People of Color

“There were no Black people — literally no Black people,” says Gebru, who was born and raised in Ethiopia. “I would go to academic conferences in AI, and I would see four or five Black people out of five, six, seven thousand people internationally.… I saw who was building the AI systems and their attitudes and their points of view. I saw what they were being used for, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, we have a problem.’”

(Gift article link, doesn't require a subscription to view without paywall.)

This article, from a few weeks ago, describes the linguistic phenomenon where a highly bilingual community starts incorporating direct translations of phrases from Spanish, to where those non-standard phrases get adopted by English speakers who don't even speak Spanish themselves.

I thought it was interesting, because I've seen this very same phenomenon play out in Chinese American communities, where certain Chinese idioms or phrases (especially of prepositions) tend to show little remnants in the English translation of that idea.

Have you seen this in your bilingual community? What are your favorite examples?

Archive.org link

A striking quote from Angela Davis:

"Women are in control of the weapons of war...We always seem prime to celebrate individual achievement, individual advancement of black people, women, people of color, without taking consideration that diversity, in itself, would mean that previously marginalized communities would be recruited to guaruntee a more efficient operation of oppersive systems" -- Angela Davis

I want to know you guy's thoughs and opinions on this quote.

This video is a look into how the Bhuddist conept of mindfulness was appropriated and commodified by capitalists to solve "mental health problems", only for it to seem more sinister than the name suggests. This Western "mindfulness lite" can actually do more damage by instilling certain attitudes into people, reaffirming biases, and making people docile and subservient.

Some more actionable notes from the video:

• [ ] McMindfulness -- the appropriation and watering down of Bhuddist Mindfulness
  • [ ] Appropriated "mindfullness" used to neforce subservience and docility to capitalism -- mindfulness as a technique to get happy, obedient workers
  • [ ] Religion and faith traditions can be powerful, but when tied closely to the state, religion can also be used to militarize
  • [ ] Mindfulness is a more complex topic--not "shutting off your brain and not thinking", but rather thinking critically
  • [ ] Engaged Bhuddism -- similar to liberation theology
    • [ ] Learn about other radical theologies -- I know black radicalism pretty well, but need to learn about other peoples and cultures

This video is a look into how the Bhuddist conept of mindfulness was appropriated and commodified by capitalists to solve "mental health problems", only for it to seem more sinister than the name suggests. This Western "mindfulness lite" can actually do more damage by instilling certain attitudes into people, reaffirming biases, and making people docile and subservient.l, and not solving the problems that cause mental health problems.

Some more actionable notes from the video:

• [ ] McMindfulness -- the appropriation and watering down of Bhuddist Mindfulness
  • [ ] Appropriated "mindfullness" used to neforce subservience and docility to capitalism -- mindfulness as a technique to get happy, obedient workers
  • [ ] Religion and faith traditions can be powerful, but when tied closely to the state, religion can also be used to militarize
  • [ ] Mindfulness is a more complex topic--not "shutting off your brain and not thinking", but rather thinking critically
  • [ ] Engaged Bhuddism -- similar to liberation theology
    • [ ] Learn about other radical theologies -- I know black radicalism pretty well, but need to learn about other peoples and cultures

Archive.today link

Potent new anti-obesity drugs can reduce body weight by 15-20%. However, regulation and costs limit who can take them. In America, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved just one of the new drugs, Wegovy, for weight loss—and only for patients with a body-mass index (BMI) above certain thresholds. The cut-off is 27 for people with weight-related illnesses, and 30 otherwise. For someone 1.7 metres (5’7”) tall, these correspond to 78kg (172lb) and 87kg. People with lower BMIs can try to get a prescription anyway. However, insurers rarely cover such “off-label” use of the $1,000-per-month drugs.

BMIs vary between racial groups. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, run by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Asian-Americans aged 18-75 have an average BMI of 25, compared with 29 for whites, 30 for Hispanics and 31 for black people. As a result, few Asians meet the FDA’s criteria.

Archive.today link

The social platform, created by ex-Twitter employees Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and DeVaris Brown, has garnered online buzz in the last week, with Black celebrities including musician Questlove and actor Keke Palmer counted among its recent members. By Monday, after Musk limited the number of tweets users can see, Spill began to climb the rankings of Apple’s App Store.

The recent boost in popularity comes amid constant discourse among Black Twitter, an informal digital enclave noted for its meme culture and political activism. Many within the community have voiced concerns about inadequate moderation of hate speech on Twitter, arguing that the app has become an increasingly “toxic” space under Musk’s leadership.

The question isn’t the problem. The problem is the question.

• Nearly seven in ten (67%) say it is a serious problem that individuals treat Black, Latino, Asian, and Native Americans worse than white Americans. Two-fifths (39%) say it is a very serious problem.
• Three-fifths (63%) say racism makes it more difficult for people of color to succeed in America.
• Nearly half (49%) of Americans believe that racism is both a problem of how society works and how individuals treat each other. A quarter (26%) say it is mostly a problem of how individuals treat each other. These findings are similar to when asked in June 2020 (48% and 28%, respectively).

It's a bit of a long podcast, but it raised some very good points. As an Asian American who went to a elite school, I'm very much torn between the two camps myself. However, I'd be very curious to hear other folks thoughts on this matter, especially on the points raised in this podcast.