Erm, What?

Arendt was an amazing philosopher and yes she wasn't perfect. And yes, the first part reads as a press release for her, which is just bad writing. But that book you bring up is just odd. I don't like just pointing fallacies and calling it off, but that seems both yellow and ad hominem to the worst degree. Do we really need our cultural critics to be perfect? It is widely known that Rousseau was a terrible person. That doesn't require research that requires reading his autobiography. He admits that. So the social contract movement is now void? That seems odd. Also, if we are going to talk about important philosophers that are less than perfect there is a shining lack of Heidegger. Still widely taught, cited and talked about. One of the most important philosophers of the 20th century and a tad more questionable past than Hemingway.

I apologize that my first reaction to that was laughing.

I never used it outside of the US which I guess it has a bigger community or resource or something. There it works quite well.

But as a person that visited Amsterdam, New Zealand is a bit out of the way. sorry.

I admit to not really watch a lot of documentaries online, but here is a very short very quick list of films that I at least found amazing:

The Act of Killing -

Hope Dreams -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph2Y-epihlk - 1994 - the trailer doesn't do it justice, but it is really hard to do justice to this project. It follows kids from the projects where their only hope is to get out by basketball.

Mr. Death, The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter -

Life Sentences -

Jodorowsky's Dune -

And just because it is a documentary that changed how they are and will be- Lanzmann's Shoah.

Sewing. It is really easy to get to and surprisingly fun. I started when i needed to fix a pair of my favorite pants and they lost they zipper (not really lost, more like i wanted to make sure I didn't flash people by accident). I realized I enjoy the calming nature of it. I then bought a second hand machine and suddenly making things was easy. Then I had a lot of friends that did drag, which means that I could attempt to do odd stuff that doesn't need to be functional or in good taste.

I will first start by saying that I can only speak about my experiences (which are very limited in scope and do not match the author's at all).

- Gun culture in the US is weird. I grew up with people carrying rifles on their back to almost every place. The main difference is the concealed carry aspect. The entire concept just makes everything suspect, you do not know where it will come from. It seems to me like the scene from Dr. Strangelove - what is the point of having a doomsday device if no one knows about it. The idea that you are safe because everyone around you might have a gun is just odd to me - I am not saying there is more danger, but I am sure as hell don't feel safer.

- As for food and gender, I don't see it as a "trying too hard" more as claiming that this is the way things are. The restaurant with its meat culture is masculine, the women's bathroom is feminine. This is the way things are and that should not be changed. Anything that might call that into question is not allowed. And I don't think you need to think of food of masculine or feminine, however the marketing departments still view food as a very gendered subject. This is vegan cookbook image search - most of the people on covers are women. On the other hand this is BBQ cookbook image search women became slightly harder to find. And I admit that for me BBQ won't go to the American Southern family gathering, since I am not one.

And as for inclusivity, I agree that inclusivity is not the be-all and end-all. I think that the idea for something for everybody comes along a lot of times with nothing for anybody. I agree that that he doesn't need to be all-inclusive, but that is the way he tells it. And Again talking from my own experience, passing as white, lead me to encounters where I look like I am included, but in actuality I am terrified for my life. I am not saying that it all needs to be balance out, but being in the wrong place is panic inducing.

Edit: I spend most of my time in academia, so I wouldn't worry about thinking it too much. Most people I meet do that on as a living. Everything deserve to be over-thought.

Thank you for your comment - that was the first thing that came to my mind. There are writers that edit while they type, they are rare and odd and beautiful creatures.

I have a problem with the list being aimed at an almost formulaic novel. It seems all geared to a hero journey with a clear antagonist. Also what did the main character do wrong? I mean it seems like you are constantly advised to make his life more miserable:

18. How can you make the threat, the danger, more excruciating, agonizing, humiliating? Who can do that? Why should they?

34. What does your hero – falsely – expect that won’t happen?

83. What is the most humiliating, painful extremity your hero will experience?

etc.

