity has been the neocon masters of the universe suckered into the Iraq War disaster.
Omnes Omnibus
@Renie: Hey, it isn’t easy for guys to find someone who is good.
Omnes Omnibus
@philadelphialawyer: Yeah, the US has lots of influence, but other countries and their people have agency. Any analysis that don’t not recognize this is infantile and idiotic.
Villago Delenda Est
@bluehill: Just FYI I left two comments there. No vulgarity, no ad hominems, just a gentle reminder that this is what the GOP has been cultivating for 50 years. They built it.
Both were deleted for obvious political incorrectness.