Diversions

Look at this! Another thing I had nothing to do with. Washington, D.C., D.C. in full District of Columbia, city and capital of the United States of America. Its population ranks it 50 out of 52 (2 states are smaller) and its size ranks it 51 out of 51. Source It is coextensive with the District of Columbia (the city is often referred to as simply D.C.) and is located on the northern shore of the Potomac River at the river’s navigation head—that is, the transshipment point between waterway and land transport. The state of Maryland borders the District of Columbia to the north, east, and west, and the state of Virginia borders the District on the southern shore of the Potomac River.

After the American Civil War (1861–65), the city of Washington expanded beyond its originally planned boundaries and became legally indistinguishable from the District of Columbia. Washington, D.C., remains a territory, not a state, and since 1974 it has been governed by a locally elected mayor and city council over which Congress retains the power of veto.

Washington, D.C., remains a territory, not a state, but where is it listed? I don’t see it here.

Territories

The Washington metropolitan area covers nearly 4,000 square miles (10,360 square km) and encompasses 10 counties, 5 in Maryland (Montgomery, Prince George’s, Frederick, Charles, and Calvert) and 5 in Virginia (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Stafford, and Prince William).

Area District, 68 square miles (176 square km). Pop. (2000) 572,059; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Division, 3,727,565; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Area, 4,796,183; (2010) 601,723; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Division, 4,377,088; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Area, 5,582,170.

The role Washington plays as the capital of the United States often overshadows its lively local history and its complex political, economic, and social issues.

About half the land in Washington is owned by the U.S. government, which pays no taxes on it. Several hundred thousand people in the D.C. metropolitan area work for the federal government.

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats were working “to correct an injustice.” but it indicates that she doesn’t know it was their choice to live in a territory as with all other residents of territories.

“For more than two centuries, the residents of Washington D.C., the District of Columbia, have been denied their right to fully participate in their democracy,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said during a news conference at the Capitol in the lead up to the vote. “Instead, they have been dealt the injustice of paying taxes, proudly serving in uniform in great numbers and contributing to the economic power of our nation while being denied the full enfranchisement which is their right.”

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What White

Contemporary anthropologists and other scientists, while recognizing the reality of biological variation between different human populations, regard the concept of a unified, distinguishable “white race” or “white people” as socially constructed. With this fact in mind I am offended by the term and reject it. Or maybe more specially, that the majority it is meant to represent is the actual target. I accept the existence of “white people” as a social group of “Irresponsible, anonymous, controlling, exploitative, greedy, … mostly European people” that is proving to be detrimental to the Social Health of our Nation.

These clips are from – DiAngelo, Robin J.. White Fragility. Beacon Press. Kindle Edition.

“As powerful forces of white racism again swell, ”  Agree

To eradicate racism, she encourages white people to relinquish ingrained hyper-attachment to individualism and embrace predictable patterns of their own racial group. Disagree with using racial group, should be social group.

throughout history, race has been black culture’s issue;
however, I understand racism as a system into which I was socialized, Agree

If your definition of a racist is someone who holds conscious dislike of people because of race, then I agree that it is offensive for me to suggest that you are racist when I don’t know you. I also agree that if this is your definition of racism, and you are against racism, then you are not racist. Now breathe. I am not using this definition of racism, Agreed but most readers are so it is misleading

Race science was driven by these social and economic interests, which came to establish cultural norms and legal rulings that legitimized racism and the privileged status of those defined as white. Agree that race science has done this but for the privileged “white people” social group.

As Ta-Nehisi Coates states, “But race is the child of racism, not the father.” He means that first we exploited people for their resources, not according to how they looked. Exploitation came first, and then the ideology of unequal races to justify this exploitation followed. Agreed

From wikipedia.org/wiki/Race A race is a grouping of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into categories generally viewed as distinct by society.[1]The term was first used to refer to speakers of a common language and then to denote national affiliations. By the 17th century the term began to refer to physical (phenotypical) traits. Modern scholarship regards race as a social construct, an identity which is assigned based on rules made by society. While partially based on physical similarities within groups, race does not have an inherent physical or biological meaning.[1][2]

 

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My Ancestors

I come from European Stock. English, German, Swedish mainly. My grandparents came to this country as immigrants. That. is the only difference in the early history of the American States that may differ from yours unless you are one of the few wealthy families from the start. They worked, they were working class immigrants. Most of the country’s immigrants were also. They were not part of city life but being from cooler areas of Europe landed in similar climates in the new land. My parents were born here and stayed, more-or-less, in those same areas. Even when towns and cities formed, ethnic areas composed these because immigrants tended to settle with like family units; ie.English on the north side, Swedish on the southeast, etc.; for support and protection. After all the immigrants did displace the Indians who already here.

