Mary

@JohnHMcWhorter The whole thing is unbearably sad and he is guilty but 35 years is too long. He's redeemable.

Folks, I'd like to get my two cents in on Karmelo Anthony. This is a long one -- pretend it's an editorial. “He put his hands on me. I stabbed him.” Why does a boy spontaneously justify stabbing someone on so thin a pretense? And why do so many Black Americans see his 35-year prison sentence as racist? I think the answer to both questions takes us to Scotland, Ireland, and northern England. At a track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas in April of last year, Anthony sat down under a team’s tent. Anthony was neither on the team nor a student at its school, and an unwritten but widely known rule is that only team members are permitted under a team tent. Multiple student witnesses – and not just “whitenesses,” as several were Black -- testified about what happened next. Anthony was told several times to leave the tent but refused, including a profane epithet, culminating in warning “Touch me and see what happens.” Team member Austin Metcalf shoved Anthony, who pulled a knife out of his bag, stabbed him in the chest, threw the knife into the stands and ran away. Caught by the police, he immediately admitted to the stabbing, reportedly saying “He put his hands on me. I stabbed him.” Metcalf died in his twin brother’s arms. There is no reason to think Anthony was trying to kill Metcalf. He was trying to hurt him severely, putting him in the hospital, for shoving him, as he indicated in at first saying "He's not gonna die." Also, claims such as prosecutor Bill Wirskye’s that Anthony meant “Touch me and see what happens” as a provocation are based on a misreading of Black English. “Touch me and see what happens” is not a command to touch. It means “If you touch me, you will find out.” The question is why Anthony thought being pushed justified sinking a knife into Metcalf’s body. The answer is the culture of “disrespect” in young Black male culture, documented by many (including black sociologists). His calculus was "If he even touches me, I am disrespected, and will respond in destructive kind." The idea is that being dissed merits what we might phrase as cutting someone a new one. There is no reason to suppose that this is due to Black people having some inborn propensity to violence. The Black economist Thomas Sowell has traced the “disrespect” culture to the whites from the “Celtic Fringe” – an area comprising parts of northern England, Scotland, and Ulster County in Ireland -- who migrated to the South starting in the 1700s and established plantations (or worked on them as indentured servants). Black people, often enslaved, worked alongside and around them and their American-born descendants. At this time (although certainly not now), whites from the Celtic Fringe area had the same tripwire response to being dissed – “touchy pride” -- as well as many other traits now commonly associated with “gangsta” Black culture. In his classic study of early migrants to America “Albion’s Seed,” the historian David Hackett Fisher referred to the oppressed people of this northern borderland region, encompassing Scotland, northern England and Ulster County in Ireland, as “some of the most disorderly inhabitants of a deeply disordered land.” “Manliness and the forceful projection of that manliness to others – an advertisement of one’s willingness to fight and even to put one’s life on the line – were at least plausible means of gaining whatever level of security was possible in a lawless region and a violent time,” Sowell notes. Hundreds of thousands of people from this region migrated to America starting in the early 1700s, eventually migrating to the South. Many establishedplantations and bought enslaved Black people to work on them. Referring often to the scholarly and sympathetic study of this “cracker” culture in America by the historian Grady McWhiney, Sowell notes that they manifested “a touchiness about anything that might be even remotely construed as a personal slight, much less an insult, combined with a willingness to erupt into violence over it.” The step is short between that and “He put his hands on me. I stabbed him.” It is hard not to see the parallel between the “cracker” culture and the sociologist Elijah Anderson’s study of late twentieth century Black culture of “the streets,” where “respect is viewed as almost an external entity that is hard-won but easily lost, and so must constantly be guarded. (...) Many of the forms that dissing can take might seem petty to middle-class people (maintaining eye contact for too long, for example), but to those invested in the street