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This is actually like something from a Monty Python movie. You can imagine the scene, where the angry mob is looking for something to burn, or tear down, or stone to death, and fixates on an innocent statue. Only to find, a little later, that they had got the wrong target. Anyway, the Shelbourne has […]
The University of Chicago English Department has announced that it “is accepting only applicants interested in working in and with Black Studies” – meaning that students who wish to study english there will also have to take a course that many say draws its inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement that includes the dismantling of the […]
This is not Minneapolis. This is not Portland. This is Dublin. And this happened yesterday. Last month we had a Black Lives Matter march through the city. Last week we had our president sign into law new powers for vulture funds and banks. Yesterday we had black people dragged out of their home by men […]
It seems like RTE has gone all 1968 on our ass. Not only have they guilt-bombed us now for months over our white supremacy and slavery associations, but now it seems the national broadcaster thinks that abolishing the police is something they should give a “platform” to. On Tuesday, the national broadcaster posted a piece […]
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the removal of statues being an assault on our history, and the decision of the Shelbourne Hotel to remove, yesterday, four statues that had adorned its exterior walls for a century and a half is interesting, in that context: The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin has taken down […]
A very rare victory for common sense, these days, so naturally it didn’t happen in Ireland: Nick Buckley MBE, who was ousted as chief executive of his own charity last month following some mild criticisms of the Black Lives Matter manifesto, is back in charge thanks to the Free Speech Union. As of today, the […]
A fun little story from the weekend that’s too good not to write about. Every Saturday, the Irish Times publishes a relationship advice column, where readers send in letters detailing the difficulties they face in navigating romantic relationships in the modern era. In fairness to the paper, it’s a great read, with previous highlights including […]
Which racial group is most likely to be killed by police in the United States? It’s not African-Americans, it’s Native Americans. Native Americans are less than one percent of the nation’s population but make up about two percent of police killings. Some of them have been dramatic. The Great Falls Tribune, a newspaper in Billings, Montana, […]
Fun fact: Iconoclasm was last in vogue, in the Christian world, during the reign of Leo the Armenian as Byzantine Emperor, from 815 to 843AD. Since then, most societies have shied away from the destruction of images of Jesus, because, well, it’s not very popular. Until now, anyway. A leading figure in the Black Lives […]
Canadian media is obsessed with identity politics. Percentages of women, non-white and the sexually diverse in politics are routinely analyzed. The unprecedented global focus on anti-black racism since the murder of George Floyd has brought this to a new level. In the middle of the racial ferment a black woman, Leslyn Lewis, is running for leadership […]
Joe Biden’s racialist comment on black voters just before George Floyd took centre stage may have escaped the attention it deserved, but the attitude of the Democrats and the liberal left towards the black community has come under renewed focus. An email sent by a black member of the faculty at the University of California, […]
Like many others, I’ve been thinking about the recent race-related protests and riots. I definitely don’t have all the answers. Nevertheless, here are a few of my philosophical reflections, which I hope will be helpful. 1. I think a distinction should be made between (1) black lives matter (the claim) and (2) Black Lives Matter (the […]
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