It was the Trump apologist Salena Zito who, by way of defending Trump, suggested that his words should be taken ‘seriously, not literally.’ (She offered this defense in a deceitful effort to absolve Trump from the plain meaning of what he said, at any moment. Instead of considering his statements, one was supposed to take…
Culture
America, Culture, Documentary, Film, History, Race
A Black Cowboy’s Story
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cowboys are among the most iconic figures of the American West. They’re mythologized as strong, independent people who live and die by their own terms on the frontier. And in movies, the people who play them are mostly white. But as with many elements of Americana, the idea of who cowboys are is actually whitewashed…
Babbittry, Boosterism, City, Conflicts of Interest, Coronavirus, Culture, Ethics, Local Government, Politics
Social Capital and Hardship
by JOHN ADAMS •
What role does social capital play in a community’s health? Adam Gopnik, in The Paradoxical Role of Social Capital in the Coronavirus Pandemic, ponders whether there’s a relationship between communities with high social capital and a community’s public health. Gopnik uses a traditional definition of social capital as the “parts of society that, without being…
Conspiracy Theories, Culture, Disinformation, Education, Social Media
Facebook Discussions as Displays of Ignorance, Fallacies, and Marginal Literacy
by JOHN ADAMS •
In communities in the Whitewater area, assorted Facebook pages (particularly) are a significant means of messaging about politics, culture, etc. Too often, these messages are evidence of ignorance, fallacies, and are poorly written (to the point of only marginal literacy). Over time, as these rural communities have suffered relative economic decline, they have also experienced a…
Culture, Freedom of Speech, Politics, Protests, Race
Widespread, Continuing National Support for Racial Justice Protests
by JOHN ADAMS •
Steven Long and Justin McCarthy of Gallup report Two in Three Americans Support Racial Justice Protests: WASHINGTON, D.C. — About two in three Americans (65%) support the nationwide protests about racial injustice that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May. Half say they feel “very” (23%) or…
Conspiracy Theories, Coronavirus, Culture, Disinformation, Education, Free Markets, Public Health
The Price of Ignorance is Widely Paid
by JOHN ADAMS •
As nationwide chains take sensible measures to require masks, ordinary workers at those chains find themselves the underserving recipients of abuse. Kelli Weill reports Walmart Workers Are Terrified of Enforcing Mask Rules: Even in a time of record unemployment, some of Dan’s colleagues at an Indiana Walmart have walked off the job. They aren’t quitting over…
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Culture, Libertarians, Liberty, Public Health
Individual Responsibility in Conditions of Pandemic
by JOHN ADAMS •
Economist Robert Samuelson, writing Americans are historically unhappy. But there’s a lesson to learn here, observes that The connecting threads of these pessimistic surveys are the novel coronavirus and its devastating impact on the economy. Nearly everyone is affected in one way or another. There’s a clash between America’s individualistic culture (“You can’t make me wear…
City, Conspiracy Theories, Culture, Public Health, Reasoning
The Balancing That Shouldn’t Have Happened
by JOHN ADAMS •
In communities across America, when a common & rational direction is most needed, cities & towns are about to confront the absence of a rational consensus. Residents who are in the grip of conspiracy theories (Qanon, anti-vaxxers, rumors of antifa, etc.) and those who have retained a sound understanding may live in the same place,…
Advertising, Culture, Fox News, Race, Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson is the Future of Fox Cable
by JOHN ADAMS •
Long after Trump fades & falters, there will be a large audience for lumpen revanchists on Fox News. These dead-enders won’t quickly meet their end – they’ll be a faction, and so an audience, waiting for a someone to inspire them in their ethnic prejudices, economic ignorance, and conspiracy theories. Fox News will exist after…
City, Culture, Politics
Barriers to Substantive Change in a Small Town
by JOHN ADAMS •
Several recent posts here are FREE WHITEWATER are, collectively, a cautionary series on the difficulty of effecting substantive change in Whitewater, Wisconsin. One might want change; realism demands a clear-eyed assessment of its likelihood. Other towns might have better (or even worse) odds; Whitewater is not, by definition, another town. A listing of challenges, with…
City, Culture, Demographics, Local Government
Quick Observations on Whitewater’s Demographics
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s common in films and books that small towns, even small college towns, are described as homogeneous. There may be a few eccentric characters here or there, but the town so described (and imagined) is seldom a diverse one. Whitewater is more diverse than those places, and diverse in a way that leaves no group…
Babbittry, Boosterism, CDA, City, Culture, Economy, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Police, Press Release, School District
Built Against Substantive Change
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over time, no matter how small the city, national conditions and trends make their way to the edge of town. Some towns will address these conditions, but others will be resistant to substantive change. For those towns in the latter category, business as usual and rhetorical feints suffice in response to powerful forces to which…
City, Culture, Employment, Local Government, School District, University
Mentoring
by JOHN ADAMS •
When a small community like Whitewater comes to rely on hundreds of non-resident commuters to provide services (for city, schools, or university), those commuters will have a different work relationship than resident workers. (About these workers see The Commuter Class.) Many will be less attached to the community (as they’ve freely chosen to live elsewhere…
Blogging, Culture, Local Government, Newspapers, Politics, Press
After a News Desert
by JOHN ADAMS •
A news desert is a community without coverage from a daily newspaper. If coverage means timely newspaper reporting on a city’s principal public meetings and events, then Whitewater has been a news desert since the nearby Daily Jefferson County Union stopped reporting on Whitewater’s common council & school board meetings. If coverage means timely, insightful,…