VOCABULARY 101: New Jargon for a New Generation: Installment One

Alt-Right or alt right (noun) A political movement originating on social media and online forums, composed of a segment of conservatives who support extreme right-wing ideologies, including white nationalism and anti-Semitism.

Ex: the face of the alt-right; an alt-right candidate.

Antifa (proper noun) Shortening of Anti-Fascist, a radical political movement that opposes fascism and other forms of extreme right-wing authoritarianism.

Ex: Saturday’s rally had the support of Antifa, whose sworn enemy is the far right

Cuck (noun) US informal; A weak or servile man (often used as a contemptuous term for a man with moderate or progressive political views).

Ex: If you think I’m a cuck or a shill for wanting to make America great again, you might want to rethink your worldview.

Dox or doxx (verb) (doxed or doxxed, doxingor doxxing). Slang; To publish the private personal information of (another person) or reveal the identity of (an online poster) without the consent of that individual.

Ex: The professor was doxed by a bitter student who failed her class.

Fascism (noun) A governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

Ex: She is aiding fascism by condemning Antifa.

Fascist (noun) A person who believes in or sympathizes with fascism; a member of a fascist movement or party; a person who is dictatorial or has extreme right-wing views.

Ex: That television interview revealed him to be a fascist.

Gender binary (noun) A classification system consisting of two genders, male and female; a concept or belief that there are only two genders and that one’s biological or birth gender will align with traditional social constructs of masculine and feminine identity, expression, and sexuality.

Ex: There’s still work to be done in dismantling the gender binary.

Gender-fluid (adjective) Noting or relating to a person whose gender identity or gender expression is not fixed and shifts over time or depending on the situation.

Ex: We recognize and honor gender-fluid identity.

Gender-neutral (adjective) Noting or relating to a word or phrase that does not refer to one gender only.

Ex: Firefighter and flight attendant are gender-neutral terms.

Intersectionality (noun) The theory that the overlap of various social identities, as race, gender, sexuality, and class, contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual; the oppression and discrimination resulting from the overlap of an individual’s various social identities.

Ex: Her paper uses a queer intersectionality approach.

Ex. The intersectionality of oppression experienced by black women.

Mansplain (verb) (of a man) to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner.

Ex: He mansplained to her about female friendships.

Microaggression (noun) 1. a subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a minority or other nondominant group that is often unintentional or unconsciously reinforces a stereotype; the act of discriminating against a nondominant group by means of such comments or actions.

Ex: microaggressions such as “I don’t see you as black.”

The diversity committee discussed the issue of microaggression toward women on campus.

Post-truth (adjective) Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

Ex: ‘In this era of post-truth politics, it’s easy to cherry-pick data and come to whatever conclusion you desire.

Courtesy English Oxford Living Dictionaries: After much discussion, debate, and research, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016 is post-truth – an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’

Red pill (noun) Used to refer to a process by which a person’s perspective is dramatically transformed, introducing them to a new and typically disturbing understanding of the true nature of a particular situation.

Ex: I had no real idea what horrors these animals suffered before getting to my plate. Then I took the red pill, and now I can never go back.

Snowflake (noun) Informal, derogatory; an overly sensitive or easily offended person, or one who believes they are entitled to special treatment on account of their supposedly unique characteristics.

Ex: These little snowflakes will soon discover that life doesn’t come with trigger warnings.

Social Justice Warrior (SJW) (noun) Disparaging; a person who advocates a progressive orthodoxy, often on the Internet, especially involving the treatment of ethnic, racial, gender, or gender-identity minorities.Trigger warning (noun) A stated warning that the content of a text, video, etc., may upset or offend some people, especially those who have previously experienced a related trauma.

Ex: A blog post with a trigger warning for rape.

Troll (noun, verb) Digital Technology, informal; a person who posts inflammatory or inappropriate messages or comments on the Internet (especially a message board) for the purpose of upsetting other users and provoking a response.

