#the white crow 2018

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

THE WHITE CROW (2018)

During the Cold War, a young Russian man escapes to Paris to pursue his passion for ballet dancing. However, his time in the West eventually puts him in a precarious situation that involves the KGB.

#thewhitecrow#thewhitecrow2018#rudolfnureyev

[crookedfandomquill]

This is very situational, and sadly may not be realistic for everyone, but I need y’all to understand that a very important part of political activism is fucking talking to your conservative or moderate friends and family.

My dad voted for Trump in 2016. He’s a middle class white evangelical from Arkansas. He raised me with conservative Christian values, just like his parents raised him. When he voted Trump, he was holding his nose, but he didn’t feel too bad about it, and went on to vote red down the ticket in the 2018 midterms, as well.

But I started college in 2017. Higher education and independence changed everything for me, and I went home over holidays and summers with fire in my belly and a thousand arguments ready at the drop of a hat, to my father’s dismay.

I remember crying in my room after emotional, intense arguments with him. I told him over and over that I felt betrayed by his choice to vote for a man who admitted to sexually assaulting women, who built his platform on dehumanizing immigrants and the disabled, who spread overtly-racist rhetoric, who flouted the values of kindness and self-discipline that I’d been raised on. And my dad always had some justification about the “greater good”: fighting against abortion, bolstering the economy, getting other Christian politicians into office.

But over time, as we grew further apart and I lost my will to discuss anything with him at all, he softened. He started asking me why I thought the way I did about the things we disagreed about. He would listen to my answers without interruption, and mull them over afterward instead of expressing his own opinion. And all the while, he watched the Trump presidency become cruel and absurd and devastating.

The first time he openly expressed regret to me, I had come home for a weekend after Kavanaugh was confirmed to SCOTUS. My dad realized he had helped elect a man who preyed on women… and that man had opened the door to more predators. I can’t tell you what it felt like for him to admit that he’d made a mistake, not just in voting for Trump but in defending him for so long. We kept arguing, but it was more debating than fighting. I knew he was capable of seeing my side of things, even if it took a while, and he knew I wasn’t just a sensitive college student with shallow new ideas about the world.

And then 2020 hit. Specifically, George Floyd was murdered, and the events that followed played out on the national stage. My dad was incredibly shaken by it. He asked me if I had any books from college about racial issues. I loaned him The New Jim Crow, one of the required readings for my Race and the Law class. Then I gave him Just Mercy. Then he watched the documentary 13th. Then he joined a racial harmony group he learned about through one of the few Black families at our church and insisted our whole family come. He held up signs at a protest against Confederate monuments in our conservative southern town. In three years, he went from defending Trump’s comments about “Black-on-Black crime” to publicly advocating for racial justice and opposing the death penalty.

We went together to vote in the 2020 primaries. I couldn’t help asking who he’d voted for; I didn’t even know if he’d asked for the Republican or Democratic ticket. He admitted he’d voted for Bernie. fucking. Sanders, then made me promise not to tell my grandma he’d voted liberal. When the election rolled around in November, he voted Biden. I’m sure he held his nose to do it, just like he held his nose voting in 2016. But I know he doesn’t regret it.

I am, of course, unbelievably lucky to have a parent who loved me enough, and was empathetic enough, to choose his relationship with me over his strongly-held opinions. He kept searching for truth because, as much as he’ll deny it, he’s a very smart and curious person. No degree of intelligence or curiosity makes you immune to propaganda, especially if you were raised not to question the party line. It’s easy to dismiss our conservative, conspiracy-pilled loved ones as stupid, hypocritical, and cruel. Sometimes they are. But sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes they will bend to keep their relationships from breaking. Sometimes, if they can be made to understand that their beliefs and actions are harming someone they love, they will make concessions. And sometimes they just need one person in their life to put a foot down, to be vulnerable and assertive and argumentative, to bring the impact of their politics close to home.

As the most important election of our lifetimes approaches, do not put peace over progress. If you have someone like my dad, someone who is good-willed and smart and loves you more than their own opinions, tell them how you feel. Tell them what their choices will mean for you, for your friends, for your community. Tell them what they could lose: your trust, your affection, your respect. Don’t avoid conflict if it could be productive. Because my conflict with my dad didn’t just win him over–it won over my moderate mom and one of my conservative brothers. And it put us in community with other like-minded people and led my parents to a healthier and kinder faith.

