Tag: racism

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Factfulness by Hans Rosling

The subtitle of this book is: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think.

Read on for a link to the Factfulness quiz.

First a couple of confessions, this is not a book I would normally have read, and it is definitely not one I would have picked off a bookstore shelf.   I have a few charities that I have on automatic pay, including the Fistula Foundation,  a wonderful charity that does good work, and is well managed.  I discovered this charity in an opinion piece by the former New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof. I do not remember the name, but an individual donated copies of this book to the Fistula Foundation along with the money to distribute them.  Being a regular donor they sent me a copy. After reading the first few pages, I became very interested in the book.

My second confession may confound folks who know me as I am betting Continue reading “Factfulness by Hans Rosling”

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Now That Is Different

The picture attached is a picture of the back window of my pickup truck. I’ve had it on there since Inauguration Day. Initially I was being flipped off regularly. I have not been done so for several months now.

I am leaving work from downtown St. Louis, and I realize I need gas.  I swing off I-64 to a QT close to downtown.  This is a particularly busy QT.  I get out of my truck, swipe my credit card and start gassing up.  I notice a car pull into the pump behind me and someone get out.  I am not paying that much attention to them.

I’m watching the numbers spin dollars out of my checking account when I hear, “Now that is different.”

I look up and at the back of my pickup is a middle aged black man with graying hair.  I look at him quizzically.  He points to my bumper stickers and says, “Now that is different, a black man who supports Trump, and a white man who does not.”

I look at him, and agree that yes that is very different, and we give each other a fist bump.

I want to ask him why, but did not really want to get into a political discussion at the gas pumps in downtown St. Louis.  Plus I’m not sure any answer would have made sense to me.  It is very perplexing as, IMHO, Trump is a huge racist.