The Reading List, 2/11/2016

I share a lot of links on Twitter and Facebook that I don’t blog about because I don’t have much to add. The reading list is a periodic feature where I share those links with my blog audience too. Of course, you’re still welcome to follow me on Twitter.

  • The Quest for Social Justice in Secular America is a Real Thing“–“The conference was a great vehicle to connect secular people of color and allies who have been in the trenches of social change. The participant’s roll is a who’s who of secular leaders of color.”
  • Creating a Welcoming Fannish Community“–“We are a diverse group of people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and no two of us will give you the same answer. But if you are committed to creating a convention culture that is inclusive in deeds, not just words, then here are some things you need to consider.”
  • #SSJCon What’s Next: How can secular women of color help our communities?“–“We can do this for ourselves, and seeing the beautiful faces at #SSJCon simply reinforced this reality. I had never been in a space filled with so many atheists of color, much less atheist women of color.”
  • In Iowa, Hillary Shows She’s Learned Something About Running While Female“–“This is a paradigm; it’s why Mom is the disciplinarian and Dad is the fun guy, why women remain the brains and organizational workhorses behind social movements while men get to be the gut-ripping orators, why so many women still manage campaigns and so many men are still candidates.”
  • Ted Cruz’s radical supporters: He won Iowa on the back of the scariest Bible-thumpers in the business“–“This Jesus-walks act of Ted Cruz’s worked like a charm, as Cruz sucked up a veritable rogue’s gallery of every creepy straight guy who claims he loves Jesus but has his eyes fixed firmly on the crotches of America.”
  • Why Liberals Always Win the Culture Wars“–“Work themselves into a lather, rinse, repeat.”
  • Accessibility Checklist for SFWA Spaces“–“The SFWA Accessibility Checklist is provided for the use of conventions and other gatherings who want to ensure that their event is fully accessible by all attendees.”
  • 9 Ways to Be Accountable When You’ve Been Abusive“–“But the truth is that abusers and survivors of abuse do not exist, and have never existed, in a dichotomy: Sometimes, hurt people hurt people.”
  • The Secular Social Justice Conference and the Progressive Atheist Movement“–“We—organizers, panelists, and participants—came into the space with the implied virtue of atheism and knowledge of the adverse effects of certain religious ideologies. Rather than reaffirm or hover over these conclusions, SSJCon displayed a refreshing evolution beyond the mainstream agenda and complacency I’ve encountered many times previously.”
  • Yes, Our Lives Are Intersectional: Reflections on the Secular Social Justice Conference“–“It didn’t surprise me that as I live-tweeted so many important words being said and conversations taking place during the conference, we received negative feedback from a small number of our followers on Twitter. But I couldn’t help but feel shocked by the hate behind the words”
  • Coin-toss fact check: No, coin flips did not win Iowa for Hillary Clinton“–“Gone unmentioned so far is that even if Clinton won that Miracle Six — and there were no other coin tosses — it would make little difference in the outcome.”
  • Chicago Professor Resigns Amid Sexual Misconduct Investigation“–“Before he was hired, molecular biologists on the University of Chicago faculty and at other academic institutions received emails from an anonymous address stating that Dr. Lieb had faced allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct at previous jobs at Princeton and the University of North Carolina.”
  • ‘You Need Some New Friends!’“–“Finally, the ‘get new friends’ response concerns me because it’s so reminiscent of the ‘not all _____’ response, which is weird because it’s usually coming from fellow marginalized folks.”
  • The One-Percent Difference“–“While this person and I agree on most matters, he disagrees with me about the wisdom of Dawkins’ promotion of callous misogyny.* But more importantly, he disagrees with me about how big a disagreement that is.”
  • Sexual Ethics 201“–“One of the difficult things about being in relationships is that oftentimes just saying what we think or feel or want is not enough to make sure everyone comes out of an interaction feeling good.”
  • Ask Polly: Why Did My Dream Man Dump Me?“–“There is nothing whatsoever wrong with being a sexy badass, as long as you can keep that shit up forever.”
  • Minnesotans talk fast and get the hell off the phone, says science“–“Now, here’s where it gets interesting. In the category of who speaks the most, total, Minnesota ranks second-to-last, meaning we say the second-fewest words when on the phone with a business.”
  • At last! White History Month is here!“–“In fact, I feel kinda sad that white people don’t have an entire month to learn more about their history. It really isn’t fair. Therefore, in response to the calls for fairness that I’ve seen on Facebook and Twitter year, after year, after year, I give you White History Month.”
  • Problems with Pre-Pregnancy“–“Everyone should have access to healthcare that focuses on them and their needs, whether those needs include treatment for drug addiction, smoking cessation, access to birth control, or help getting or staying pregnant. Preconception healthcare takes the focus off the real patient right in front of doctors, and moves it to a figment of the imagination.”
  • Is That a Threat?“–“Then I realized that I was afraid to sound ‘whiny’ in writing about strangers physically threatening me. That’s how deeply ingrained these ideas are.”
  • How abortion opponents secretly bought a Va. abortion clinic to deceive women“–“Nothing indicates that the abortion clinic is closed except a locked door. The clinic’s Google ads still pop up, and the phone number still works. When women dial the closed abortion clinic, the call is forwarded straight to the pregnancy center.”
  • Hillary Clinton Told the Truth About Her Iraq War Vote“–“‘Because bipartisan support for this resolution makes success in the United Nations more likely and war less likely—and because a good faith effort by the United States, even if it fails, will bring more allies and legitimacy to our cause—I have concluded, after careful and serious consideration, that a vote for the resolution best serves the security of our nation.'”
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The Reading List, 2/11/2016
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