Woke (adjective) Slang, (often used in the phrase “stay woke”) Actively aware of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those related to civil and human rights.

Ex: In light of recent incidents of police brutality, it’s important to stay woke.

He took one African American history class and now he thinks he’s woke.

Xenophobia (noun) Fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers; fear or dislike of the customs, dress, etc., of people who are culturally different from oneself

Ex: Xenophobia and nationalism can be seen as a reaction to the rise of globalization.

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SOURCES

Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.

English Oxford Living Dictionaries.

Anti-Antifa Stores Now Abound Online: Capitalism is Winning

Antifa stores started popping up all over the Internet in the last month or so. See Antifa Supply Stores Being Launched: Truth IS Stranger Than Fiction: New Items Daily

https://skepticreview.com/2017/08/31/antifa-supply-store-recently-launched-truth-stranger-fiction/

Now, the Anti-Antifa products are available as well–some vendors are even offering products from both sides and at times it can even be hard to tell the difference.

While some of these Anti-Antifa products seem to be in good humor, others not so much–echoing a message of violence and counter-violence.

Take a look at some of today’s t-shirts and stickers for sale:

And the not so funny:

More items to be added, but one thing is for certain. This Antifa sticker appears to not be true:

New Anti-Antifa shopping items 9.11.17

Ben Shapiro at Universities: Why Are Students Driven to Seek Counseling?

“Facts don’t care about your feelings.” Ben Shapiro

Best-selling author, journalist and media personality Ben Shapiro was scheduled to speak at UC Berkeley on September 14, 2017. Security surrounding Shapiro’s speech was unprecedented, and Berkeley issued an invitation to students and faculty to seek counseling at the University Health Center if they found the event too unsettling. (See Berkeley counseling for impact speakers “have on individuals’ sense of safety & belonging” https://skepticreview.com/2017/09/08/uc-berkeley-offers-counseling-impact-speakers-may-individuals-sense-safety-belonging/

So what exactly is Ben Shapiro doing or saying that is causing folks to seek mental health treatment?

Ben Shapiro is a conservative promoting traditional values. Shapiro advocates for capitalism, traditional marriage (man and woman), intact family units (two-parent households) and morality derived from religion (unless it’s Islam–more about that below).

Shapiro is a prolific author. His conservatism is reflected in some of his more popular titles:

Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth (2004).

Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future (2005).

Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America (2013).

How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them: 11 Rules for Winning the Argument (2014)

In Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth, Shapiro writes:

“At my own beloved UCLA the numbers are just as frightening. There are thirty-one English professors with registered party affiliation. Twenty-nine of them are affiliated with the Democratic party, the Green party, or another leftist political party. Out of thirteen journalism professors with registered affiliation, twelve are affiliated with leftist parties. Fifty-three out of fifty-six history professors are affiliated with leftist parties. Sixteen out of seventeen political science professors are affiliated with leftist parties. Thirty-one of thirty-three women’s studies professors are affiliated with leftist parties.”

In Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future, Shapiro says:

“Never in our country’s history has a generation been so empowered, so wealthy, so privileged—and yet so empty.”

But where Shapiro really goes hard on college students is in his book How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them: 11 Rules for Winning the Argument:

“College students’ sense of moral righteousness doesn’t come from achievement – it comes from believing that you are a bad person. You are a racist and sexist; they are not. That makes them good, even if they don’t give charity, have never met a black person, stand for policies that impoverish minority communities across the United States, and enable America-haters around the globe.”

And this, also from How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them:

“The leftist bullies have taken over the major institutions of the United States. The university system has been monopolized by a group of folks who believe that it’s no longer worthwhile debating the evidence on tax rates, or whether the Laffer curve is right, or whether Keynesian policies actually promote economic growth. They don’t want to debate those issues. What they want to teach instead is that is you are personally ignorant, bigoted, corrupt, and mean if you disagree with them. Their opinions are not opinions; they are fact. This is the hallmark of being stuck inside a bubble. The people who occupy the professoriate have not had to work a real job – a job with real-world consequences — in over 30 years. They’ve lived on a campus where everyone agrees with them, convincing them that their beliefs are universally-held. Anyone who disagrees is a “flat earther.” Anyone who disagrees is a monster. You are a monster.”

