Base and Superstructure

Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

Month: April 2020 (Page 2 of 2)

public housing vienna

Toward Better Public Housing

April 13, 2020 /

I love the idea of public housing. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of you who have spoken with me about it. But many people don’t love it at all. Why? Sometimes they display racism, white fear or fragility, et al. I’m not going to spend too much time on that. At other times, they worry about crime, livability of neighborhoods, et al.

To be clear, it’s tough to disentangle the latter from the former. But sometimes people who live in public housing themselves – or who live nearby – express those concerns. That’s worth taking far more seriously.

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cloth masks

Toilet Paper and Cloth Masks

April 9, 2020 /

If you take a trip to your local Target or Walmart, you’ll find distressingly empty rows next to curiously overstocked ones. In the former, it’s toilet paper or hand sanitizer. And in the latter, it’s cosmetics or decorative pillows. I don’t need to remind you about the arbitrariness or silliness of the Toilet Paper Wars of March 2020. Their impact remains. Nor should I need to remind you how people hoard corporate, mass produced goods when they think their family is in danger. But I do hope to show that cloth masks are an important exception.

People behave strangely during times of crisis. Maybe the last few weeks left you scratching your head. Why did people hoard toilet paper before genuinely essential goods like food? Why buy a year’s supply of toilet paper when no clear-thinking person believes you need it?

What’s going on here?

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stay-at-home doctors

Stay-at-Home Reading List

April 6, 2020 /

Yeah, I know. I just put out a reading list for the spring. But there’s reading, and there’s reading, right? With stay-at-home orders in most states, we’re now doing the latter. And not a moment too soon, because we don’t need to mess around with coronavirus and COVID-19.

Lots of you are under stay-at-home orders! Even Florida now. As it happens, I live in Iowa and I’m not. This has led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth among local liberals. But if you can’t – or won’t – leave the house, you’re probably looking for something to read.

Maybe I can help with that. Here’s what I’m reading under my personal stay-at-home order.

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Killmonger Black Panther rorschach test

The Killmonger Rorschach Test

April 2, 2020 /

It’s the two year anniversary of the Black Panther film, and much remains the same. If you talk to ten people about Erik Killmonger, the (alleged) villain, you’ll walk away with a dozen opinions. Killmonger elicits from us what we’re already thinking about identity, race, and society. He does so whether these views inhabit the surface or the depths of our thoughts. In other words, Killmonger is a Rorschach Test!

I’m assuming readers have already seen Black Panther. And I’ll note right away that I’m discussing only the film, not the comics or any associated stories or media. If you haven’t seen the film, go watch it! If you have seen it, read on.

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