by the light of the moon...

The Republican Mayor of San Diego has had a change of heart and decided, after years of saying that he supported civil unions but not civil marriage, that "separate but equal" is not acceptable. In a deeply moving speech, he speaks of his decision and mentions his circle of gay and lesbian friends and family, including his daughter.

For as long as Youtube will host it, here's the video. It's truly lovely.

If you want to send him a note of thanks, please do so! His website, with contact info, is here.

This video is even more timely to me because over the last few days I have been tinkering with my thoughts on what would be the most effective and exciting research that I would like to pursue in a PhD program. I've toyed with research that would directly address access to higher education in California (locally practical application of my passions) or developing techniques to increase empathy in loaded situations like the middle east (the dreamer's route).

Over the past few days the latter has been mutating a little, and I've begun to think that perhaps I'd really enjoy researching the tipping points for groups in power.

The question is, when do people with power and privilege finally realize that they are holding untenable positions?
What is it that convinced the mayor?
What is it that finally made it clear to white people, or at least to some of us, that the n-word is never funny, that "Separate but Equal" is not?
When did enough men in America realize that women were entitled to vote?
And how does the "tipping" of a small percentage of people spread to the majority of a society? When can it become policy change?
What is the moment, the "face", of comprehension?

Turning the questions to practical future applications: What would be the tipping point to convince the majority of Israelis that they are holding an untenable and immoral position in terms of the Palestinians? How could I influence straight Americans to accept transgendered children as normal and beautiful?

Is there some collection or conjunction of factors that could be described - and then perhaps created - that can be expected to open the eyes of a majority in power that is committing a crime against humanity to see that their position is immoral?

I wonder what's already been done in this arena...

Posted by Lythande at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I stumbled onto this article from last November on insidehighered.com.

It's a nice quick summary of many of the issues that are apparently facing Ethnic Studies departments, as they were discussed at a meeting of the American Studies Association.

I don't teach ES but these issues absolutely mirror what I've seen, working on campuses in diversity awareness trainings and discussions.

Two tastes for you:

"...When scholars at the meeting gathered in Washington Saturday to consider ethnic studies in the classroom, they talked about the need to rethink how their discipline fits into academe and how their courses reach students. Specifically, they called for more emphasis on teaching not one ethnic group, but on the way different groups interact and change one another. And they traded ideas on how to reach white students — many of whom sign up for their courses and are then stunned and angry to have their assumptions challenged."

..."AnaLouise Keating, an associate professor of women’s studies at Texas Woman’s University, says that a major challenge for her is getting students beyond a “monolithic, pseudoscientific” sense that racial categories are precise and unchanging. She wants students to realize that the status associated with various races is not unchanging — and she wants to do this in a way that makes white students truly examine themselves, but not just engage in “non-productive, navel-gazing guilt.” "

Would have liked to have heard more of the discussion. Enjoy the article.

image from One Drop of Blood by Scott Malcomson - a book on this topic that has been highly recommended to me, but I have not read it yet.

Posted by Lythande at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Read it here.

Especially disturbing:

"Portland, considered to be a top women’s basketball coach, has faced allegations of anti-lesbian bias in the past, even admitting she did not want lesbians on her team..."

It's always sadly surprising to me when people even IMAGINE that this would be an appropriate attitude to hold!

Posted by Lythande at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)