@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io
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mekkaokereke

@[email protected]

Building Digital Ecosystems at Google, but opinions my own. he/him. Black Lives Matter.

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mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

A Penn donor talked about rescinding a $100 million donation, because Penn is improving its DEI and he didn't like that.

After Magill fell into the GOP trap by flubbing that answer, the donor rescinded the donation pending a new president.

Right-wing framing is that the new president will be someone that is "Not anti-semitic." Left framing is that the new president will be "Someone that speaks with clarity on protecting Jewish students." Both slightly off.

The new prez will likely be anti-DEI

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

👍🏿I like this framing, because it appeals to selfish people: Even if you're not Black, or brown, or trans, or have trans kids, you now care about school board takeovers by right-wing weirdos.

When they take over, they'll ban books and fire librarians. Again, you're not a teacher or librarian so you don't care.

But then the school district ranking will go down, as all the good teachers and smart kids leave. Your home loses $100K+ in value. Now you care!

H/T @jeffjarvis

https://www.salon.com/2023/11/09/im-so-tired-of-these-psychos-moms-for-liberty-is-now-a-brand/

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

So, Mr Beast made a YouTube video where he dug 100 wells in impoverished areas of Kenya and other African countries. CNN did a story on how he was being criticized for his good deeds. They quoted Saran Kaba Jones, a Black woman who has been building wells in Africa for 15 years, and a single Twitter commenter.

But... The Black woman praised Mr. Beast? She only asked that we consider maintenance, because many of the wells she digs are because existing wells weren't maintained.

#BlackMastodon

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

There's lots of noise in SF about homeless people "refusing shelter" and "They want to live in tents!" And that we should force them to accept the shelter against their own will, "for their own good!" Many SF folks rationalize their desire to not see homeless people, by convincing ourselves that refusing shelter is an irrational behaviour, and that we know better.

We don't consider the fact that people might be refusing shelter when that shelter is worse than a tent.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/sf-sro-empty/

18+ mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

During BLM protests, the major news networks kept framing upcoming BLM protests as dangerous for white people. "The Black people are coming to your town!" even though many of (most of!) the BLM marchers were white?🤔

Now I'm seeing a similar dynamic with Gaza ceasefire protest coverage. But it's getting harder to ignore the fact that many (admittedly not most) of the folks asking for human rights to be respected, are Jewish and/or Israeli. ♥️👍🏿

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

I mean, cool but... They really tried it.

Some people will only do the right thing when they are compelled to, and have no other choice. 🤷🏿‍♂️

For your own safety, don't look to these people to lead in times of crisis.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

The US is such a racist country, that a lot of US people don't even realize how horrific this is. 🤷🏿‍♂️

There are very few countries where having a choice between "a) normal" and "b) white supremacist approved" booklists would fly.

But here, it's just another Monday.

https://www.themarysue.com/scholastic-under-fire-for-allowing-schools-to-opt-out-of-diverse-books-for-book-fairs/

H/T Donnell Wyche

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

A Black woman has just been appointed to something. You know the drill:

GOP:
Why appoint based on race?! Just appoint the best person for the job, which is never a Black woman!🤡

Dems:
Black women will save us! Can I call you auntie? (No). I love Black women! Just... NTBW (Not That Black Woman).🤡

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar
  • Run for political office as a Democrat.
  • Get elected
  • Switch parties!

🙂🙃

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/dallas-mayor-eric-johnson-republican/

This happens a lot.

In this case, this is likely because this is his last term as mayor, and he doesn't believe that TX can have a non-GOP governor or senator.

On that point, I think he's wrong. I think that Texas is ready for a democratic governor or senator.

