What is racism?
With relation to the current affair of kids running on their
father on live BBC News there was discussion on our the
internal email list of my employer. This is one side comment
I made there:
[…] Yes, it is a wrong idea, slightly racist, perhaps, but
these thoughts happen.
(Someday I'd like to ask each person what they mean by the
word "racist" when they use it … but I'll let you off since
it's Friday. :-)
What is racism?
Well, I am Czech and given the effort of others and our own
, Czechia is one of the most nationally pure countries in
Europe. Therefore, we usually fancy ourselves not having problem
with racism (“How can we be racists, when there is nobody else
than us here?”)
I also grew up in the two-family house with my uncle and aunt’s
family, both of which had two sons, so only two women in the
whole house were my mom and my aunt.
When I started my post-grad studies in the University of San
Francisco School of Law, the most challenging course we had was
the Contract Law (thus, promissory estoppel). I was very much
ashamed when I found out that I was very surprised that by far
the brightest student in the class had been a young Black lady.
Yes, for both reasons, that she is a lady and that she is Black.
So, yes, racism is in my opinion using stereotypes of group of
people and applying them on individuals (and strengthening such
stereotypes). When I believe that girls or Black people cannot be
smart, or that Gypsies/Roma (that is the closest equivalent of
Blacks in the Central and Eastern Europe) are all lazy and steal.
When the article in the Czech newspapers has headline “Gypsy man
stole something” (that’s the strengthening part). Or here, that
White English professor cannot have Asian lady as anything more
than a nanny.
And not funny thing is how much this relying on stereotypes is
widespread in this nation, which still believes has no problem
with racism. Almost word by word same story as my Black lady in
the Contract class I heard from our former Head Rabbi of Czechia,
except for him it was a black Jewish student of the Hebrew class
(he was forced to emigrate to Israel before 1989). One would
expect that somebody who converts to Judaism would be immune. Oh
well.
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Láska nebo strach. Vyberte si.
Dan Drápal napsal do dnešních (7. února) Lidových novin velice
hezký článek „Co chybí Junckerovým scénářům.“ V zásadě mi
nezbývá, nežli s ním souhlasit, ale přece jenom bych rád přičinil
několik poznámek na jeho okraj.
Jednak je asi třeba zdůraznit, že je velice dobře, že nějaká Bílá
kniha vůbec vznikla …
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Nezlořeč králi
(původně psáno jako odpověď příteli na podzim 2016, ještě před
zvolením pana Trumpa za amerického prezidenta)
V poslední době mnoho lidí zlořečilo zvláště v Praze panu
presidentu Miloši Zemanovi. A to nikoliv v soukromí, ale na
veřejných shromážděních.
Dovol mi abych se k tomuhle vyslovil, protože si myslím, že tohle …
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Post-Communist Conservatism
While listening to the episode 30 of the Eastern Border
podcast (a very touching one, thank you, Kristaps), I was touched
by his notion of the post-Communist conservatism. The idea is
that many nations in the former Eastern block seem to be a way
more conservative than people in the …
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P. Halík na cestě ke zradě?
(původně komentář k článku P. Halíka k americkým prezidentským volbám)
Pane profesore, jakkoli si Vás velice vážím a jakkoli jsem
naprosto znechucen vítězstvím pana Trumpa v amerických
prezidentských volbách, a jakkoli zbytek příspěvku je naprosto
přesný, přesto Vás musím opravit v jednom bodě. Pan Trump sice
doslova řekl, že miluje …
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Stages of grief
I am just reading an interesting blog post by my Melinda Selmys
reflecting on her reaction to the Mr. Trump’s victory in the US
elections.
I am Czech, so I have a little experience with the similar
situation, which I would like to share. Since 2013, Mr. Miloš
Zeman …
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Missing socialism
While listening to the Decline of the West episode I was told
about this quotation when John Steinbeck was supposed to describe
the political landscape of the US 1930s’:
I guess the trouble was that we didn’t have any self-admitted
proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed
capitalist.
—John Steinbeck …
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The Age of Irresponsibility
I was listening to the story on BBC how the British pensioners
are forced by the fear of Brexit to move from Spain back to UK,
because they are afraid Spanish government would stop paying them
their pension when (and if) UK leaves EU. And that’s just
because two …
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Uncle Abner and Mr. Trump
(originally started as a comment on the article on First
Things).
