Not in Tune with Thanksgiving Break
I'm in Shaker Heights for Thanksgiving (Julie, too). We've actually been in Cleveland since Sunday morning, but haven't gotten around to posting because... I don't know why. I feel like this vacation is getting away from me, though it's been really nice seeing the friends and family I've seen.
The train in was running super-late, so we didn't get home until 7AM on Sunday. The weather has been blustery and cold in turns, turning to snow.
My folks are doing well. I got some time to catch up with my siblings. My sister, Melissa, is freelancing and busy with tech week for a show. I got to see her and meet her boyfriend, Elliot, on Thanksgiving day. My brother, Solomon, started a new job at Crop Kitchen a few weeks ago, and our family had dinner at the restaurant on Wednesday (it's good!). Julie, Solomon, and I went to the Natural History Museum. We went out on the town with Markos and Co (including his new girlfriend, who's really interesting and nice and hangs out with a cool crowd). We caught up with Dan and Anne, who are preparing for incoming progeny in T minus some small number. I was also happy to hear from my Cousin Miriam, who called from the other side of the globe with some Thanksgiving well-wishes. Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful.
The national (and local, for Cleveland) news has me all out of sorts. I'll limit my commentary to this (which I've repeated a few times elsewhere): There's more to the systemic social issues surrounding race relations in America than implicit bias lowering barriers to violence in the moments before a tragedy. An 18-year-old getting in a fist-fight with a police officer or an unsupervised 12-year-old pointing a realistic-looking toy gun at strangers in a park in a neighbourhood with a high incidence of armed crime and gang violence, those are also things that happen in context.
I also want to share a few related links to things that have been impinging on my thoughts:
The train in was running super-late, so we didn't get home until 7AM on Sunday. The weather has been blustery and cold in turns, turning to snow.
My folks are doing well. I got some time to catch up with my siblings. My sister, Melissa, is freelancing and busy with tech week for a show. I got to see her and meet her boyfriend, Elliot, on Thanksgiving day. My brother, Solomon, started a new job at Crop Kitchen a few weeks ago, and our family had dinner at the restaurant on Wednesday (it's good!). Julie, Solomon, and I went to the Natural History Museum. We went out on the town with Markos and Co (including his new girlfriend, who's really interesting and nice and hangs out with a cool crowd). We caught up with Dan and Anne, who are preparing for incoming progeny in T minus some small number. I was also happy to hear from my Cousin Miriam, who called from the other side of the globe with some Thanksgiving well-wishes. Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful.
The national (and local, for Cleveland) news has me all out of sorts. I'll limit my commentary to this (which I've repeated a few times elsewhere): There's more to the systemic social issues surrounding race relations in America than implicit bias lowering barriers to violence in the moments before a tragedy. An 18-year-old getting in a fist-fight with a police officer or an unsupervised 12-year-old pointing a realistic-looking toy gun at strangers in a park in a neighbourhood with a high incidence of armed crime and gang violence, those are also things that happen in context.
I also want to share a few related links to things that have been impinging on my thoughts:
- Race and Justice: Much More Than You Wanted To Know - An overview of research on the subject of racism and criminal justice in America by Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex
- Why have I lost control? - An essay published by Cory Booker in The Stanford Daily on May 6, 1992
- This brilliant Chainsawsuit comic, which I've seen posted in other contexts but has broad applicability (when reading this comic, keep in mind that the alarmed person standing stage-right is someone like you and the other two are definitely not, there is no other possible interpretation)