In 2014, Shapiro ruffled feathers when he published this video titled, “The Myth of the Tiny Radical Muslim Minority is Just That.”

And then, in 2015, Shapiro got in heated debate with transgender journalist Zoey Tur, after which Shapiro filed a police report.

So that’s Ben Shapiro. Berkeley’s message to students and faculty reads: “No one should be made to feel threatened or harassed simply because of who they are or for what they believe.”

As Ben Shapiro says, “Facts don’t care about your feelings.”

Labor Day: Rosie: By Any Other Name: The Riveting True Story of the Labor Icon

“We Can Do It!” by J. Howard Miller was made as an inspirational image to boost worker morale

Certainly, one of the more readily recognizable icons of labor is “Rosie the Riveter,” the indefatigable World War II-era woman who rolled up her sleeves, flexed her arm muscles and said, “We Can Do It!” But, this isn’t the original Rosie.

In 1942, as World War II raged in Europe and the Pacific and the song “Rosie the Riveter” filled radio waves across the home front, manufacturing giant Westinghouse commissioned artist J. Howard Miller to make a series of posters to promote the war effort. One such poster featured the image of a woman with her hair wrapped up in a red polka-dot scarf, rolling up her sleeve and flexing her bicep. At the top of the poster, the words ‘We Can Do It!’ are printed in a blue caption bubble. To many people, this image is “the” Rosie the Riveter. But it was never the intention to make this image “Rosie,” nor did many Americans think of her as “Rosie.” The connection of Miller’s image and “Rosie” is a recent phenomenon.

The “Rosie” image popular during the war was created by illustrator Norman Rockwell (who had most certainly heard the “Rosie the Riveter” song) for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on May 29, 1943 — the Memorial Day issue. The image depicts a muscular woman wearing overalls, goggles and pins of honor on her lapel. She sports a leather wrist band and rolled-up sleeves. She sits with a riveting tool in her lap, eating a sandwich, and “Rosie” is inscribed on her lunch pail. And, she’s stepping on a copy of Adolph Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf.”

Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post 1943 cover featuring Rosie the Riveter

The magazine cover exemplified the American can-do spirit and illustrated the notion of women working in previously male-dominated manufacturing jobs, an ever-growing reality, to help the United States fight the war while the men fought over seas.

The cover was an enormous success and soon stories about real life “Rosies” began appearing in newspapers across the country. The government took advantage of the popularity of Rosie the Riveter and embarked on a recruiting campaign of the same name. The campaign brought millions of women out of the home and into the workforce. To this day, Rosie the Riveter is still considered the most successful government advertising campaign in history.

After the war, numerous requests were made for the Saturday Evening Post image of Rosie the Riveter, but Curtis Publishing, the owner of the Post, refused all requests. The publishing company was possibly concerned that the composers of the song “Rosie the Riveter” would hold them liable for copyright infringement.

Since then, the J. Howard Miller “We Can Do It!” image has replaced Norman Rockwell’s illustration as “Rosie the Riveter” in the minds of many people. Miller’s Rosie has been imprinted on coffee mugs, mouse pads, and countless other items, making her and not the original “Rosie” the most famous of all labor icons.

Courtesy United States Department of Labor

Antifa Supply Stores Being Launched: Truth IS Stranger Than Fiction: New Items Daily

Gretchen Mullen, Skeptic Review

It’s Going Down is a digital community center from anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements. The mission is to provide a resilient platform to publicize and promote revolutionary theory and action.

It’s Going Down maintains an online store which gives a glimpse into the Antifa/Anarchist mindset.

It also links to a new online store called Limitless, launched on July 31, 2017.

Here are a few sample items:

Clothing items: The catalog notes that black sunglasses pair well with black hat.