In a fair system, switching parties would trigger an automatic recall election. Voters should get to choose again.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Lots of conversation and swirl over the past few days. Here's what hasn't changed, and isn't going to change:

  • A space that is safe for white queer people, and not safe for Black queer people, is not a "safe space for queer people."
  • We will make the Fediverse safe for people of all backgrounds
  • We will make it safer, easier, and cheaper, for admins to keep the most toxic abuse away from their users
  • We will take our time designing blocklists and composable moderation.
mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

I don't care if everyone likes me. I care if I'm effective. To make progress on civil rights, you have to choose. I choose effective.

You will know that we were effective, when ~20% of the trans folk on Mastodon are Black. Today we're very far away from that number. Because Mastodon is not always safe for cis Black men, let alone Black trans women. But we're fixing that.

You might not be able to see "the people that are missing," but I can. I see who's not here. And I know why they're not here

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

♥️♥️♥️Shoutout to the staff of the hotel I stayed at for expertly de-escalating a Karen situation!

♥️♥️♥️And shoutout to the white hotel guests that stuck around to make sure that hotel security heard exactly what she was trying to do. My favorite comment: "Wow! A Karen situation in real life! I've only ever seen these online! This is surreal! What is she thinking?"

End result, yours truly did not get kicked out of the hotel for no reason, and feels slightly better about the state of the world.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

"I am on hunger strike! Unless you allow my son to continue to abuse women without accountability, I will not take another bite! Jenni Hermoso needs to admit that she lied!

P.S., I've locked myself in the church, so you all will have to have Sunday service elsewhere."

  • Luis Rubiales' mom.

Seriously. 🤦🏿‍♂️

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/38275774/rubiales-mother-goes-hunger-strike-church-fa-row

Abusers of situational power are supported by an army of foot soldiers and enablers. Many of these foot soldiers are women. 🤷🏿‍♂️

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

🤔If Trump jumps bail, who would the bail bondsman send to go get him?

Please don't say Dog the Bounty Hunter. It would probably be him though. But if not him, then who?

Who is the Bass Reeves of today?

I mean, technically, wouldn't Trump still have a Secret Service detail? How would that work? Would there be a standoff between the US Marshals and the US Secret Service?

So many questions!

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

I don't care what Trump's height and weight is. At all. I care that he was allowed to lie on his prison intake form.

We just can't stop giving him special treatment. Even for things as silly and inconsequential as this.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Ugh!

I sang "1135809" to the tune of "867-5309" making a silly joke an hour ago, and just now realized that I still remember the number. I've accidentally memorized his prisoner number! And now you have too*. Sorry!

The human brain works in weird ways.

(*Your only hope is if you don't sing it. Sing it even once and you're doomed! We still know Mike Jones' Sprint mobile number.)

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

This thread is for straight men only.

How to read the news about the head of the Spanish soccer Federation (a man) forcibly kissing a player on the Spanish women's team on the lips, after winning the world cup. You might be thinking:

  • What's the big deal? They're European! It's their culture!
  • And she smiled afterwards!
  • It was just spontaneous! He was overcome with emotion!
  • She released a statement saying that what's important to focus on is the victory!
mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Situational power is what men rely on to get away with things like this.

There's a big difference between a greeting kiss on the cheek, and a kiss on the lips. He held her head to remove her chance of turning her face at the last second. Not OK.

Her immediate reaction was a nervous smile and laughter. Very common. Her 5 minutes later reaction was saying that the kiss was unwanted and that she didn't like it. Her 1 hr later "reaction" was the official statement.

mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

@nihilistic_capybara

Yes, it is that black and white.

No, the video is not that messy.

Football executives should not place their hands on the sides of the head of their players and forcefully kiss them on the lips in a way that the player cannot possibly give consent, in front of hundreds of millions of people.

I've been patient and assumed good intent with you up to this point, but I'm starting to feel like my good faith was misplaced.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

😐

Wickedness.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38190720/blind-side-subject-michael-oher-alleges-adoption-was-lie-amily-took-all-film-proceeds

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Saying "I don't like political violence, whether it comes from the left or the right" in regards to US politics is not an enlightened statement. It's anti-Black. Because at its core is the extreme reluctance to even acknowledge that almost all US political violence is on one side: the fascist side trying to maintain minority rule.