All of this to say, there is hope in conflict. There is hope in our relationships with people who think differently from us. There is hope in exposing your fear and anger and pain to people you love. And hope is a form of activism.

[zanephillips]

Oleg Ivenko and Louis Hofmann  The White Crow (2018)

[fictionadventurer]

Details:

1940s Hans Christian Andersen shorts: Intended as animated segments within a live-action film about the author's life, these would have adapted The Little Mermaid, The Fir Tree, Through the Picture Frame, The Emperor's Nightingale, and The Steadfast Tin Soldier. (Yes, I know we got adaptations of several of these, but I still want to share the concept art for old versions).

Gremlins: A film they worked on a lot during WWII but couldn't crack the story (or find money to make it)

Don Quixote: They tried to adapt the story in various ways in the '40s, '50s, and '00s, which is too long to get into here, but it led to some interesting concept art.

Chanticleer: A story about an arrogant rooster who thought his crow made the sun rise, and used this to rule over the other farmyard animals. Reynard the Fox was a villain who tried to take advantage of the discontent in the farm animals to take over as their leader (with plans to eat them), which leads to Chanticleer saving them and learning humility. Work started on it in the 1940s, and it was so close to being made in the 1960s, but they decided to go with The Sword in the Stone instead. Some of the animators loved it, though, and some of the character concepts were later adapted into Robin Hood.

Catfish Bend: I haven't found much about the story beyond "talking animals in the South", but the concept art intrigues me. It would have been released in 1981, but after it was shelved, some of the concepts went on to inspire The Rescuers.

Mistress Masham's Repose: An adaptation of T.H. White's novel, pitched in the late 1980s

Fraidy Cat: 2009 film about a pampered housecat named Oscar who is falsely accused of kidnapping another pet and has to team up with a cockatoo and try to find the real culprit to clear his name. Shelved because they figured kids and general audiences wouldn't understand the Hitchcock references (which seems like a terrible reason, but alas).

King of the Elves: Announced in 2009, it was a 3D animated film scheduled for 2012, before being shelved in 2016. Adapted from a Philip K. Dick story, it was about an ordinary man who saves some elves from a troll and (apparently reluctantly) gets declared their king.

Gigantic: A retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk set during the Spanish exploration, it involves Jack meeting an 11-year-old female giant who treats him like a doll, and eventually fighting much larger Storm Giants. Would have had songs written by the team from Frozen and was set to be released in 2018, then moved to 2020 before being cancelled because apparently they couldn't figure out the story.

[k-wame]

OLEG IVENKO & LOUIS HOFMANN 2018 • The White Crow • dir. Ralph Fiennes

[yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere]

so, alright, here are the movies/MEDIA that make me go *oh shit I'm so bi, omg bisexual panic*

so, alright, here are the MOVIES that make me go *oh shit I'm so bi, omg bisexual panic* (it can be very bi-vibes movies or simply movies that make me feel how very deeply i love being bi, or the ones i just enjoy rewatching-not necessarily with bi/queer representation!) : Red, White & Royal Blue 2023 , The Mummy 1999, The Little Mermaid 2023, The Little Mermaid 1989, Anne Of Green Gables 1985, Anne Of Green Gables:The Sequel 1987, Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story 2000, The Road to El Dorado 2000, Mulan 1998, The Cutting Edge 1992, Ten Inch Hero 2007, Rebel Without A Cause 1955, The Fallout 2021, Better Off Dead 1985, Anastasia 1997, The Idea of You 2024, Rise Of The Guardians 2012, 10 Things I Hate About You 1999, Do Revenge 2022, Charlie’s Angels 2019, Bottoms 2023, Cadet Kelly 2002, Lemonade Mouth 2011, The Little Vampire 2017, John Tucker Must Die 2006, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 2016, The Princess and The Frog 2009, The Addams Family 1991, Addams Family Values 1993, Treasure Planet 2002, Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2001, The Favourite 2018, Challengers 2024, Upgraded 2024, Fallen 2016, The Half Of It 2020, Feel The Beat 2020, My Old Ass 2024, (+ will probably keep adding to this soon-ish)