code, these actions become serious indications of the other person's intentions. Consequently, such people become very sensitive to advances and slights, which could well serve as warnings of imminent physical confrontation.” Sowell argues that enslaved Blacks would have internalized these norms from the whites they worked with and lived around. It might seem hard to imagine whites and Blacks sharing a culture on the kind of plantation familiar from dramatic depictions, where legions of Black people worked in the fields while whites were their owners and overseers. However, in reality, relationships between whites and Blacks, while fraught and founded in pitiless domination, allowed for degrees of interchange and familiarity. Plantations varied massively in size, and white children and Black ones grew up playing together, even influencing one another’s speech. Black sociologist W.E.B. DuBois’ survey of Black Philadelphia in the 1890s, as well as studies afterward, shows that until the 1960s, the “cracker” inheritance from whites was largely confined to the least advantaged and segregated Black people. However, for the past several decades, aspects of the “disrespect culture” have had influence even among middle-class Black people. For one, the Black middle class vastly increased after the Civil Rights victories of the 1960s, and therefore, for most middle class Black people, poverty remains only a few generations back. Culture does not always change in lockstep with income. Add to this that in the 1960s, many Black people rejected the old idea that our goal was to assimilate to mainstream (i.e. white) norms. Rather than engaging in what is often called respectability politics, many Black people embraced the idea of a separate Black identity – and one aspect of that was the chip-on-the-shoulder style. This all meant that these days, a Black boy hardly needs to grow up in the ‘hood to internalize aspects of what Sowell calls “redneck” culture. This includes the tripwire sensitivity to being “disrespected.” This informs how so many black commenters on the trial and sentence seem to not quite process the horror of Metcalf’s murder. Representative Jasmine Crockett thinks the length of the sentence is racist – as if a white boy shivving a Black boy to death would only get a slap on the hand -- focusing on the fact that the knife was not especially large and that Anthony only stabbed once. Martin Luther King’s daughter Berenice King opines that the main lesson from the episode is racial disparities in the justice system. Many online revile that none of the jurors were Black. But it is reasonable to think that they would have liked that a representative number of jurors would pardon Anthony as representing his “disrespect culture,” and thus less culpable than a teen of any other race in America? If so, they are less progressive than retrograde, if we are really to get past race. Dr. King didn’t die demanding that whites make excuses for us. What’s missing in these opinions is thoughts that would occur readily to the outside observer. How about if Anthony hadn’t been carrying a knife at all? How about Anthony just getting up and leaving, or just shoving back rather than hauling out a weapon? But under the “disrespect” culture, even in the background as a tacit sentiment, the idea that Anthony could simply have done what he was told seems an almost unreasonable expectation based on respectability politics. And frankly, I venture that there another resonance in the air: that on a certain level we are supposed to see Anthony’s deed in the light of slavery, Jim Crow and George Floyd, and other disrepectings upon us as a group. Karmelo Anthony drank in this way of thinking subconsciously in the way that we all grow into the culture we are born into. He doubtless incorporated countless elements of Black culture that are positive or even just neutral. But one of them was this notion of what it is to be a man, which made sense in some upper reaches of what we now know as the United Kingdom centuries ago, but doesn’t work in modern American society. The sports journalist Jemele Hill advises “We need to be having conversations with our young black boys about emotional regulation and decision making and discernment and wisdom.” Black women often give their boys “The Talk” about obeying what cops demand. But that talk needs to come with a second one – there need to be “The Talks.” Young Black men need to be told not to fall for the idea that being dissed justifies physical violence. That, and not the persistence of racism, is what Karmelo Anthony’s fate should teach us. If you did, thanks for staying with me until the end!