There isn't a question of what is a moment of bliss your hero will feel? who is going to actually be of assistance? etc. Kurt Vonnegut has the wonderful idea that writing must contain compassion to all your characters. I like that.

I am sorry, I am slightly drunk and I should probably delete this when sober, it's just it seemed that the entire list is against the protagonist.

I don't see it so much as a point oriented article, but more the sharing of impressions from an event. I don't want a theatre critic in long-form to have a point, more to give what the impression is.

With that said, I don't think that the idea of White Appreciation Day is the problem. I see it as that it was stated that every american is welcomed, every one is celebrated. But at the same time everything that doesn't fit the mould is under threat. The bathrooms are a very easy symbol for that. Meat and BBQ are masculine (There is the trope of "Man orders steak, woman orders salad") and so all the outside of the restaurant is geared in the masculine. The women's bathroom is a feminine space to the extreme. The feeling is that anything that doesn't fall into the easy boxes is just excluded. Add to that "everybody has a gun" and suddenly the fear becomes close to panic. And as for the books mentioned, I see it less white guilt and more to remember that there are others. That the ethos of all inclusivity doesn't really work.

This are my impressions of reading. Nothing states that they are right. They are fueled by own experiences as a non-white, non-citizen US resident. I might be reading a bit too much into this.

I know Casper as the smiling white person.

No, A friend of mine wrote this.

I am not white. I do pass as white, but the illusion breaks when I open my mouth and have an accent. (that has caused some very odd moments while living in the US).

As for his objective, I am not sure. In the interview, he doesn't seem to be interested in tricking people. There is also the questions of how he defines himself, that is not that easy to answer. Yes, he is hispanic, but at least once in the video he includes himself in the white community. (According to US census 53% of hispanics by ethnicity consider themselves white). (Sorry for the parenthesis abuse, I was rereading this and realized that sounds like I doubt the fact that they are white. I don't. I honestly feel that I am in no place to doubt anyone's identity and no reason to want to do that). I am not sure what he meant, but I hope that "tricks" like this can ignite a conversation on what is white, what is invisible, and what is ill-defined.

Just finished Dhalgren by Delany. I didn't know what I was going into. I read it because I was looking for a different Delany book and they didn't have it in the bookstore. It is amazing, difficult and quite fascinating. In a way it is a masterpiece with all the problems of being a masterpiece - it is gorgeous, has parts that echo and has parts that I had to bookmark because they are just that beautiful. But at the same time it is a doorstop, is extremely difficult, at time doesn't make sense, has modernist pyrotechnics of language, and offers no resolutions. (I like the fact that it is open-ended beyond normal, but I understand why that is a major problem)

I don't even know how to define a single culture. The best way that I heard is: A member of your culture is someone you don't need to explain a joke to. That makes culture fluid and you could be a member of several different ones (which I like). It also means that the US is not even close to a single culture and that is absolutely fine.

There is also a problem with a list that it doesn't tell you how to define a term. American Exceptionalism can go in very different ways.

I admit when trying to think of the list I tried to think of things that are in the air of conversation but are either ill-defined, never explicit, or just not mentioned enough (for my taste): 4th of July, Human Rights, Depression (economic and personal), Fascism, Communism, Middle Passage, Manifest Destiny (and Trail of Tears), World War (I & II), Rights (absolute, non-absolute, restricted) Citizenship, PTSD.

Admittedly, that is eleven(ish). And also it came to be a bit more political than I wanted it to be. Also both the article and I fail at mentioning that Hirsch added terms from the sciences (I don't have the book on me, but I remember things like Electron on the list). But in all honesty, I don't want the list to exist. Common core is a mess. No Child Left Behind is a pain to every college instructor (I am one of them, it is a problem). I don't think a list can or should exist. I much prefer a better education system that will allow people to find things that they are looking for rather than have a checklist for the establishment to tick off.