Yours country used to be found on principles “to the end it may be
a government of laws and not of men”, and now the biggest concern of
everybody is which of the nine unelected guys (or gals) will …
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Tož tu Evropu už máme, teď potřebujeme ještě nějaké Evropany
V tomto okamžiku to vypadá, že absolutně všichni obyvatelé planety Země,
zejména pokud žijí někde v blízkosti Evropy, cítí potřebu se vyslovit
k příčinám, následkům a všemu možnému ohledně vystoupení Spojeného
(zatím :)) Království z Evropské unie. Vzhledem k tomu, že jsem sám
spíše zmaten nežli co jiného z celé situace …
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Stating the Obvious
(originally posted as a comment on the blogpost “Few quick thoughts on
Brexit” by Chris Arnade)
I am still confused by the book “Status Anxiety” by Alain de Botton.
Either it is just a stupid banality stating the obvious, or Douglas
Adams is right and “It is a rare mind …
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On Brexit
OK, so I was wrong. I wonder what happens next.
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Beethoven in the Prague Castle
Comment I posted on the First Things blog.
I have just returned from the open air concert of the Czech
Philharmonic in the Prague Castle, which finished with the last movement
of the Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. I would really love this to be played
in some great park in …
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Listening to “Death Throes of the Republic”
I am sick in the bed, so I have spent a day or so listening to
the Dan Carlin’s excellent podcast series “Death Throes of
the Republic”. It is an excellent story. (Original draft of
this post has been lying in my Drafts folder for couple of years,
so …
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No one has defeating ISIS as their real priority
I had wished for long to say somewhere publicly the following,
and finally yesterday I had an opportunity which forced me to say
it on the comment on the First Things analysis of the Havana
Declaration of pope Francis I. and the Moscow patriarch Kirill:
You must be new here …
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On podcasts and conversation in depth
(originally comment on Dan Carlin’s “Common Sense” show no. 298)
Hi, Dan,
I have been amused by your plea for the intelligent discussion.
I am persuaded there is a platform for the increasingly
intelligent discussion, which is even more interesting in that it
is more successful more depth it …
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EconTalk on the climate change and new religions
I just have to mention a fascinating interview on EconTalk about the climate change. More than the particular climate science (about which I know nothing and care less and less), I found it fascinating confirmation of the dictum attributed to C. S. Lewis (but now I cannot find a proper …
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In defense of Cardinal Kasper and liberal democracy
(comment on the blogpost on The First Things)
I think problem of yours (and the author of the article, how much I look
up to him otherwise) is that you don't distinguish between the role of
the state and morality. I don’t believe, that purpose of the state and …
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Where are savings accounts?
(my comment on the EconTalk show on banking)
@John Reisink
I am afraid the reason is that we don’t have that much choices.
Which leads me to the issue which I am quite surprised nobody discusses
at all (what am I missing?). As I understand the dim archaic past …
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Third Wave and Telecommuting
I have been reading Tim Bray’s blogpost on how he started to work in
Amazon, and I got ignited by the comment by len and particularly by
this (he starts quoting Tim):
“First, I am totally sick of working remotely. I want to go and
work in rooms …
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On Nations Building (reply to Dan Carlin)
(Dan Carlin on his discussion board made some comments on the Ukraine
situation, this is my reply.)
Dan wrote:
Moving NATO right next to Russia isn't just threatening to them, it
seems like a betrayal of what we told them after the USSR fell.
Can you hear how incredibly patronizing …
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Tocqueville on the Freedom of Discussion in America
It is a sad day today. … Or let’s start from somewhere else.
I have grown up in the Communist Czechoslovakia. I remember that
moment, I was probably something around seven years old, and
I was sitting on the floor of our living room and thinking where
to hide a …
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Couple of extremist notes on fascism
(On Dan Carlin’s discussion board somebody asked about fascism. After
he got reference to some basic texts and Wikipedia, I felt compelled to
write down couple of thoughts which have been busy in my mind for the
last couple of months.)
In the mainstream history (and literature) fascism (and …
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Paní Hagenová a právo azylu
(odpověď na diskusi na Facebooku)
Nejprve technická poznámka k dlouhým komentářům na Facebooku. Psát je
v tomhle okénku Facebooku je utrpení (navíc není možné vložit konec
řádku), lepší je to napsat vedle v nějakém normálním textovém editoru
a pak copy & paste. Nebo ještě lépší je udělat to, co dělám tady …
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Odpověď Danu Drápalovi
(veřejná odpověď jako reakce na jeho článek)
Ahoj, Dane,
strávil jsem teď pozdněvečerní chvíli čtením Tvých článků duchovních i
politických a chtěl bych Ti moc poděkovat. Většina mi jich moc potěšila
a i když se vším nesouhlasím na 100 %, tak jsem musel s překvapením
konstatovat, že mám pocit, že se …
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