The Geography of U.S. Hate, Mapped Using Twitter

Skim the zoomed-out surface of Humboldt State University’s alarming “Hate Map” and you’ll encounter angry clouds of bright red framed by smears of gloomy blue, as if some giant freak storm were raining down hell across the the United States.

(MORE: Star Wars and Doctor Who Fans Clash at Sci-Fi Convention)

What you’re looking at is actually a map created by pairing Google‘s Maps API with a hailstorm of homophobic, racist and other prejudicial tweets. It’s part of a project overseen by Humboldt State University professor Dr. Monica Stephens, who, along with a team of undergraduate researchers, wanted to test for geographic relationships to hate speech.

Above the map, the words “homophobic,” “racist” and “disability” define alternate “hate storm” views, each describing a range of highly offensive terms. Click on the keywords or any of their subcategories and the map shifts, the splotches reorganizing to reflect occurrences of the selected term: Bright red areas describe the “most hate,” while light blue ones describe “some hate.”

View the Interactive U.S. “Hate Map”

# Humboldt State University

# Hate Map

“The Racist Attack On Charles Ramsey - Amanda Berry Rescuer”

Video by Zennie Abraham - @Zennie62

Though I wouldn’t call them attacks, I have noticed a general racist bend to the reporting of Mr Ramsey; the man who responded to Amanda Berry’s calls for help.

Lets get one thing clear. At a time when most of us ignore the suffering around us, Charles Ramsey acted. In my book, that makes him a hero. If nothing else, he deserves respect for that. His past, his appearance, his education, and the vernacular he uses do not take away from the fact that this man acted when many of us might have just kept walking.

Mr Ramsey is a hero, and should be treated as such.

Lists. …this is a good one.

The 2013 TIME 100 was released a week ago. I’m always suspicious of lists. Often, they are nothing more than self promotion and mutual masturba back scratching. But I think Time Magazine got it right on at least three of it’s picks.

Rebecca Smeyne / Corbis

John Legend writes of Frank Ocean as a respected colleague and close friend. “Frank is brilliant,” he writes. “The day I started writing with him, it was clear that he has a very interesting mind and a distinctive way of expressing himself. He was fearless and innately creative. You talk to some people in this business and you get the sense that they’re very focused on radio: what will be a hit or won’t be a hit. You never get that from Frank. The focus is on creating something that’s beautiful, that’s great art.

“Frank broke a lot of rules with his album Channel Orange. He wasn’t focused on “What’s gonna be my single?” And obviously, one of the cardinal rules was that he wasn’t supposed to come out. But he did…”

Illustration by David Despau for TIME

Maya Angelou wrote one of the most beautiful pieces on a First Lady I have ever read. Of Michelle Obama, she writes, “Modesty is a learned affectation. It’s just like decals. As soon as the world shakes the modest person against the wall, that modesty will drop off them. But humility comes from inside out. It says someone was here before me; I have already been paid for. All I have to do is prepare myself to pay for someone else who is yet to come. And that’s exactly what Mrs. Obama’s doing with the fight against obesity. She considers all children her responsibility: black or white, pretty or plain, all the children.The philosophers tell us that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Mrs. Obama is as if it doesn’t touch her. She hasn’t tried to become anybody else’s idea of the First Lady. She has remained herself, with her grace, her gentleness and her sense of humor. That she would dare to wear clothes off the rack. Or go out and garden. Or have a grandmother in the White House. She knows how to be a public creature without being separate from her family.” Beautiful words for a beautiful First Lady.

But my favorite by far is what Chelsea Clinton wrote of 15 year old accidental activist, Malala Yousafzai

Mark Seliger for TIME

“People whose courage has been met by violence populate history. Few, though, are as young as Malala was when, at 15, a Taliban gunman boarded her school bus in northwestern Pakistan and shot her and two other girls, attempting to both kill Malala and, as the Taliban later said, teach a “lesson” to anyone who had the courage to stand up for education, freedom and self-determination, particularly for girls and women. Or as young as 11, when Malala began blogging for the BBC’s Urdu site, writing about her ambition to become a doctor, her fears of the Taliban and her determination to not allow the Taliban — or her fear — to prevent her from getting the education she needed to realize her dreams.Malala is now where she wants to be: back in school. The Taliban almost made Malala a martyr; they succeeded in making her a symbol. The memoir she is writing to raise awareness about the 61 million children around the world who are not in school indicates she accepts that unasked-for responsibility as a synonym for courage and a champion for girls everywhere. However Malala concludes her book, her story so far is only just beginning.”

This post originally appeared on adignorantium.wordpress.com

Nancy Giles: She Found Her Voice and America is Listening

nancygiles:

A cool article! And big thanks to Mara Rose Williams, who was a hoot to talk to.

I admire people who can get their point across with a bit of humor. It’s disarming, yet effective.

Nancy Giles is one of those people.

Gay mayoral candidate's murder will not be investigated as a hate crime

gaywrites:

(TW for graphic, disturbing descriptions of a hate crime.)

Marco McMillian, the openly gay black man who was running for mayor in Clarksdale, Mississippi, was brutally murdered last week in what his family says was a hate crime — but officials refuse to investigate it as one.