The people that I grew up with were also this type but based on Italian, Polish, Irish, Scottish, . . . There were not many African, Caribbean, Chinese, Mexican, Islanders, etc. immigrants because their paths did not came to or through what I call our area. And my ancestors had yet to fight the ‘Civil War’ to free the slaves in the south. We were not rich and I did not know we were poor. We controlled and helped our families. Our families were large and that was as close as we came to having slaves. We could never afford to take care of slaves because we were busy caring for our families. I remember being told very young, “Don’t give your word easily, but when you do, keep it”. Given this history I am sure you can see why I resent anyone implying that I owe someone from my past. This also makes it easier for me to feel ‘bad’ when someone implies I did not honor my responsibilities.

The first time this questioning came around in the 50’s and 60’s I was confused because I did not understand that ‘White’ referred to me. I did not know where ‘White’ was. ‘Redneck’ referred to my friends on the farm because they were not allowed to go shirtless. I was pretty dark at the end of summer. Even a few years ago I was ask ‘How much African-American I had in me?’ I had to say ‘None. It is Swedish.’ Lately I came to understand that that term referred to me and others as a majority term. I had turned ‘White’ when I wasn’t looking! I had always thought of myself as a ‘minority of one’, and fought for myself against friend and foe alike.

Language History – White people – Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › White_people

Modern racial hierarchies. The term “white race” or “white people” entered the major European languages in the later 17th century, originating with the racialization of slavery at the time, in the context of the Atlantic slave trade and the enslavement of indigenous peoples in the Spanish Empire. As I analyze this definition 2 things stand out. “the racialization of slavery at the time” means that it was not that way before! AND “enslavement of indigenous peoples in the Spanish Empire” means it too was brought to America!

White people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

White people is a racial classification and skin color specifier, used mostly and often exclusively for people of European descent; depending on context, nationality, and point of view. The term has at times been expanded to encompass persons of Middle Eastern and North African descent (for example, in the US Census definition), persons who are often considered non-white in other contexts. The usage of “white people” or a “white race” for a large group of mainly or exclusively European populations, defined by their light skin, among other physical characteristics, and contrasting with “black people“, Amerindians, and other “colored” people or “persons of color“, originated in the 17th century. It was only during the 19th century that this vague category was transformed in a quasi-scientific system of race and skin color relations. Prior to the modern age, no European peoples regarded themselves as “white”, but rather defined their race, ancestry, or ethnicity in terms of their nationality. Moreover, there is no accepted standard for determining the geographic barrier between white and non-white people. Contemporary anthropologists and other scientists, while recognizing the reality of biological variation between different human populations, regard the concept of a unified, distinguishable “white race” as socially constructed. As a group with several different potential boundaries, it is an example of a fuzzy concept

Various social constructions of whiteness have been significant to national identity, public policy, religion, population statistics, racial segregation, affirmative action, white privilege, eugenics, racial marginalization, and racial quotas.  The concept of whiteness has particular resonance in the Anglosphere: e.g., in the United States (White Americans), Canada (white Canadians), Australia (white Australians), New Zealand (white New Zealanders), the United Kingdom (white British), and South Africa (white South Africans). In much of the rest of Europe, the distinction between race and nationality is more blurred; when people are asked to describe their race or ancestry, they often describe it in terms of their nationality.

WOW. Prior to the modern age, no European peoples regarded themselves as “white”. Sooo, NOW they do? What happened to defining their race, ancestry, or ethnicity in terms of their nationality? Why would European peoples regarded themselves as “white”? Who designated “European Peoples” as “White” and designated “enslaved indigenous peoples” as “Black” then “negroes” then “Afro-American” then “Colored People” then “People of Color” then …? The people who would do such a thing are the same group of “??????? People” that benefit from the division; The same group that fears the power of the resulting combined group of “Victims”. Is it the same group that claims “No Responsibility” for anything? 

And finally as I see it: The term “white race” or “white people” entered the major European languages in the later 17th century, originating with the racialization of slavery at the time. The term “black people” came with it as an opposing term. These terms have no scientific standing. They are Social terms. As social terms their origins are slavery. “black people” understood this at a deeper level. For many individuals, communities and countries, “black” is perceived as a derogatory, outdated, reductive or otherwise unrepresentative label and it has been rejected in favor of “person of color”. Both of these terms, “white or  black”, perpetuate Slavery by their use

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Media

On June 15, 2020 I inquired to AXIOS.COM about an article presented by APPLE. news@axios.com.

In an article yesterday https://apple.news/Au79C6C-PRna1uNK5q_bihQ you warn me of fraud schemes. What is being done about this environment? What is being done about the perps? Is anything being done more than telling me it happens?
I feel this is THE area we need to change in this new normal. The laws has made this possible just as police abuse?

jennifer.kingson@axios.com replied with “Thanks for writing. There have been a number of prosecutions related to the latest fraud schemes. Law enforcement agencies and other interested parties are tracking things closely and tell me they are doing all they can to fight back — and also that it takes vigilance on the part of consumers to report what they see. I appreciate your concern for the issue and thank you for reading Axios!”

