Links - 21st May 2019 (1)

The Matrix meets Metamorphosis: Donna Zuckerberg on the alt-right hijacking the Classics
I like how she doesn't even bother to try to show how they are factually wrong - the fact that they are allegedly morally wrong is proof enough, i.e. the moralistic fallacy

Does the American Flag Offend You? Stanford Thinks It Might - "TLDR: An administrator encouraged Sigma Chi to take down the American flag flown in front of its house in order to improve its image on campus... We all know the fate of Sigma Chi: it no longer exists... Mr. Z offhandedly suggested that Sigma Chi remove the potentially discomforting symbol outside: the American flag flown in front of the house. Mr. Z urged Sigma Chi to consider the image being presented to the rest of campus by flying the flag out front. He furthered that if Sigma Chi wished to break away from stereotypes that plagued the house and to change its perception on campus, its members should contemplate un-hoisting the American flag... Mr. Z’s recommendation insinuated not only that the flag made others uncomfortable but that its being flown tainted Sigma Chi’s reputation and, presumably, worsened its chance of survival. Lozano understood Mr. Z to imply that the American flag, as a symbol, could be intimidating, aggressive or alienating. Mr. Z’s tone further signaled to Lozano that he found the mere sight of the American flag to be offensive... According to Lozano’s knowledge, Mr. Z raised no objections to the Dominican flag flown by a student from his bedroom window in Sigma Chi or to the Palestinian flag which was hung across the street at Columbae. In protest of Mr. Z’s suggestion, the house declined to remove the flag, instead choosing to replace it with an even bigger one... Condemnations of patriotism fail to recognize that the United States’ institutions have and will continue to outlive unpopular leaders. This fact alone is cause for significant national pride. The vilification of our nation and its symbols is damning for the social fabric of American society. The current political climate has destroyed the last remnants of civic unity and patriotism."
This suggests that liberals really do hate their countries

Putting American flags on police cars sparks backlash in Laguna Beach - "A decision to affix an American flag graphic to the side of freshly painted Laguna Beach police cars is dividing residents, who are alternately praising the image as patriotic or panning it as too aggressive... “People are screaming that the American flag on a police car is somehow or another ... hurting people’s feelings who might be immigrants or visitors,” said Councilman Peter Blake. “People are actually ridiculous enough to bring up comments about our cop cars having American flags on them.”"

California College 'Discontinues' Pledge of Allegiance Because of 'White Nationalism' - "The president of the Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees has stopped reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at board meeting over its ties to “white nationalism.”According to a report from Campus Reform, President Robert Miller of the Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees says that the board will no longer cite the Pledge of Allegiance because it is racist... A former student at Santa Barbara City College told Campus Reform that Miller’s decision is proof that the college does not care about American values.“All it really was is proof in print that they officially disregard America,” the student said. “[Miller] says in his email that he would rather pledge allegiance to the Constitution and that’s great and all that but if that really was the case, why [does] he and the rest of Santa Barbara City College embrace removing different aspects of the First Amendment? Why do they not openly embrace the Second Amendment if they’re so enamored by the Constitution?”"

SHOCK POLL: Roughly Half Of Millennials Think America Isn’t Great, Think Obama More Important Than George Washington - "A new poll conducted for the Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness (FLAG) found that a huge percentage of younger Americans are expressing their disdain for American ideals; almost half believe America isn’t great, and roughly 20% think the American flag is “a sign of intolerance and hatred.” 29% were okay with burning the American flag... 44% of respondents that Barack Obama had a “bigger impact” on the United States than President George Washington, the man who led the successful revolution against Great Britain, presided over the writing of the Constitution, served as the country’s first president, and took the historically unprecedented action of stepping down from leading his country to ensure a peaceful transition of power...
'Half of those surveyed believe the United States is sexist (50%) and racist (49%); 46% of younger Americans do not agree that “America is the greatest country in the world”; 38% of younger Americans do not agree that “America has a history that we should be proud of”; 14% of millennials agree that “America was never a great country and it never will be”; 38% felt that “America is more racist than other countries.”'...
'Republicans are consistently the most extremely proud of their country, peaking at 80 percent in 2003 but still at 68 percent — higher than Democrats ever were. Liberals are at 36 percent in 2016, the lowest figure, save for those under-30 types. Only 34 percent of millennials are extremely proud to be American.'"