+ edit TV SHOWS that my bi heart loves: One Tree Hill(OTH), Shadow and Bone, Roswell 90s(OG), White Collar, Reign, Mary & George, Heartstopper, Wild Cards, Living for the Dead, Warrior Nun, XO Kitty, Wednesday, Maxton Hall : The World Between Us (2024), Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous(JWCC) & Jurassic World Chaos Theory (JWCT) , Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Dawson's Creek, Vampire Academy 2022, Fallen 2024, Willow, Dickinson, Heartbreak High, Teen Titans, Legacies, TheAddamsFamily(1964-1966), Love Victor, Lockwood&Co, Queer As Folk, The L Word, Shadowhunters, Ginny & Georgia, Get Even (2020), Geek Girl (2024),

+ edit BOOKS/ BOOK SERIES that my bi heart absolutely LOVES:

Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer, Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi, The Folk Of The Air Series by Holly Black, The Diviners Series by Libba Bray, The Devouring Gray Duology by C.L. Herman, GRISHAVERSE books (Six of Crows!!, Shadow and Bone, King of Scars-3 mini series) by Leigh Bardugo , This Woven Kingdom Series by Tahereh Mafi , Fallen Series by Lauren Kate, Elixir Series by Hilary Duff, The Cemetery Of Forgotten Books Series by C. R. Zafón, The Keys To The Kingdom Series by Garth Nix, Infinity Cycle Series by Adam Silvera, Anne Of Green Gables Series by L. M. Montgomery, Bloodlines Series & Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead, An Ember In The Ashes Series by Sabaa Tahir, The Selection Series by Kiera Cass + STANDALONES Lauren Kate-Unforgiven (standalone book in my opinion), Eoin Colfer- Airman, David Nicholls- One Day, Gayle Forman-Just One- Day & Year & Night (mini series), Vanessa Len-Only a Monster (mini series here too), Adam Silvera- History Is All You Left Me, Adam Silvera- They Both Die At The End , Adam Silvera- The First To Die At The End, Becky Albertalli-Imogen,Obviously, Mason Deaver- I Wish You All The Best(+short novella here!), Casey McQuiston-Red, White & Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston- The Pairing, Casey McQuiston-I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Casey McQuiston-One Last Stop, Aaron H Aceves-This Is Why They Hate Us, Wen-yi Lee- The Dark We Know, Mason Deaver-The Feeling Of Falling In Love, Sophie Gonzales-The Law Of Inertia, H.E.Edgmon-The Witch King & The Fae Keeper (duology!) , H.E.Edgmon-Godly Heathens & Merciless Saviors (mini series here!) , Carlos Ruiz Zafón- The Midnight Palace, Isabel Abedi- Whisper Haunted House, Francis Scott Fitzgerald- The Love Of Last Tycoon, Leo Tolstoy- Anna Karenina, S. E. Hinton- The Outsiders, Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera-Here's to Us & What If It's Us (duology), Page Powars- The Borrow a Boyfriend Club,(will keep adding here probably!)

BOOKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BISEXUAL HISTORY & ACTIVISM:https://www.tumblr.com/ruimtetijd/686000390089621504/list-of-books-about-bi-history-and-activism-from

+ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q--nIkJu0OS0BgiyZmdKVwOVg1G90SFzWijNDWFTt58/edit#heading=h.wqkaxpi7o5je

+about THE MUSIC:

love you all, we need MORE bisexuality in media!!

+some links:

[lynsstrange]

Six of Crows Headcannons: what I think each crow would wear on the red carpet

I’ve been getting into runway fashion and couture recently, and I thought this would be a lot of fun, so here are my personal outfit headcannons!

Inej

(From left to right/top to bottom: Nina Ricci Fall 2009, Chanel Spring 1992, Amit Aggarwal India Couture Week 2019)

Okay so Inej was super fun for me. My first thought was automatically something black and sleek like the first two, but then I thought she would love wearing something that is influenced by her culture, and I thought that green look from Amir Aggarwal would look stunning on her.

Kaz

(From left to right/top to bottom: Hermès Fall 2014, Les Hommes Fall 2015)

Do I really need to say anything? You know he’s rolling up to that shit in all black. Period.