I replied for more information with “Hello Jennifer, The statement you made is just what I have been hearing.  “Law enforcement agencies and other interested parties are tracking things closely and tell me they are doing all they can to fight back“. I fear What that actually means is ’there is nothing they can do’ . This seems to be because they involve text messages and websites. I’m hearing it has to do with jurisdictions. Examples that I have reported: 1. text/email msg from Verizon and Wells Fargo that come from a Gmail account. 2. ATT suport email that says there is a problem with subscriber email account sent from Yahoo and Gmail addresses. 3. text msg about covid-19 that says to contact a website given in the text that is still operational until I lookup the website stats and report the abuse to the ISP and the website is taken down.  Instances like these indicate to me that “all they can do” is very far from enough. And it is ridiculous to see Police departments issue warning to be careful instead of Prosecuting. If it is the laws as written that form this barrier the laws need to be exposed and changed. Can you help verify these seemingly accurate conclusions? Thank you.” I received no response

so I concluded on Jun 17, 2020 “I assume, because I have not seen your reply to the contrary, that my fears about your statement being without material content is true! I have been hoping the ’New Normal’ could include a completion of the Freedom movement of the mid 20th century which deteriorated into an effective Rights movement. The concept that Freedoms, from the constitutions, is composed of Rights and Responsibilities, was too complex for the times and may still be. The idea that Rights can be violated without incurring the Responsibility for the action is too ingrained in our Judicial System and Way-of-Life to be questioned. I regret the first computer virus that was injected into PCs was tolerated instead of prosecuted. But it did start a whole new industry of antivirus programs. I will continue my efforts at https://ooh-icu.spiritways.us Thank you for your attention but no thanks for the followup.”

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Justice

What is Justice that we are seeking IT for BLM. Is it something that you can get? Is it something that you came give. What are in the pans of the Scale of Justice?

Maybe IT is not Justice that they/we seek. Could it retaliation for violations of the Right that we already have! Are these violators that will not accept any Responsibility for their violations. Responsibility is not something we decide to Accept, It is something we Have by way of our Actions.

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Untruth Comes in 2 Forms

I was reading FaceBook posts and I could not keep a thought out of my mind. There are a huge number of liars posting on FaceBook. I commented on a friends post that part of the post was possibly not correct or ‘wrong’. His reply was ‘Why does it matter?’ The evidence to make his point was wrong but it was an excuse for the remainder NOT a reason. There is a saying, ‘Let’s throw it on the wall and see what stick’. What you throw on a wall is not lies, or truths or facts, it is anything that may be believed.

Taken from On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt, Princeton University Press (2005). £6.50/$9.95 pp.67.ISBN: 0691122946. The distinction between lying and bullshitting is fairly clear. The liar asserts something which he himself believes to be false. He deliberately misrepresents what he takes to be the truth. The bullshitter, on the other hand, is not constrained by any consideration of what may or may not be true. In making his assertion, he is indifferent to whether what he is says is true or false. His goal is not to report facts. It is, rather, to shape the beliefs and attitudes of his listeners in a certain way.

The distinction is very clear but I see the problem in the personal (reverse) direction. The difference is the mind of the writer or speaker. It doesn’t even depend on whether the statement or idea is actually true! So does it actually make a difference. Only in OUR mind about the speaker’s motive. Is he not my friend (because he lied to me when I expected the truth) or is he still my friend ( because he was just kidding around and getting me to think about what he said just as I did)? My conclusion is: It only matters if it is from a friend! A friend should be the only one we give the Right of untruth!

Maybe it s Facebook thing that I FRIEND someone that I do not know. Certainly it is not in politics or business that I assume that a person is a friend without having proof or history as a base for this relationship. But we act that way. Don’t we?

In politics the candidate delivers speech after speech and we make decisions on what is said, truth, lie, or BS. After the election, no responsibility, We elect a businessman with a history of refusing to pay suppliers he used in business and wonder how/why he could/would to the very same thing in his first political office.

In the Facebook website there are ADs that promise a product that is too-good-to-be-true from companies that have no history or proof of being responsible except that they are allow to use Facebook and act surprised to find that is not true, that the company is not responsible, and is not really a company at all but just a person who disappeared as easily as it appeared.

The truth is that truth does not matter in our current, normal world. It is the appearance of truth that covers untruth that matters. It is the truth that NO ONE is or can be held responsible in our current normal world. A person is killed by police for trying to pass a bogus $20 bill (held responsible) and the police who overstepped his Right (to detain) must be made to be responsible. To me it seems that the New Normal is expecting the people that accept NO RESPONSIBILITY to require all the rest of us to accept ALL RESPONSIBILITY for the untruths in our world.

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