New York Assembly Dems Show Where Their Real Priorities Lie - "Good governance is all about setting the proper priorities. But in New York, Democrats appear to have their priorities massively screwed up.Assembly Democrats on the Education Committee blocked a bill that would have expanded tuition aid for the children of deceased and disabled soldiers.But last week, these same Democrats approved a state budget that set aside $27 million for tuition aid for illegal aliens.What does that say about the Democrats' priorities and which group they value more?"

Foreign criminal allowed to stay in UK after judge rules his involvement in a gang shows he has integrated - "A judge ruled that a Turkish criminal should be allowed to stay in the UK, arguing his association with a London gang was evidence of his integration into British society.Tolga Binbuga, 29, came to the UK when he was nine years old and although the rest of his family were granted British citizenship in 2010, he did not apply... When the case came before the Upper Tribunal, a higher court, the argument Binbuga had integrated as evidenced by his gang connections was dismissed."
The United Kingdom is such a joke

UK Porn Ban To Come Into Effect In July - "From July 15, 2019, all internet users wishing to access pornographic material will have to prove they’re 18 or older, otherwise they’ll be entirely blocked from seeing adult content."

More minors offering sex online: Lawyers - "An underage girl was so desperate for male companionship and validation that she advertised in online sex forums for boyfriends.Apart from having sex with them, she would also shower them with gifts and monetary favours... Lawyer Gloria James-Civetta told TNP that she now handles 12 to 18 cases a year of underage commercial sex after a steady rise of such cases over the years... "People responding to their ads and wanting to engage their sexual favours makes them feel attractive and desired""

'$1,000 bucks for all this?': Students live like kings in Vancouver’s empty mansions - "Isaiah Boodhoo, 22, thought it was a “complete hoax” when he saw a rental listing on Facebook for a bedroom in a Vancouver mansion for only $1,100 a month.It turned out the glass chandeliers, luxurious blue drapes, steam room and billiards table were for real. The nine-bedroom home, dubbed “The Castle” by the 14 students who share the property, is apparently owned by an Afghani pop artist, according to Boodhoo.“Honestly, I would stay here for as long as I could,” he said, sitting on a white couch while sipping from a Slurpee cup. “$1,000 bucks for all this?”Others may also soon find themselves as lucky as more mansion owners in the city turn to renting to avoid a new tax on empty homes. In the new world of Vancouver’s housing market, where Chinese investors are decamping and low-ball offers are the norm, students can find themselves living in the lap of luxury... Prospective tenants are getting bold, said Kevin Wang, who runs a sales and rental real estate team with his twin brother Jerry. They’ve received calls from people offering to help with gardening or maintenance in exchange for free rent in a luxury home."

Facebook workers turn on Zuckerberg: Founder and CEO could be forced out - "Facebook employees are turning on boss Mark Zuckerberg, it was reported last night, as British MPs leaked a trove of documents then accused the company of spying on users' calls and texts and signing secret deals to give access to their data.Former workers described a 'toxic and hostile' atmosphere at the social media giant which has suffered a torrid few years battling data scandals and fake news... one former senior employee told Buzzfeed News that workers are desperate for a change of leadership...
Facebook programmed its android app to see users call and text records in which it admitted was a 'pretty high-risk thing to do from a PR perspective'
Facebook aggressively stopped rivals from accessing its users' data to maintain dominance, causing many apps to fail
CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally approved a decision to block Twitter's app Vine from accessing users' Facebook friends lists
Mr Zuckerberg said he was 'sceptical' that apps with access Facebook users' data would pass data on, as then happened in the Cambridge Analytica scandal
Facebook used Onavo app it acquired to spy on users' phone usage, apparently without their knowledge, to identify competitors such as Whatsapp to buy out...
One employee proposed only letting companies who pay a certain amount have access"