Jesper

(From left to right/top to bottom: Gucci Love Parade LA, Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2022, Tom Ford Spring 2023)

Running in the exact opposite direction of Kaz, Jesper would 110% wear something outlandish and in a shade so bright it’s hard to look at. These were some of my favorites I could see him in.

Wylan

(From left to right/top to bottom: Sandro Spring 2021, Fear of God Seventh Collection, BOSS Spring 2019)

Wylan was difficult for me at first, then I got inspired and had a lot of fun with it. I think he would wear something simple, elegant and in his style. I love these looks a lot.

Nina

(From left to right/top to bottom: Christian Siriano 2018, Alexandre Vauthier Summer 2019, Ziad Nakad Spring 2021)

Nina is in a similar vein as Jesper, I think, but probably a bit more sexy and refined. I chose the first one because it reminds me of her kefta! (and the model is plus sized!!)

Matthias

(From left to right/top to bottom: Corneliani Spring 2020, BOSS Spring 2020)

Matthias was definitely a hard one for me, because he doesn’t exactly strike me as a “fashion guy” lmao. But I think he would rock something white or light blue “like the ice in Fjerda.”

[ambushingghostart]

Blog number 4

How to Challenge the Digital Divide and Poverty

In "The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere," Anna Everett focuses on the intersection of African Americans and their efforts to bridge the digital divide. African Americans, referred to as "black technophiles," have been driven to break barriers in the digital workspace. They advocate for the use of social platforms and technology as tools to empower education, businesses, and political activism within African American communities.

Many technological platforms and corporations are designed with biases against poor communities, which often lack the resources for modern digital infrastructure necessary to empower the next generation. Black technophiles challenge a system that has neglected marginalized African American communities, demanding equal access to the opportunities of the digital age.

How to Break the Modern "Jim Codes"

In the article "The New Jim Codes," Ruha Benjamin examines the historical parallels between past and present forms of discrimination, focusing on how technological inequality resembles the tactics used during the Jim Crow era. Benjamin argues that algorithms and artificial intelligence disproportionately discriminate against people of color, compared to white Americans, based on the biased data used to program these platforms.

The "New Jim Codes" are unethical in minority communities due to the lack of human oversight and the potential for flawed technology to perpetuate discrimination.

At What Age Should Digital Data Begin Being Collected?

In "Algorithms of Oppression," Safiya Noble provides critical insight into how the data collected from young people through surveillance can reinforce racial and gender biases, limiting opportunities. This data is often used to perpetuate systems of inequality, frequently without the knowledge or consent of the individuals involved. Innocent people, particularly children, are caught between biased algorithms and security risks, with little accountability from agencies meant to provide neutral oversight.

Are You Protected from Safe Searches?

In the introduction to "Algorithms of Oppression," Safiya Noble argues that while search engines are often perceived as neutral, they are, in reality, filled with racism and sexism. Google search algorithms, in particular, tend to prioritize content that often works against women of color, especially Black women. As a result, minority women and girls are frequently sexualized on the internet, with harmful platforms gaining access to innocent users without safeguards or accountability. Protecting users should be a priority for search engines, but these algorithms often serve to exploit and maintain power over the user instead.

Everett, A. (2002). The Revolution Will Be Digitized. Duke University Press. 

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race After Technology. 

Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1pwt9w5

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

Stats from Movies 601-700

Top 10 Movies - Highest Number of Votes

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992) had the most votes with 1,347 votes. Absentia (2011) had the least votes with 54 votes.

The 10 Most Watched Films by Percentage

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992) was the most watched film with 44.6% of voters out of 1,347 saying they had seen it. The Inhabitant (2017) had the least "Yes" votes with 0.6% of voters out of 785.

The 10 Least Watched Films by Percentage

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) was the least watched film with 69.7% of voters out of 538 saying they hadn’t seen it. I Am Alone (2015) had the least "No" votes with 11.3% of voters out of 531.

The 10 Most Known Films by Percentage

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992) was the best known film, 6,7% of voters out of 1,347 saying they’d never heard of it.

The 10 Least Known Films by Percentage

I Am Alone (2015) was the least known film, 88,10% of voters out of 531 saying they’d never heard of it.