Buttons:

Stickers:

Zines: Catalog describes item as zines on topics related to “insurrectionary anarchy.”

And a few new items from Etsy:

Punch Nazis Antifa Hand Embroidery only $41.82

Everything’s Better When We’re Smashing Together 2 Patches

AND JUST FROM HERE AND THERE AROUND THE WEB…

Antifa United Card Knife for sale at online ammo store

Today’s new items (9.2.17)

Anti Imperialist Solidarity – East German Antifa Clutch $54.16

Anti Imperialist Solidarity – East German Antifa Throw Pillow only $20.84

Antifa Messenger Bag, Black, Medium only $125

Today’s new items (9.3.2017):

Today’s new Antifa items (9.4.2017)

New Masks For Sale, various outlets, 9.8.17

Antifa is not training to throw glitter

By Gretchen Mullen, Skeptic Review

Shane Bauer, Investigative Reporter for Mother Jones, published “What the Media Got Wrong About Last Weekend’s Protests in Berkeley” on August 29, 2017.

What the Media Got Wrong About Last Weekend’s Protests in Berkeley

As a first-hand account of what he witnessed, Bauer says, “The violence I saw was only part of the story.”

While this may be true, his characterization of Antifa borders on suggesting they are merely masked superheroes spreading glitter and handing out cupcakes.

Bauer explains away Antifa’s use of masks and ninja costumes with the following assertions:

“Antifa activists are press-shy in part because they’ve been identified and targeted online by white supremacists.

What’s more, in a country with strong press freedoms, journalists often feel entitled to photograph whomever they wish. Rather than acknowledging that some people don’t want a camera in their face—especially when, like antifa activists, they’ve been identified and targeted online by white supremacists—some reporters grow testy.”

But a closer look at training sites for Antifa organizers belies this message. Antifa can “dox” with the best of them, meeting white supremacists head to head. (Definition of dox courtesy Merriam-Webster: slang : to publicly identify or publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge)

Excerpt: Forming An Antifa Group: A Manual

TAKE ACTION!

Now that you have a group, what do you do?

1) Establish an online presence

If you are a public group, establish an online presence. Again, we recommend limiting this to a webpage and/or twitter. If you make a facebook group for an event, make sure you set the invite list to private: many people have been doxxed based on information from invites. For some more ideas on basic online security, see: https://itsgoingdown.org/time-beef-defense-against-far-right-doxxing.

2) Start monitoring

Find out about your local Far Right groups and collect information about them, including organizations, names, pictures, addresses, and work places. These can include AltRight activists, KKK, Nazi skinheads, neo-Nazi parties, suit-and-tie white nationalists, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, anti-immigration activists, Patriot and militia groups, and others. The SPLC’s Hate Map lists groups by state, although itwill be incomplete. You can also look at established national groups such as Identity Evropa and the Traditionalist Worker Partyand see if they have local chapters in your area. Also, reading reports by other anti-fascist groups may give insight into who is recruiting in your area.

3) Stickering and wheatpasting

If racist groups are stickering or flyering in neighborhoods, organize patrols to tear them down. Use a scraping tool, as there have been occasional instances of razors being placed behind the stickers. Create anti-fascist stickering, flyering, wheatpasting, and graffiti campaigns of your own.

4) Doxxing

After doing your research, present information about racist organizing in your community. The information you release should present enough information to convince an average reader that the target is clearly a racist. Information should include, if possible: a picture, home address, phone number, social media profiles, and employment information. Be sure to include organizational affiliations and screenshots showing concrete evidence of racist and fascist views. Follow up the doxx with a pressure campaign: call their work and try to get them fired, and inform their neighbors through flyering or door-to-door campaigns.

When you present your intel, you’ll have showed your hand, however, and generally it’s difficult to collect more after that. Also be aware that you will enrage your target by naming them: you might have been ignored as a public group for a year doing antifa stuff, but once you refer to a local racist by name, they will fixate on you.