The candidate’s body was found near the Mississippi River last week after he had apparently been beaten, dragged, and set ablaze. His body was recovered a day after his SUV was involved in a head-on collision. McMillian was not in the car at the time of the accident, as investigators believe he had already been dead, and his body had been dumped several hours prior. The man driving the SUV was Lawrence Reed, 22, who was arrested in connection to McMillian’s death. Reed was initially airlifted to a Memphis hospital, but is now being held at the Shelby County Jail in Memphis.

At the time of Reed’s arrest, the sheriff’s department did not release information on any theories about a motive, although the county coroner said he believed politics was not a factor. While Mississippi’s hate crime laws cover race, gender, and religion, it does not protect against crimes spurred by antigay bias. [emphasis added]

This absolutely reeks of a hate crime, and there is no reason to ignore it. We can’t know for sure what happened, but throwing out this extremely viable option is ignorant, irresponsible, and disrespectful to McMillian’s family and his memory. Sickening.

Here’s more

Fluorescent New Campaign Teaches the ABCs of HIV

advocatephotos:

The Stigma Project completed it’s Winter 2013 campaign, titled Know HIV this week. The colorful array of educational graphics were shared daily for the last month on the organization’s Facebook page, as well as a number of other social media outlets. The intent is to provide easy to digest memes that would hopefully teach the public something they may not have known about HIV/AIDS, then share with their friends to educate them. Each graphic proclaims the clever slogan “KNOW HIV = NO HIV” in the caption field.

In a day when HIV is a manageable disease, the stigma associated with the virus has become a catalyst for new infections. Fear, apathy, ignorance, and lack of education cause people to not get tested, and in turn pass the virus onto others much more easily due to a high viral load (see the letter V) while putting their own health at risk.

After the jump, we present a preview of the campaign with the letters A-F. You can see the entire alphabet (and yes there’s even an X,Y, and Z) at www.thestigmaproject.org or on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thestigmaproject.

Read More

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” Speech - August 28, 1963

Everyone should hear this for themselves. It’s an important moment in American history that changed everything. It’s an example of what ‘One Person’ can achieve if (s)he puts forth the effort. Dr. King’s insistence on ‘Non-Violence’ was the blueprint for movements that followed. The Women’s Liberation and Gay Rights Movements are two examples.

If you’ve never read or heard Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, take some time form your precious social schedule to do it now. You’ll be a better person for it.

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Make no mistake. This is not just a Black History thing. This is an AMERICAN HISTORY thing!

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Thanks to kipperny for first blogging this link Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech

The Furious Faggot: brashblacknonbeliever: mickolas: brashblacknonbeliever: Dear White...

brashblacknonbeliever:

mickolas:

brashblacknonbeliever:

Dear White People,

You don’t get to say the word n***a/n***er just because it was in a song. Self-censoring really isn’t that fucking hard.

Actually this bothers me. I don’t say those words because they’re derogatory….

I’m reblogging this because it presents a perfect opportunity for me to say…

“I Don’t use the six letter “N” word. So PLEASE, DO NOT USE the six letter “F” word.” It’s just as offensive to me as the “N” word is to you.

I have been chased down the street by gangs of every color, with evil and destruction in their eyes, shouting Faggot! and Queer! and AIDS Carrier! and every other nasty epithet taught to them by their parents.

I have been physically attacked by drunken idiots trolling the streets looking for easy prey. Each time I fought back. A few times, barely making it out with my life.

I’ve seen a close friend beaten almost to death by young thugs who laughed and taunted, “Whatchu gone do? Faggot!” as they kicked and beat my friend into a bloody mess. All I could do was call the police. When the police finally arrived, they treated us like it was somehow our fault we were attacked.

So excuse me if I’m a little touchy about a word.
Excuse me for feeling threatened every time I hear a Young Turk tossing around the six letter “F” word.
Excuse me if I’m a little more offended that another minority group singles out my particular minority.
Excuse me for being so naive as to think we are all on the same side against the ruling class. “United We Stand, Divided We Fall!”

There are a lot of words I choose not to use simply because they are offensive to someone. I try not to use them in private because it lessens the chance I might slip in public. Avoiding offensive language doesn’t harm me in any way.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees my right to say whatever I want, however I want. But why would I go out of my way to hurt someone? What do I gain form it?

“I Don’t use the six letter “N” word. so Please, Don’t Use the six letter “F” word.”

A little consideration for others goes a long way. To quote brashblacknonbeliever: “Self-censoring really isn’t that fucking hard.”

*For the record, just as I say White when referring to White folks, I say Black when referring to Black folks. My friends are okay with it. (I generally don’t go around referring to them as my “Black” Friends.)

**The term “African American” isn’t always appropriate because not every Brown skinned person comes from Africa. Just ask Wyclef Jean or Seal.

*** The term ‘Young Turk’ means rebellious young person. A wild teen. http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/young+turk.html

soulbrotherv2:

The Real Django:

This is the actual man on which the movie D’Jango is loosely based. His name is Dangerfield Newby, and he was a member of the John Brown party . He joined to save his wife and children, Harriet. Their love story was real, and you all should check out their narrative and love letters.

aidswalkphilly:

Check out this spot made by NBC10 Philadelphia for us!

↵ Reblogged from aidswalkphilly