Quickies

Quickies: Food Babe Doesn’t Ingest Chemicals, Facebook and Native American Names, and Scams in the 1800s

  • The Food Babe is a Raving Lunatic – “Quick: what’s the most absurd thing you’ve ever heard a person say? That vaccines cause autism? That lizard people live under Los Angeles? How about that ‘there is no acceptable level of any chemical to ingest, ever?’ “
  • Facebook Name Police: Native American Names Aren’t ‘Authentic’ Enough – “If you’re John Smith or Susan Jones, you will never run into the Facebook name police. Based on assumptions and algorithms, Facebook will inherently believe you are a real person, and who you say you are. Your account will not be flagged as inauthentic; you will not be accused of being a fictional character, or somebody’s inside joke, or a marketing scheme, or a tribute to a professional wrestler. For people with less-common, yet totally authentic names, it’s not so simple. The evidence suggests that Facebook’s effort to weed out inauthentic identities targets overly descriptive names. Names that contain recognizable nouns, adjectives, adverbs. In other words: Native American names.” From Michael.
  • The hidden victims of campus sexual assault: Students with disabilities – “Nationally, research has shown that individuals with disabilities experience sexual assault at significantly higher rates than the general population and that they also face critical gaps in services when they seek help for abuse. At the same time, experts say, schools have yet to adequately assess or address the issue on their campuses. “
  • Would you leave your family behind to be the first human to set foot on Mars? – “The name of the organization that could be the first to put humans on the Red Planet is Mars One. “One,” as in, yes, one-way. It will launch people into space, land them on Mars and attempt to keep them alive for the length of their natural lives — but it won’t be bringing them back.”
  • I, Tituba: Working as a Historical Reenactor in Salem – “I was Tituba. Or at least, everyone thought I was. During my freshman year at a small liberal arts Christian college in Wenham, Massachusetts, my lifelong fascination with the Salem Witch Trials and an empty bank account prompted me to apply for a job as a historical re-enactor. For nine dollars an hour, I dressed in heavy cloaks, long skirts, and leather boots with golden buckles. I revived the past as a member of the street cast for Cry Innocent, a dramatized play recounting the trail of Bridget Bishop, the first citizen of Salem to be executed as a witch. Somewhere between the excitement of make-believe and a steady paycheck, I forgot the historical implications of something I couldn’t change: the color of my skin.”
  • How Scams Worked In The 1800s – “Arguably, the 1800s were the Golden Age of schemes. The term “confidence man” or “con man” was probably coined midcentury and, according to the New York Times, the Brooklyn Bridge was sold more than once to unsuspecting folks in the 1880s and 1890s.”

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Mary

Mary Brock works as an Immunology scientist by day and takes care of a pink-loving princess child by night. She likes cloudy days, crafting, cooking, and Fall weather in New England.

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7 Comments

  1. On the Food Babe article: I really don’t like when people can’t make a cogent argument without resorting to ableist language, unprovoked attacks on innocent bystanders or making sure that the readers know you really, really don’t like the thing they a’re defending.

    But enough about C. A. Pinkham, that Vani Hari is pretty awful too.

    1. I agree, the past about hating science was irritating, but not as annoying as the Food Babe. And you don’t need to understand science to listen to experts, at least.

      1. I didn’t like the use of “raving lunatic”, “brain damaged”, and “anyone whose brain is fully armed and operational” plus a swipe a Tig Notaro and The Importance of Being Earnest for some reason.

        The Food Babe’s misinformation is terrible and potentially dangerous but there really is no reason to imply that she, or her readers, are stupid when they more likely simply uninformed. It doesn’t say much or the author’s writing skills to need to rely on obvious ad hominem attacks to bolster an already very strong argument.

      2. I’ve been saying Jezebel is problematic longer than any of you. I’m the OG of complaining about clickbait politics.

        But seriously, Food Babe is a problem. I noticed in her latest talk on Indian cooking (as reported by Kavin) an attempt to coopt feminism. You know the ecofeminist narrative, assimilationist father, mother who doesn’t want to assimilate. It’s almost cliché (and of course, there’s no reason the mother can’t be the one who wants to assimilate).

  2. Loved the I, Tituba article- it was a wonderful example of tokenism and a reminder of yet another aspect of white privilege. And I also love that the comment section broke the “don’t read the comments” rule. It was supportive and there was not one troll in the whole bunch.

  3. I mentioned the case of ndn names on Queereka a while back when they were doing the same with transgender users. I’ve seen Rustywires, Ferrets, Squirrels, and Running Wolfs banned for that.

    1. One of my native American friends uses a name that is clearly altered, and even added “Injun” to it, and they’ve never bothered him. But use your real name and you’re out.

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