Make sure your intel is correct. You will lose credibility and create unnecessary enemies if you list a home address or work place that the fascist is no longer associated with. The majority of research can be done online, but some things can only be verified in the real world.

5) Event shutdowns

Pressure venues to cancel racist or fascist events. Make sure you have your dossier on the subject prepared beforehand to present, as the first question will always be “How do you know they are a racist?” Approach venues with a friendly phone call, as often they are not informed about the politics of events at their space. However, if they don’t cancel immediately, they will almost always need to be pressured. Collect phone numbers, emails, and social media contacts and call for a shutdown. (We have found that it is helpful to make easily sharable graphics and short videos.) Threaten a boycott of the venue if they event goes on, and follow through on this. In Montreal, one racist concert was cancelled after antifa physically blocked the entrance.

So far, I have yet to find any Antifa source material on rational debate or reasonable discourse. I will keep looking.

For more on Antifa training regarding self-defense and guns, https://skepticreview.com/2017/08/29/antifa-forming-antifa-group-manual-excerpt/

Antifa: Forming an Antifa Group: A Manual (Excerpt)

As curiosity about Antifa grows, here is a look inside the group and some of the its tenets. This is an excerpt from “Antifa: Forming a Group: A Manual.” More excerpts to follow.

SELF-DEFENSE

Antifa groups engage in self-defense work. While most antifa work does not involve direct confrontation, and the amount of confrontation varies from group to group, sometimes it is necessary. Your group members and the supporters around you should be prepared.

We recommend regular martial arts training for anti-fascists, as well as for the larger radical community. It’s a good place to meet people who are serious about this.

Find out what the laws are in your city and state about a variety of self-defense weapons and make sure to practice with, and carry, everything that is legal— whether that is pepper spray, retractable clubs, or other devices.In some cases, what is legal to carry for self-defense is considered assault with a weapon if used in an offensive capacity.Laws vary community by community and ideally a lawyer should be consulted regarding this.

GUNS

A word about guns. Ask yourself: Can another weapon suffice instead of a gun? If you do choose to own guns, engage in regular practice. A gun can give you a false sense of security and if you’re not in practice, you’re more likely to be injured than if you don’t have one. Keep in mind that gun shops and range owners themselves are often connected to right-wing political groups.

If you choose to engage in firearms training, make sure everyone understands basic gun safety—as well as local laws—when it comes to owning, transporting, and potentially using firearms.

Above all, don’t front with images of guns unless you own and are ready to use them. Which is better: to pretend that you have guns and then have one pulled on you when you are unarmed, or for fascists to try to roll on you without realizing you are armed?

However, if right-wingers have been threatening people in your area with guns, or have already shot people, we recommend you arming yourselves immediately and getting concealed carry permits, where possible.For more information, see “Know Your (Gun) Rights! A Primer for Radicals.”

Excerpted from: Forming an Antifa Group: A Manual

Spirit photography: William Hope Cashed in on Grief

By Gretchen Mullen, Skeptic Review

Spirit photography, or photos claiming to document ghosts of loved ones, became popular during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries as hope rose that photography could finally provide scientific proof of the afterlife.

The impetus behind the proliferation of these highly sought after photos was three-fold:

The photographer mastering this technique could get rich quick, often hanging out with some of the upper echelon of society.
Subjects were anxious to believe their dearly departed loved ones were now heavenly spirits. Too often, subjects photographed were in the throes of a recent loss and were easily exploited. Post-war eras were particularly fruitful.
Cameras were viewed as documenting truth; public knowledge about photographic manipulation was limited.

As early as 1869, American William Mumler, spirit photographer to the stars–not the least of whom was Mary Todd Lincoln–was tried for fraud, but was ultimately acquitted because the prosecutor simply couldn’t quite figure out how the photographs were fraudulently made.