I'm not even talking about the appropriateness of violence for self-defense. I'm talking about the fact that Black folk and US progressives don't violently coup.🤷🏿‍♂️

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Earth science fail! I always thought clothes dryers blew hot air because the warmer temperatures made the water in the clothes evaporate faster.🤦🏿‍♂️

I never even thought about it.

Warmer air can hold so much more water than cooler air. So warming the air puts it further away from its maximum saturation point for evaporation, which speeds up the drying. Clothes temperature has little to do with it.

Just realizing this after reading some climate change / wet bulb temperature / flooding stuff.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

If you don't like the lawsuit filed against Fearless Fund, (a VC that funds Black women), and don't like the fact that it was filed by the people that brought the lawsuit that ended affirmative action at Harvard...

You can donate here:

https://fearlessfreedomnow.org/

For context, VC is the most racist and sexist part of the US finance industry. Less than 0.5% of all VC funding goes to Black women. Fearless Fund gives part of that tiny amount explicitly to Black women... so this group sued them.🤡

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

The unspoken context behind the "Battle of Montgomery" video:

  • When media mentions "blue collar" jobs, they usually picture rural white folk. But... most employed Black and Latinx people work blue collar jobs, and most people live in cities. In the US, blue collar employees are Black and brown.🤷🏿‍♂️

  • Blue collar employees are often asked to enforce rules, (like mask mandates).

  • When racist white people get drunk, they often use slurs against, spit at, or physically strike these Black workers.

mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

When racist white people get verbally abusive towards, and physically violent against Black Blue collar employees, more often than not, no one helps.

The Black employee is often in an awkward situation where they have the physical capacity to defend themselves, but know that they will be severely and disproportionately punished if they do so. Because racism.

That's a big part of the reason for the restraint and professionalism shown by this Black UK student.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jv_blg9A5FU

mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

The University of Kentucky student who attacked the Black student withdrew herself from campus after an outpouring of support for the victim and the Black community. The attacker was later expelled from UK, banned from the campus, and is currently indicted. Thanks to video.

Flight attendants were asked to enforce airline mask mandates. Many flight attendants are Black or latinx. Many anti-maskers are Trump supporters. They get drunk, get on planes, and you know what happens next. 🤷🏿‍♂️

mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

If it weren't for video evidence and social media, no one would believe Black people when they say how often they are physically struck or called racist names by unruly white customers. It happens a lot.

Many Black service workers have stories about racist customers calling them slurs, or putting hands on them, and no one helping, and the violent customer facing no accountability.

mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Video evidence + social media, is one of the only channels Black people have to get justice in these situations.

So when you hear folks talk about "We don't want an outrage machine!" and see social platforms building "better conversation" tools that prevent the sharing of these videos, and prevent the unmasking of serial racist offenders... you can understand why Black folk don't like that.

mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

We can't just say "I don't condone violence!" I don't like violence either, because it escalates. But Black people have a right to defend themselves and others.

If one of the drunk white people had a gun on that boat, this would have been a very different outcome. The woman that was struck by the chair could have had a very bad outcome. Etc.

Even as it stands, several of the Black men in that video will now be Black, in Alabama, with a criminal record. That's bad. And now they can't even vote.

mekkaokereke,
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

I don't like violence either. But if we only seem to say "I don't condone violence!" when talking about Black folk defending themselves from racist violence, then we very much are condoning violence. But we're only condoning it in one direction. 🤷🏿‍♂️

Delta Airlines has the most Black employees, and is the highest rated airline for Black employees. ♥️👍🏿

So... Delta now has 1600 people on their "violent passenger, do not allow to board" list. They want to share it.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bipartisan-lawmakers-introduce-legislation-bar-unruly-passengers-flying/story?id=98232769

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