Twitter blasts Esquire for 'white male' cover - "Esquire magazine just debuted its March 2019 issue, and the cover shines a spotlight on what it’s like for “an American boy” to grow up “white, middle class, and male in the era of social media, school shootings, toxic masculinity, #MeToo, and a divided country.”... Some feel one feature on the “plight” of white males is bad enough, and an entire series just adds insult to injury. Others are baffled by the subject matter. Some are flat-out angry about the feature...
'Willing to bet a lot of decision makers criticizing Esquire's cover do not have a black person on staff.'
'And today thousands of strangers will participate in the sort of public shaming that will help calcify his nascent beliefs'
'I can’t believe people have become so racist and prejudiced that it is a problem that Esquire cover a white male teenager. Worst part is that, in 2019, IT’S POLITICALLY CORRECT.'
'Yeah, who cares about white boys? Just continue to completely ignore any issues they may have. Ever wonder why Trump won? Maybe because of racist, sexists tweets like this in their issues don't matter.'"

Opinion | Esquire’s Cover Boy and Our Culture of Shame - The New York Times - "few if any of those criticisms actually engaged with the story itself: Was the portrait wrong? Did it add value to our understanding of America in this moment?While many in the press attacked Esquire, others went for Ryan Morgan. Some suggested he needed to be punched. Some suggested sending him hate mail. Others just swore... Like myself at 17, the teenager on Esquire’s cover clearly doesn’t have strong political values or ideas; he seems to have adopted those of the people around him, maybe simply because he wants to fit in. Indeed, he talks about softening his positions to avoid being ostracized: “It’s better to be a moderate, because then you don’t get heat.” He is currently being shamed for being uninformed, for being a normal teenager.Digital shaming is arguably the only punishment that does not have a statute of limitations. Do we really want to live in a culture like this? Where no one has the room to grow or change or become a new version of him or herself?"
There is a term for hating people for their race

Yale University Student Newspaper: 'I’m Watching You, White Boy' - "An op-ed was published in Yale University’s student newspaper on Thursday, suggesting that students collect and store evidence on white male classmates, so that it can be used to ruin political careers in the future.“I’m watching you, white boy,” says author Isis Davis-Marks in an op-ed published in the Yale Daily News, who claims that she will save any evidence that she finds of white male classmates behaving badly — even if it’s “unintentional” — just in case she needs it to end a political career in the future... As the op-ed continues, the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings are cited — which the Yale student mistakenly refers to as a “trial” — as an example for why collecting such evidence on white males could be useful in the future... Davis-Marks is not the only writer to have recently published an anti-white male piece in a student newspaper. On Thursday, a similar piece was published in the school newspaper for Dickinson College.The op-ed, entitled”Should White Boys Still Be Allowed to Talk?,” in which the author concluded by stating “hell no,” claiming that males with names such as “Jake, Chad, or Alex” and are not qualified to share their opinions, and should, therefore, be silenced."

White Male Theory of History: Left or Right, It’s Wrong - "the leftists who chant that “Western Civ has got to go!” do so because they equate Western values and history with white oppression, thereby neglecting to acknowledge that their demand for political equality and individual dignity for minorities was itself influenced by a Western (not “white”) heritage that produced theories of legal, political, and social equality. William F. Buckley made a related point convincingly in his famous debate with James Baldwin. As he put it, “anyone who argued that English civilization ought to have been jettisoned because Catholics were not allowed to vote as late as 1829 and Jews not until 1832 should consider the other possibility. Precisely the reason why they did get the right to vote was because English civilization was not jettisoned.” Buckley reached the conclusion that we should not “rush forward to overthrow our civilization because we don’t live up to our high ideals.”... whiteness is manifestly not the only force in world history, and it is absurd to behave or speak as though it were. By all means let us assess and contest the negative and positive aspects of the Western legacy — but let us begin to do so by properly formulating our identity categories and not reducing everything to skin color... if the sole operative identity we have for analyzing history is “white males,” how are we to explain (for example) the European wars of religion, or the Napoleonic wars, or the existence of white abolitionists, or all the various things that caused “white people” to ferociously disagree and go to war with one other?... The error to be avoided, then, is the essentializing of “the white race,” a rhetorical move that functions mainly to turn “whites” into abstractions capable only of great good or great evil."