The movies part of the statistic count and their polls below the cut.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) Unhinged (2020) Tales from the Hood (1995) Tales from the Hood 2 (2018) Tales from the Hood 3 (2020) Quarantine (2008) Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011) I Am Alone (2015) The Hitcher (1986) Lady in White (1988)

Ghostland (2018) Dark City (1998) Event Horizon (1997) Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) The Exorcist III (1990) Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) The Exorcist: Believer (2023) Tragedy Girls (2017) Martin (1977)

Saint Maud (2019) A Cure for Wellness (2016) The Devil's Advocate (1997) Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) 1408 (2007) Good Manners (2017) The Crawling Eye (1958) Un Chien Andalou / An Andalusian Dog (1929) Cadaver (2020) Skinner (1993)

Cube (1997) The Bees (1978) August Underground (2001) The House (2022) The Lodge (2019) Stay Alive (2006) Shallow Grave (1994) Contracted (2013) Messiah of Evil (1974) The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)

Llamageddon (2015) One Hour Photo (2002) Absentia (2011) You Might Be the Killer (2018) The Haunting (1999) Onibaba (1964) Abandoned (2022) The Offering (2022) The Crow (1994) Call Back (2009)

La Llorona (2019) Suicide Club (2001) 1BR (2019) Where the Dead Go to Die (2012) El Conde (2023) Black Mountain Side (2014) Piggy (2022) The Neon Demon (2016) Prom Night (1980) Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)

Prom Night III: The Last Kiss (1990) Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil (1991) Prom Night (2008) Rift (2017) Slaughtered Vomit Dolls (2006) ReGOREgitated Sacrifice (2008) Slow Torture Puke Chamber (2010) Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl (2016) The Club (1994) The Last Exorcism (2010)

Braid (2018) Red Mist (2008) Knock at the Cabin (2023) Revealer (2022) Piranha (1978) What Keeps You Alive (2018) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) Teeth (2007) Martyrs (2015)

The Woman In Black (1989) The Last Thing Mary Saw (2021) Thirst (2019) Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) An American Haunting (2005) Troll Hunter (2010) The Power (2021) Post Mortem (2020) Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020) Bulbbul (2020)

The Inhabitant (2017) The Cleansing Hour (2016) The Wind (2018) The Mimic (2017) Errementari (2017) Witches in the Woods (2019) There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023) Antrum (2018) Love at First Bite (1979) The Night of the Hunter (1955)

[alittlebitofloveliness]

the ppl MUST know how long youve been writing fics for🗣️🗣️‼️‼️

Well I can't disappoint the people lol!

hmmm ok this forced me to THINK because I realize I've now been writing for a while

My writing journey started with writing Marauders and Riordanverse fics on wattpad back in 2018

I was really into Anne with an E in 2019 and that's when I started writing on ao3. I quickly moved from writing for awae to writing a few fics for Six of Crows and Red White and Royal Blue. Then my Young Royals obsession derailed me and I wrote that for like years

As far as the outsiders goes I actually wrote my first outsiders fic LONG before I published but I only started seriously writing outsiders works back in March of this year.

So yeah, been writing about 7ish years now, I have 63 works on ao3, 11 of which are for the Outsiders (with more in the works!)

Thanks for the ask :)

[corvid-tournament]

Corvid Tournament Corvus Bracket Round 4: Collared Crow vs Flores Crow

Collared crow (corvus torquatus): The collared crow is a mid-sized bird at 52-55cm/20-22in long. Is easily distinguished by its white coloration pattern that wraps around the back of its neck, shoulders, and chest, leaving a black strip down its front, hence its name. It is otherwise black. Its territory is mostly eastern China, though it does not live North of Beijing. It is a true omnivore and has been shown to adapt to urban environments. Its conservation status is “vulnerable” (“near threatened” in China as of 2018) due to reduced food accessibility caused by increased pesticide use. They are currently under observation of the World Wildlife Fund, though aside from this, large scale conservation efforts have been implemented.

Flores crow (corvus florensis): The Flores crow is a small, all-black bird that lives on the island of Flores, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Its conservation status is “endangered” due to habitat loss caused by deforestation, parasitism by cuckoos, and generally being regarded as pests by locals. Proposals for conservation measures have been made, but nothing has been enacted. The most recent information I could find is this.

