Comments on: FDL Book Salon Welcomes Randall Kennedy

By: BooRadley

BooRadley — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:17:25 +0000

Great comment about the Federal loving Confederacy wrt the Fugitive Slave act, thank you. That 3/5’s thing really helped in Congressional representation.

By: cinnamonape

cinnamonape — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:10:30 +0000

That’s an excellent summary of why the whole “States Rights” meme was not what was at issue, at all. The South was in favor of Federal Law when it applied to the Fugitive Slave Act (Dred Scot Decision), but asserted States rights when it came to the expansion and (they feared) preservation of slavery.

BTW I know about the California case quite well as one of my ancestors (Robert Mays Smith) was actually on the “wrong side” in the first 1856 trial that freed slaves transported into California, a “Free State”.

By: Scarecrow

Scarecrow — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:03:32 +0000

All good points. It think you’re right that the large number of Iraq/Afghan vets presents a good opportunity to tackle this.

By: Steve-AR

Steve-AR — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:02:23 +0000

The hard wiring that I was referring to was the “us and them”..of which race would be a subset. I don’t have the link at the moment but there was a functional MRI study showing the brain changes in Harvard students exposed to “Rednecks”..as one example.

By: STTPinOhio

STTPinOhio — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:02:11 +0000

I hope he has this handy on a card should he get pulled over and runs into some racist officer who isn’t a golf fan.

By: Pam Spaulding

Pam Spaulding — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:01:48 +0000

Thanks FDL community; I really enjoyed the opportunity to host the salon.

Don’t forget to drop by the Blend community sometime soon!

By: ThingsComeUndone

ThingsComeUndone — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:59:29 +0000

Well you have given me something to think about.

By: QuakerGirl

QuakerGirl — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:58:42 +0000

I checked and his sister’s name was Soetoro which is a Javanese name. Why is this important? Because the many different peoples in Indonesia want to hold on to their traditions and culture and the Javanese have a unique history, culture and dress. Obama’s Mother was studying Javanese style weaving while she lived in Indonesia. Obama would have been strongly influenced by the Javanese culture.

By: aliasofwestgate

aliasofwestgate — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:52:35 +0000

No. It’s a little of both i think. It’s more obvious in the media, but the media got it from the culture itself. A friend of mine said that in england there really isn’t an equivalent word for ‘nerd’ over there. Intelligence is part of the package. If you look at japanese tv they REVEL in intelligence, it’s practically a virtue over there. They only make fun of you if you take obsessions to insane levels(the otaku phenomenon and ANYONE can be an otaku in anything, which is why it’s an insult over there)

Here? Being mediocre and like everyone else is quietly infringed on you. Unless you’re rich and don’t give a crap, then you can get away with whatever you want–geek or not! Yes, they say do your best! But do your best at being mediocre and a cube dweller like everyone else! You can shine, but only when told you can. It’s harder to describe for me i think, because in my age group i see a lot more people happy to accept being nothing more than cogs in the great consumer cycle instead of part of the world itself. If that isn’t mediocre, i dont’ know what is.

By: CTuttle

CTuttle — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:50:46 +0000

Mahalo, Pam and Randall for taking the time to be with us here at the Lake…! 8-)