Empathy is declining globally.
Narcissism is on the rise.

Let me thread out a short explanation of why this could be a species-ending trend for humans.

apa.org/news/podcasts/… For a long time, evolutionary psychologists & biologists tried to understand how homo sapiens became the surviving human species. After all, we are fragile, slow, and easily hurt. Neanderthals were smart, creative, tough.

newsweek.com/2023/01/13/nea…

I give David Brooks a lot of credit here. There is self-awareness here, and a willingness to admit that perhaps his position in life wasn't entirely due to his talent and intellect. He's so close.

nytimes.com/2023/08/02/opi… I read this piece as an opportunity for a good discussion. It's not an answer, but it's so rare for a "public intellectual" of his stature to invite us to see him and his team as the villains of the story.

My father died in a submarine accident in 1970, when I was 9 months old. He was 32, with four small children at home.

These deaths on the Titan are not funny. But neither is the decision to take people into the ocean without necessary safety measures.

I'm not sure how I feel about these casual arguments about "adventurers" and why they should have the right to endanger their lives.

My father was a scientist, careful in his preparations, and serious about safety. He drowned in 250 feet of water.

"I simply don't read women authors"??????????

Why would those words ever come of your mouth, sir? When the thought came into your head, why didn't you say to yourself, "Omg! Why am I not reading books by half of the human population simply because they have different genitalia?"

https://twitter.com/BabsVan/status/1671589317733654535

Think of all the incredible books this man is missing out on. Frankenstein? Kindred? To Kill a Mockingbird? Beloved? Rebecca? Pride and Prejudice? Any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers or Toni Morrison or Zora Neale Hurston or Edith Wharton or Amy Tan or Isabel Allende...

Happy birthday to one of the greatest to ever put pen to paper. "In order to rise from its own ashes, a phoenix first must burn." --Octavia Butler Also from Parable of the Talents:
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought.
To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool."

If corporations really succeeded or failed in a fair marketplace, they wouldn't need to hire lobbyists or get subsidies or tax breaks. Some like to say that laborers fall into poverty because of laziness and don't deserve a safety net. But if the big corporations were people, they would be the biggest moochers of all time.

YES
If your instinctive reaction to Angel Reese was negative, don't waste time getting defensive and worrying that ppl with think you're racist. You'll miss this golden opportunity! Your implicit bias has leaked out and that means you can take action.

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1642974693299724288

In general, don't ever waste time wondering if other ppl think you're racist. You are racist. You can't grow up in the US w/o absorbing racist assumptions about other people. Put on your big girl pants and accept the truth, then make it your mission to grow. Grow out of racism.

One thing you learn as the child of a parent with Narcissistic Personality Disorder: they instinctively know how to manipulate through conflict. Narcissists (the clinical kind, not the literary metaphor) see anyone who is not actively supporting & helping them as enemies. If you're not with them, you are a threat.

Most of America did not want the court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Most of America thinks it was the wrong decision.
But the US is under minority rule. I am not speaking metaphorically or apocryphally. And if you don't believe me, listen to the excellent season 4 of @SceneOnRadio.

sceneonradio.org/the-land-that-…

Some facts, based on decades of global research:
1. Abortion bans like those which will now become law in many states do NOT decrease the number of abortions. Banning abortions doesn't lower abortion rates.

qz.com/2182193/aborti… 2. Criminalizing abortions does lead to an increase in maternal deaths. The annual number of pregnancy-related deaths would increase by 21% overall. Among Black woman, this percentage would increase 33%."

colorado.edu/asmagazine/202…

Brett Kavanaugh in confirmation hearing: "[Roe] is an important precedent... [Roe and Casey] have been reaffirmed many times. Casey is precedent on precedent." Neil Gorsuch in confirmation hearing: "Roe v. Wade...is a precedent of SCOTUS. It has been reaffirmed...A good judge will consider it as precedent."

I had an abortion when I was 19 after birth control failed me. I've never regretted it. Having a child as a teenager would have derailed my life and I can't imagine how badly I would have failed that child. A reminder: Most Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022…

How to buy a gun in Japan. 13 steps. How to buy a gun in South Africa. 9 steps.

The growing neo-Nazi movement in Massachusetts. Great reporting from @phillipWGBH

wgbh.org/news/local-new… @phillipWGBH "The groups appear to have escalated their activities in the wake of the Jan. 6 attempted insurrection... Experts on extremism say there is good reason to be concerned about the spread of neo-Nazism, racism and white ethnonationalism in New England."

How about memorizing this MLK quote?
"A riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear?…It has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.” How about this one?
"America is reaping the harvest of hate and shame planted through generations of educational denial, political disfranchisement and economic exploitation of its black population.”
MLK in 1968

I see that George Orwell is trending again. Just a reminder that Orwell was a democratic Socialist, an anti-fascist, anti-poverty, anti-racist activist and I'm sure would have taken part in last year's protests, or would have at least written in support of them. I really do wish more people would read Orwell, and not just 1984. The man was bad. ass.

I just met a white person in the park. We started talking about racism. They said: This is systemic. So, there's not a lot I can do.

WHITE PEOPLE: There is so much you can do. There is so much. And not just going to a protest with a sign. Do you want to do the minimum? Want to do the least and then get back to your life (no disrespect - life is tough). Write to your political reps about criminal justice reform, voting reform, reparations, etc.

A mother came by with two girls, one in a stroller. She pulled out a box of cereal and handed it to the smallest girl and the girl hugged the box of cereal to her chest with the biggest smile on her face. This work is so rewarding.

https://twitter.com/CelesteHeadlee/status/1367482768565932035

It doesn't have to be a food bank, but I humbly recommend you find something you can do to help others, expecting no thank you or reward. Of course it's good to do, but it is also life-affirming and relaxing. It helps you stay grounded and keep your own problems in context.

Thread: I've got a short assignment for you today.

Negative information is more readily remembered and absorbed by the brain. You need to make roughly 5 positive comments for every negative one, in order to balance the good with the bad. Grab a piece of paper and create 3 columns - one labelled "positive" and one labelled "negative." The third is "neutral."
Now, go through the past few weeks of your posts and make a tally in each column, according to where they belong.

Today, hundreds of public radio employees, past and current, join together to demand reform to our industry.

Please read our open letter: "An Anti-Racist Future: A Vision and Plan for the Transformation of Public Media"

bit.ly/38S32ks We are not simply pointing out problems, we bring solutions. We present this document out of our deep love for public media and belief in the importance of its mission. We are ready to do the hard work to make our industry a more just, equitable, and inclusive place.

In case you've forgotten, Michelle Wolf had it all right in 2018. She was roundly criticized for saying it all out loud by people in my profession.

Wolf: "Trump is racist, though. He loves white nationalists, which is a weird term for a Nazi. Calling a Nazi a "white nationalist" is like calling a pedophile a "kid friend" or Harvey Weinstein a "lady friend."