[dayurno]

🤔I was thinking that some of the popularity could be because of the massive overlap between the trc and aftg (and somehow six of crows), or maybe it's just bc the aftg was being passed in book tumblr circles and soc and trc are popular on tumblr too, but there was this venn diagram that was inescapable back in the day with all three books, and trcs rlly popular, tradpub, loads of book instagram/youtubers made videos about it in 2016/17 then you'd look for recs with books like trc and people would recommend aftg though the books are way different to trc, there's crossover fan works too, maybe it's just because there's gay characters and both books deal with abuse. Idk this is probably the worst example ever but it's like how people would watch the untamed which was extremely popular then get into danmei, aftg would be a fairly hard series to find or to get get recced unless you were on tumblr maybe?

While writing this I realised for the book to even go around in ya tumblr circles it would've had to have been kind of popular in the first place🥲I wasn't here in 2016 but I was in 2018, I do think that if you got into trc and maybe soc which are more easy to get into since they're just more well known and find in bookstores you'd go on tumblr and find something to do with aftg the overlap between the two fandoms is crazy

OH FOR SURE i have not read soc but i did read trc and honestly it was shocking to me how different it was from aftg! the idea that these books overlap in anyway is insane to me. trc is a magical story about teenagers and friendship, aftg is a self-published sports anime masking as dead dove. perhaps people feel like trc's friendship theme is in any way alike to the foxes, but the idea just feels absurd to me; the foxes are barely even friends. sure they are neil's family, but each other's family? hard to say. for the upperclassmen, yes, sure, if they can ignore kevin and andrew and aaron. for the monsters i will gracefully decline to comment

now re: the untamed and getting into danmei............................. danmei is mostly if not entirely self-published and known for heavier themes, and to have a story blow up among chinese readers is already hard as it is; to blow up among international fans feels even crazier. it's a pretty fair comparison! i guess in a way soc and trc did pull most of aftg's fanbase, but i don't know if it was all of it. like fallenstarzz said, it was probably a strike of luck mixed with the general lack of complex yet easily accessible (white american) queer content at the time. we rave about the toxic yaoi now but in 2014-2018 the most 'problematic' queer content i can think of is killing stalking and its disciples, most of which were published by authors of color outside of the imperial core. i imagine aftg owes much of its fame to the whiteness and nearness of its cast and setting too. it was more than dead dove. it was toxic yaoi for white people

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Gabe Fleisher at Wake Up To Politics:

Historically, the closest parallel to what happened last night is probably the assassination attempt of Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. Like Donald Trump — who was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday — Roosevelt was a former president when he survived a gunman’s fire. Also like Trump, Roosevelt at the time was running to reclaim the White House, in the midst of a campaign speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Finally, and most importantly, the attempts on both men’s lives will likely be best remembered for their defiance in the face of a would-be assassin. In his case, Roosevelt continued delivering his speech, even as a bullet was lodged in his chest. “It takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose,” he famously declared, going on to speak for another 50 minutes before seeking medical attention. Secret Service protocols would not allow such a display today; still, the attack on Trump will forever be defined by this instantly iconic image, of Trump’s face streaked with blood, his fist raised in the air, the American flag waving behind him. It has been 44 years since a federal elected official (Allard Lowenstein, a New York congressman) was successfully assassinated in the United States, a streak that often masks the fact that political violence has been steadily increasing over the last decade.

This is not the 1960s — when a president, a presidential candidate, and several civil rights leaders were killed in a five-year period — but more from a lack of successes than a lack of trying. It has not been an era, thank God, of murdered politicians, but it has been one of dangerously close shaves. On January 6, 2021, rioters came within 40 feet of then-Vice President Mike Pence, as Trump supporters chanted for his hanging and searched for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), among others. Less than two years later, Pelosi’s husband sustained an attack by hammer; if a police dispatcher had not understood his coded messaging, he may have ended up with worse than just a skull fracture. In 2017, doctors told Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) that he had been “within a minute of death” after being shot at a congressional baseball practice. Then-Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) also survived gunfire, but she has never fully regained the ability of speech after a 9-millimeter bullet cut through her brain in 2011.

