Odds and ends on MLK Day

Here are some opinions of mine! No, I don't think anyone has asked, but on a day that lots of people use to promote the mildest samples of quotes from Dr. King, without grappling with his murder, or the very real effects of structural racism, or the evil and structural basis of poverty, this seems like as good a post as any.

Harry and Meghan

I just really hope it works out for them. I had heard things about the attacks and the racism, but someone put out a long side by side of how equivalent stories on Kate and Meghan are treated - touching the baby bump when pregnant, eating avocados - it is glaring. That is bad enough on its own, but when you see the comments too, and all the hatred directed at her, I can't blame them for wanting out. I cannot doubt that Harry is haunted not just by his mother's death, but the scrutiny she was under before and the toll that took.

For people who say Meghan knew what she was getting into, I suspect there was a reasonable expectation that it would die down. There were some early attacks on Kate Middleton for being a social climber, but she is pretty well accepted now. When you find out that you can't win, you should recalculate.

I suspect there is some worry on the part of some royals that this will make people question whether the royalty is needed. I remember in AP History our teacher saying that one of the things Parliament really liked about the royalty was that it took attention of them; maybe that's not a great system. Regardless, there are plenty of heirs. If Harry and Meghan demonstrate that there are other options, maybe that will be a source of inspiration.

I worry that Canada has its own problems with racism. I worry that the press is attacking more now, and maybe they won't stop, but mainly, I hope that it works out.

It is worth thinking about how the press may harm instead of help. Even going outside of the tabloid press, uneven political coverage has caused harm over here. That leads us to...

Julián Castro endorses Elizabeth Warren

I am sad about Castro's withdrawal from the race, because he was the superior candidate by far. He did not get enough press attention and he did not get enough financial support, which was certainly related. That being said, choosing to endorse Warren makes sense, and doing it straightforwardly, rather than waiting around to see which way the wind was blowing went makes sense for his character.

Of the candidates getting any traction, Warren is not the one most likely to clinch the nomination, but she is the most similar to Castro in terms of creating detailed plans and being data driven. She is not as good at race - and that is a huge one for me - but she is also the one who seems most capable of getting there. I do not say that lightly.

Climate change

I have not said as much about the candidates as I could have, certainly, but part of that is seeing that so often the issues with the voters make pointing out various things about the candidates unproductive. Climate changes comes up because just today one of my mutuals on Twitter said something about feeling like it was too late to stop global warming; we could only endure it.

My response was that I put a lot of hope into permaculture, but the problem is people. There is so much that can be done with producing food locally and without needing a lot of fertilizer - therefore reducing fossil fuel use in two different ways - and even lowering temperature in an area. Yes, a lot of damage has been done, but there is a lot of healing that can be done too.

That is true of all issues, but it takes better hearts. It takes good will.

That is my sermon for today.