Monday Reading

 

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.

Michele Norris writes about why we must teach about "the haters and helpers" in our history:

When a former federal marshal named Al Butler died almost a decade ago, he asked his wife to spread his ashes in front of an elementary school in New Orleans where he protected Black children as they tried to integrate all-White schools. He made this request because, he said, it was the most important work of his life. And he wanted people to always remember.

I thought of Butler recently when a group called Moms for Liberty tried to shut down the use of a curriculum in Williamson County, Tenn., that includes an autobiography by Ruby Bridges. As a 6-year-old in 1960, Bridges became an international symbol of the civil rights movement, and one of the first Black children to integrate New Orleans schools.

The Tennessee Moms argue that her book, “Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story,” contains too many truths that cut too close to the bone. The mothers find the story objectionable, citing a description of a “large crowd of angry white people who didn’t want Black children in a white school.” They say that’s too negative a rendering of a moment that is well documented in books, film and photography. [snip]

Students need to learn the full story — the haters and the helpers — and years from now, looking back on this moment too, they should know that a group of hesitant scolds tried to keep America’s schools from addressing the forces of racial bias and white supremacy that have shaped almost every aspect of American life.

Their effort to sweep away an uncomfortable history is like trying to step out from under the sky. Go ahead and try. In the end, you can’t escape.

We left out the main parts of the story about Al Butler, a white Federal marshal, and Ruby Bridges, at 6 years old one of the first to integrate a New Orleans elementary school.  You should read about these helpers and the past and present haters who want to erase their history.

ProPublica reports on the shockingly low vaccination rate -- even at this late date -- at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities:

Nursing homes faced a shocking mortality rate during the pandemic. In the U.S., COVID-19 killed more than 133,000 residents and nearly 2,000 staff members between May 31, 2020 and this July 4, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports. The true toll is thought to be even higher as data gathering lagged in the early months of the crisis, health experts say.

Working in a nursing home became one of the “most dangerous jobs” in America in 2020, according to an analysis of work-related deaths by Scientific American.

Yet seven months after the first vaccines became available to medical professionals, only 59% of staff at the nation’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are fully or partially vaccinated — with eight states reporting an average rate of less than half, according to CMS data updated last week.

The excuses of the unvaccinated mirror those in the general population, and are especially found in states that voted for the malignant former guy.  If it's a condition of employment at some retail stores, it sure as hell should be a condition of employment at these care facilities for a vulnerable population.

Speaking of vaccines, you've doubtless heard or read about the "disinformation dozen" -- the dozen worst propagators of misinformation about the COVID vaccines.  Sheera Frenkel profiles the # 1 worst:

The article that appeared online on Feb. 9 began with a seemingly innocuous question about the legal definition of vaccines. Then over its next 3,400 words, it declared coronavirus vaccines were “a medical fraud” and said the injections did not prevent infections, provide immunity or stop transmission of the disease.

Instead, the article claimed, the shots “alter your genetic coding, turning you into a viral protein factory that has no off-switch.”

Its assertions were easily disprovable. No matter. Over the next few hours, the article was translated from English into Spanish and Polish. It appeared on dozens of blogs and was picked up by anti-vaccination activists, who repeated the false claims online. The article also made its way to Facebook, where it reached 400,000 people, according to data from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned tool.

The entire effort traced back to one person: Joseph Mercola.

Dr. Mercola, 67, an osteopathic physician in Cape Coral, Fla., has long been a subject of criticism and government regulatory actions for his promotion of unproven or unapproved treatments. But most recently, he has become the chief spreader of coronavirus misinformation online, according to researchers.

You can read about all 12 of the "disinformation dozen" here.  Facebook and other platforms have been put on notice, but yada yada Zuckerberg. 

There have been several articles from right- wing gaslighters and projectors lately scolding progressives for not treating the concerns and fee- fees of snowflake Trumpers with sufficient respect (!).  Digby responds with a visual reminder of who we're dealing with -- attire on sale at a recent Trump Loserpalooza in Arizona:

Yeah, sure, we'll ease up on the knuckle- dragging snowflakes!

Finally, please take some time to visit Infidel 753's link round-up of interesting posts from around the Internet. As usual, he's taken the time to curate dozens of links of varying topics that he found interesting -- and doubtless you will too.