A man made it just outside of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in 2022, armed with a pistol, knife, hammer, crow bar, and zip ties, but his assassination plot was foiled when he called the police himself, his second thoughts having taken over. Someone made it even closer to then-Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) one month later, climbing on stage during a gubernatorial campaign rally; thankfully, the attacker was armed only with a keychain. Quantifiably, according to a University of Maryland database, political violence since 2016 has been at its highest levels in the U.S. since the 1970s. Before 2016, the U.S. Capitol Police had never opened more than 1,000 threat investigations in a single year; last year, more than 8,000 threats against members of Congress were investigated. Similarly, “investigated threats against federal judges have risen every year since 2018,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service, while election officials are also facing an unprecedented level of menace.

The threats were all able to be foiled, but several — like the bullet that whizzed just inches away from Trump on Saturday — came horrifyingly close to fruition. And oftentimes, even as the politicians live, others become collateral damage of our toxic politics. Yesterday, at least one American was killed simply for attending a political rally of their preferred presidential candidate. [...] Rarely do Democratic or Republican officials stop to acknowledge that their own side might have a role to play in our divisive politics. Instead, when horrors like last night’s unfold, each side reliably finds a way to blame the other party, which only serves to exacerbate further the cycle of hatred and violence that brought us to this point. Even in their responses to tragedy, more toxicity flows loose.

Gabe Fleisher details in his Wake Up To Politics newsletter the history of close calls that would have resulted in the death of various politicians over the past decade and a half or so, such as Gabby Giffords, Paul Pelosi, Steve Scalise, Mike Pence, and most recently, Donald Trump.

[k-wame]

OLEG IVENKO & SERGEI POLUNIN 2018 • The White Crow • dir. Ralph Fiennes

[xoxovalerie-c]

Blog Post Week 4: Due 9/19

How have names contributed to racial bias in both technology and society, and what are the consequences?

I truly believe that names, including nicknames, are strongly tied to people’s identities. For example, I get upset when my boyfriend calls me by my full name because it feels rude I prefer being called Val. So, yes, names matter they’re more than just labels. They reflect culture, status, etc. Think about how Kylie Jenner was criticized for naming her baby Stormi, but now many moms love that name. An uncommon name but Kylie’s social status changed that. So, how has technology contributed to making names a source of racism? It does. Studies have shown that they found that algorithms associated White- sounding names with “pleasant” words and Black-sounding names with “unpleasant” ones (Benjamin, 2019). This shapes how society perceives names. For instance, law enforcement is developing as their use of technology increases. This can cause where an unfamiliar name might lead to someone being unfairly judged as a “criminal.” The fact that technology uses names as a data point is a red flag. It’s not technology itself that’s racist-it’s the people who designed it, embedding their own social biases into these systems.

Why is technology being compared to Jim Crow law? 

Jim Crow laws were designed to continue the separation of black and white people in everyday life, without explicitly saying it but enforcing segregation through legal means. These laws affected everything from where people could eat to where they could vote. Similarly, technology today has created a digital divide between those who have access to technology and the internet and who don’t. But truly it just isn’t a gap between socioeconomic but rather identities. The problem is, some argue that addressing this issue might violate freedom of speech. But why are we accepting racism online as something that’s okay? Just like Jim Crow laws, technology has created barriers that deepen inequality. 

How does intersectionality shape individuals experiences in a digital space?

As Crenshaw explained, intersectionality is a way to understand inequality by looking at how different parts of a person's identity comes together. It's a prism for understanding many more social problems. Encourages people to think about advantages and disadvantages (Crenshaw, 2018). This idea helps us understand how various aspects of identity, like race and gender, combine to affect experiences with discrimination. For example, algorithms and online platforms can create unique challenges for people depending on their race, gender, and socioeconomic status. When creating fairer digital policies and technologies, it’s important to consider these overlapping identities. Identity is about the relationships between people in different communities and understanding each person’s unique background, both in the physical world and online.

Why is there a lack of awareness of these biases being present in major social platforms?

Noble discusses a case where Google was showing explicit content when searching for the term “Black women.” Google claimed this was due to a glitch in the system. However, Noble pointed out that it’s hard to believe such significant glitches could occur without the creators of these programs being aware of them. This issue isn’t highlighted because these are considered legitimate and trusted programs, yet they still fail to address these problems. As society, unawareness comes from normalizing bias. What we need to do is hold more accountability of the issue that is being put into our faces. 

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race After Technology.

Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1pwt9w5

National Association of Independent Schools (2018, June 22). Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality? [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViDtnfQ9FHc