Shandsman's recent activity

  1. Comment on A professor claimed to be Native American. Did she know she wasn’t? in ~life

    Shandsman
    Link Parent
    I agree. The other problem with people denouncing others is how can you know if it is genuine or another way to advance by tearing down the people above you.

    I agree. The other problem with people denouncing others is how can you know if it is genuine or another way to advance by tearing down the people above you.

    10 votes

  2. Comment on A professor claimed to be Native American. Did she know she wasn’t? in ~life

    Shandsman
    (edited )
    Link
    This was an interesting article that brings up two major points I think are relevant. The first is the idea of blood purity and its use in different groups. There are hate groups that want to...
    • Exemplary

    This was an interesting article that brings up two major points I think are relevant.
    The first is the idea of blood purity and its use in different groups. There are hate groups that want to proliferation of “pure blood” factions but these same ideas are being used to take down people in different ethnic groups because they are not “ethnic (whatever that ethnicity is)” enough. Growing up I saw that in different black and latino groups where if you came from a middle class background you weren't part of the struggle and were not accepted because you didn’t suffer enough.
    In this article, if you believe the professors account, she grew up participating in native american activities. Then later in life she finds out she is not blood related to any native american families and thus is not a “true” native american. Her detractors are loudly telling everyone that she is just pretending to be something that she is biologically not. That she is pretending to get special treatment, that without her someone more worthy would get the resources she is using. These arguments are identical to the transphobic, racist, and sexist arguments that have been the justification to block transgender care, affirmative action, and equal rights for decades.
    Who is the arbiter of any of these communities? The ending of the article has a graduate student who meets the professor at an event where the tribal elders accept her but the academic world doesn’t, so where does she belong? And can small marginalized groups benefit from adding imperfect members or is it better to exclude everyone that doesn’t “belong”? There have always been groups that will say someone is not “american enough” and what test should we use or master list of people should we use to decide Americanism?
    The other big issue I have is now I have an opinion about this person and should I? I’m sure that everyone here who is reading this has never done anything wrong in their entire life. They have never lied about anything or used any advantage that was available to them so of course we can judge this person. We could hold up our own life as the paragon of virtue and every facet could be examined and nothing bad would be found. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone is sage advice.

    45 votes

  4. Comment on California gas tax revenue will drop by $6 billion, threatening roads in ~transport

    Shandsman
    Link
    The state of california collected 280 billion in taxes in 2022. Im not sure why 6 billion over ten years is an issue. Not all tax revenue stays the same over time.

    The state of california collected 280 billion in taxes in 2022. Im not sure why 6 billion over ten years is an issue. Not all tax revenue stays the same over time.

    2 votes

  5. Comment on NYC budget cuts will close some composting programs in ~enviro

    Shandsman
    Link
    This is a local source for NYC where composting is being rolled out but the citys composting is different from community composting as most of the city food waste is made into biofuels.

    This is a local source for NYC where composting is being rolled out but the citys composting is different from community composting as most of the city food waste is made into biofuels.

    3 votes