shinylib

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3 Queens of the Stone Age – Spiders and Vinegaroons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3

Queens of the Stone Age – Spiders and Vinegaroons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJh_EUrEAZg Classic Sesame Street – Richard Pryor’s alphabet (b

Classic Sesame Street – Richard Pryor’s alphabet (by sawing14s)

The Oregonian takes a stab at infographics using US Census Data.

The Oregonian takes a stab at infographics using US Census Data.

economic inequality and other ravings…

I wrote this as a response to a conversation going on elsewhere about police use of racial profiling. Turned out to be a discussion in which many folks discussed issues of financial inequality and ethnicity so I ended up riffing on those topics a bit. Much of what I am responding to is the assertion that certain people are poor because they spend money unwisely – on items such as rims – and that these expenditures are indicators of certain things (using stereotypes for profiling). I don’t have any personal issues with the folks who assert these ideas, I’m simply working to do some evidence based education.

I wanted to respond in an evidence based method and not an emotional response but it is tricky – hopefully I’ve succeed in keeping my language fairly neutral and judgement free. I do want to suggest to everyone that social injustices never have simple causalities. To say that some folks exhibit the behaviors they do (say, suggesting that purchasing moderately priced “bling” type items is a reason for economic disparity) is oversimplified and insulting. At the same time, stereotypes persist because there is often an element of truth to them. The thing to keep in mind is that truth is subjective and that there are as many, if not more, people who are exceptions to “the rule” as there are rules.

There is a long history regarding economic inequality and leisure spending amongst marginalized cultures in developed nations. Simply put – poor folks spend money on things like televisions, fancy rims, and clothes because all humans have an innate desire for leisure. Can’t afford to take the whole family to Disneyland? Buy a television and a happy meal, it’s affordable in the short term even if in the long term there are problems.

We also have a tendency to conflate wealth and income, and they are in fact very different things. Income is about wages and wealth is about assets (take what you own, then subtract what you owe). These things are very much tied to social injustices (such as lack of quality educational resources). For example, “in 2004, the median net worth for white families was $140,700, but for African American families it was $20,000, and for Latino families it was $18,600. In 2004, 75 percent of whites were homeowners, while only 48 percent of African-Americans and 50 percent of Latinos owned their own homes.” [Lui, M., & United for a Fair Economy. (2006). The color of wealth: The story behind the U.S. racial wealth divide.] To suggest that buying spendy rims is the reason for this disparity is ludicrous. That’s one hell of a lot of spinners, y0.

Also keep in mind that economically disadvantaged people often have quite a lot less access to financial literacy education (also nutrition education). Simply put, if your family has always been poor and struggling there often isn’t anyone to teach you budgeting, how to write a cover letter (to present yourself more effectively in the pursuit of wages), to advocate for yourself in the mortgage process, to avoid payday loan scams, and other such skills. Not having these skills puts a person at a disadvantage and perpetuates cycles of institutionalized inequality. It should be evident to everyone living in the PDX metro area that economic injustice impacts folks of all ethnic and cultural groupings. What’s apparently less evident to folks is how things gotthat way. If you’d like to learn more about how and why migration has happened around the region, going back to the 30s and 40s, I recommend viewing the documentary Northeast passage : the inner city and the American dream. Or, simply Google “Portland Oregon redlining” to learn about the illegal institutionalized practices of systematic disinvestment in African American neighborhoods in PDX. Put simply, brokeass black folks live in brokeass Portland neighborhoods because the City of Portland put them there and stopped investing in the neighborhood. You lose pride in the place you live, you join a gang to survive (get money), you end up driving around with your middle finger up screaming “fuck this place” because hey – it already fucked you.

My point? Stereotypes have truth in them, those truths are often assigned from internal and external points of interaction. Let us please respect one another enough to dig for truths and not simply rely upon the surface view, which is flawed and inaccurate. This is the problem with institutionalized profiling: it is flawed and inaccurate and based upon very skewed impressions of “people” in various “groupings”.

http://www.youtube.com/v/-4CV05HyAbM?version=3 Information R/evolution (by mwesch)

http://www.youtube.com/v/-4CV05HyAbM?version=3

Information R/evolution (by mwesch)

ilovecharts: Am I a Size 4 or a Size 10? Tackling the Crazy Quilt of Sizing Oddly enough, my father

ilovecharts: Am I a Size 4 or a Size 10? Tackling the Crazy Quilt of Sizing Oddly enough, my father

hungoverowls: “Sorry about being out of touch lately, I’ve been catching up on my…uh…books. Yep. Jus

hungoverowls: “Sorry about being out of touch lately, I’ve been catching up on my…uh…books. Yep. Jus

ilovecharts: via bandragirl

ilovecharts: via bandragirl

http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F737966 off

http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F737966

officialbeastieboys:

Good people, unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, the “clean” version of our new album, The Hot Sauce Committee pt 2 has leaked. So as a hostile and retaliatory measure with great hubris we are making the full explicit aka filthy dirty nasty version available for streaming on our site. We hope this brings much happiness, hugs, and harmony. Enjoy Kikoos for life!

Thank you,

The Management

ALA 2011 Program Topic Survey: ACRL New Members Discussion Group

ACRL New Members Discussion Group (NMDG) is planning its 2011 ALA Annual Program and we’d like your help to choose the topic.

What do you think is most important to new librarians and new members of ACRL? Take our online survey at http://bit.ly/fx3ne7

New Members Discussion Group is dedicated to helping new ACRL members navigate both professional organizations and their careers.