Enter English spirit photographer William Hope (1863-1933) who garnered a prestigious clientele including an enthusiastic endorsement from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Below is a mere sampling of spirit photos produced by William Hope courtesy National Science and Media Museum:

Despite being labeled a “common cheat” by Scientific American, support for Hope persisted. William Hope was also the subject of a sting operation conducted by “paranormal investigator” Harry Price (Harry Price merits his own story, to be discussed in a separate article coming soon).

Price’s investigation prompted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to publish The Case for Spirit Photography in 1922 “to show the overpowering weight of evidence which exists as to the reality of Mr. Hope’s most remarkable gift.”

Allegory of the Cave: A Visual Primer

By Gretchen Mullen, Skeptic Review

My recent review of Reasons to Believe, a new film by Ben Fama Jr., prompted me to refresh my understanding of “The Allegory of the Cave,” also known as “Plato’s Cave.” Fama opens Reasons to Believe with his own depiction of this famous parable, endowing the allegory with tremendous significance as a precursor to a most serious discussion on the nature of belief and its real world consequences, carried out by modern scholars Michael Shermer, Peter Boghossian, Caleb Lack, Jennifer Whitson and Chad Woodruff. To read my full summary and review of “Reasons to Believe,” click:

Reasons to Believe: 2017 film by Ben Fama Jr. Now Free on Amazon Prime

Neither Socrates nor Plato would want me to give you my interpretation of the allegory. That is for you decide on your own. I must say, however, that a few key concepts stood out to me:

Enlightened vs. Unenlightened Light vs. Shadows

Upper World vs. Underground Cave Reality vs. Illusion

Do yourself a favor and please spend a few moments of your day on these delightful renditions of “The Allegory of the Cave.”

DEPICTION ONE: The Cave: A Parable Told by Orson Welles (1975)

Full citation: Welles, Orson, 1915-1985, Wismer, C. B, Wolff, Larry, Oden, Dick, Bosustow, Nick et al. The Cave : a parable told by Orson Welles. CRM/McGraw Hill Films, [Del Mar, Calif.], 1975.

DEPICTION TWO: The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato’s Allegory in Clay (2008)

Bullhead Entertainment presents the award-winning animation film featured in over 100 film festivals worldwide. This 3-minute film took first place in animation at the USA Film Festival Short Film and Video Competition.

Dr. Peter Boghossian discusses the Allegory of the Cave during a screeening of the film Reasons to Believe:

FACTITIOUS: Game helps users learn to spot fake news

UPDATE: Factitious 2018 has now been launched at http://factitious.augamestudio.com/#/

The 2018 version includes new articles, while the old site remains up for those who have not yet played the game.

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Real or fake? At a time when the reading public daily grapples with the question of fake news, the American University Game Lab/JOLT has created an accessible, easy-to-play game that helps you sort fake news from real.

The brainchild of former AU JOLT Fellow Maggie Farley, she pitched the concept more than a year ago, before the 2016 presidential campaign brought the challenges of fake news to the spotlight. For purposes of the game, “fake news” is defined as stories fabricated for fun, influence or profit, as well as satire, opinion and spin.

“Fake news is impossible to stop, so we wanted to playfully teach people how to recognize it,” said Farley. “But the game is fun to play in itself.”

The game engine in the next phase should also be available to newsrooms, schools, or groups that want to adapt a version for their own use.

PS: My first crack at the game yielded 93%. Second crack, not so much. I highly recommend you try this game! It’s fun, enlightening and horrifying. I am especially excited to hear it will be available as a teaching tool. My nephew asked me this week if I had read the warning that “people are injecting the AIDS virus into bananas.”–Gretchen Mullen, Editor, Skeptic Review

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PLAY FACTITIOUS HERE:

http://factitious.augamestudio.com/

In addition, a crowdfunding campaign is now active in order to create Factitious: Classroom Edition. For more information, or to make a contribution, visit

https://ufund.american.edu/?cfpage=project&project_id=22859&t=1540664539

For a great summary on the project’s growth and its future, read the following article available on Medium:

View at Medium.com