Statement by the players of the Milwaukee Bucks

When the NBA Players Association voted to resume play, one of the reasons was to give its players a greater voice on social justice issues. Tonight, the Milwaukee Bucks exercised that voice by electing not to play in their scheduled game, triggering a cascade that resulted in the cancellation of all scheduled NBA and WNBA … Continue reading Statement by the players of the Milwaukee Bucks

If Donald Trump Loses, His Racism Will Be The Cause

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” (Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises) Donald Trump’s presidency appears to have been a long series of attempts to prove the truth of his 2016 statement, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I … Continue reading If Donald Trump Loses, His Racism Will Be The Cause

White Identity Isn’t The Same As White Nationalism

The country (including me) is thinking and talking a lot about race recently. Reading this article in The Atlantic, about the work of Professor Ashley Jardina of Duke, gave me new nuance to my perspective. In her book, White Identity Politics, Jardina draws a distinction between those who self-identify as white but hold no animus … Continue reading White Identity Isn’t The Same As White Nationalism

Donald Trump, Race, and the GOP

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ cover essay for The Atlantic, “The First White President,” explores the role of race and racism in Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States.  Coates’ essay, has been widely read, and drawn praise and criticism (a sign of success; the goal of nearly every writer is to elicit a reaction from … Continue reading Donald Trump, Race, and the GOP

Violence is (almost) never the right answer

Like Indiana Jones, when confronted by Nazis, most of us want to punch them in the face.  American white supremacists like Richard Spencer are so obviously and cartoonishly evil that the temptation is to treat them like movie villains, and dispatch them with heroic fisticuffs.  However, it’s critical that we resist this temptation to go … Continue reading Violence is (almost) never the right answer

Affirmative action is good, but it’s also a cover for racial discrimination

Affirmative action is a highly controversial subject.  Its supporters and opponents are dead set in their positions, and it’s nearly impossible to have a productive conversation about the topic.  Naturally, I’d like to add my two cents. I hadn’t thought about affirmative action for a long time.  Obviously, it might have affected me when I … Continue reading Affirmative action is good, but it’s also a cover for racial discrimination

Is There a Glass Ceiling for Asians in Silicon Valley?

A new study by a pair of retired Cisco and IBM execs (covered in this PE Hub piece) argues that Asians are disproportionately underrepresented at the senior management level. After surveying the 25 largest companies in the valley, they found that just 6% of board members and 10% of officers were of Asian descent. In … Continue reading Is There a Glass Ceiling for Asians in Silicon Valley?