@MeghanMcCain Hopeful though?

Every mom I know is striving to give their kids a "90's summer" of no screens, pools/playing outside most of the day, just overall extreme focus on simplicity and family. It is a great thing to do but also a really sad referendum on the times were living in.

@newstart_2024 @ grok does This video has ai quality to it?

Andrew Huberman got honest about God. At 50, the neuroscientist who spent years pushing down the voice saying “I think there’s a God… I should pray” finally stopped fighting it. He opened up to faith and prayer, and for the first time in his life, he says he’s experiencing deep, sustained peace. Everything feels easier. Everything is as it should be. There’s real humility in admitting science doesn’t have all the answers. Faith in God often steps in exactly where our need for control ends, and that surrender seems to bring a kind of peace no protocol or data set can deliver. Have you ever found more peace after finally surrendering control in some area of life?

@SmythRadio @MZHemingway Much of the service is often very feminine. The homilies are often very feminine. Men and boys need a short sermon that speaks to them about hard things. The music should involve old classics.

@MZHemingway 🤔was not aware. Not sure if this is just a local phenomenon but at the Catholic Churches around me, attendance is driven by the women, especially moms.

Ladies, the real reason to go to church is to hear God’s Word and receive the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith in the Sacraments. BUT ALSO, solid Christian churches like my LCMS Lutheran congregation have way more young men than women. Come get a man, y’all!

@JeremyWingert79 Grandpa's Great Escape

I need a recommendation! Give me a meaningful, riveting book I can read aloud to my 9yo and 7yo. We've enjoyed Charlotte's Web, Anne of Green Gables, The Wild Robot, Little House on the Prairie, The Wizard of Oz, Summer of the Monkeys, & the first Narnia book, to name a few.

@kalezelden I love that you have a chalkboard!

I teach high school. I also teach online classes for adults. They are different, but the former has made me excellent at the latter. I’d love to be your Virgil. Let me know if you are interested in private tutoring for big books you’ve always wanted to read.

@garcia_elline @RachelBitecofer Yes

@RachelBitecofer There needs to be more assistance to families who have disabled children.

Here’s another glimpse into life with a disabled kid: Gabe turns 13 in a couple of weeks and I’ve just got him to the point where I get to sleep through the night again. 13 years

@EricGuillot14 A prayer for Eric

I am saddened to announce that Eric Guillot passed away on June 4th. His kidneys failed to work even with dialysis. He made a conscious decision to quit all the treatments less than two weeks ago and let his body succumb to the disease. RIP

@jdflynn They are lovely

This is unspeakably sad. It's wrong -- crushingly, gravely, sorrowfully, and heinously wrong. I'm convinced what makes a difference is to pray that Christ will be known to every person invovled. Pia and Max are gonna do that. Let's do that.

@franksterNo @Bicklestaxi @MassDailyNews There aren't many youngsters in these states. Native birth rate ate has been plummeting for decades.

@Bicklestaxi @MassDailyNews This isnt “Americans” that refuse to perform physical work. It’s youngsters in blue states. They have been raised not to perform physical labor. Far different than us born before the 90s. That is the issue here and people need to recognize this.

Mass. must take in 60,000 immigrant newcomers a year if it wants to survive, group says massdailynews.com/2026/06/05/mas…

@jenfulwiler A prayer for your beautiful daughter.

Update on my 19 y.o. daughter who’s battling medulloblastoma cancer: - We are now at St. Jude in Memphis - She’s in the middle of 7 months of hard chemo - We met local priest friends who visit with the sacraments - Every good thing you’ve ever heard about St. Jude is true ❤️

@KeenanPeachy But will they have children in 20's in appreciable numbers? This is the essential piece.

At mass here on Sunday evening, I was shocked when I looked behind me and saw every pew filled. The place was packed, and not with les vieux. 90% of the people at mass were 20-something Gen Z French natives, and they all looked like they'd just left a 90s Ralph Lauren sailing photo shoot. Good looking, slim, preppy, hip. This is in fact the modal French Catholic, like in certain neighborhoods in New York. The place isn't dead yet.

I lived in Paris in the 90s. I'm in Paris now, and while it is still the Paris of my memory in the center, you are aware at all times that you are ringed by a large population of immigrants busy outbreeding the virtually childfree natives.

@SteveSkojec Wow. Thanks for sharing.

Whoever made this is very, very good. There's an entire audio/visual layer of rhetoric going on here that is far more powerful than the words. The fact that so many languages are spoken and this version has no subtitles only enhances the sense of scope and mission here. This is how you make a film about something most people would probably never find interesting, and turn it into something very compelling.

@Joeinblack Thank you for writing this instead of exploding at her or someone else. I'm sorry you deal with this.

I’m at the pharmacy picking up a prescription for my dad The young lady came on the speaker and talked super fast and quiet. I let her know I was hearing impaired and asked if she could say it again a little slower for me. I was super pleasant about it, I have to do this all the time. She then said whatever she said at the exact same rate of speed and exact same volume. I told her I’m really embarrassed, but I still have no idea what you said could you talk a little louder and a little slower for me” She then screamed into the microphone whatever it was she was trying to communicate. It was so loud that the speaker distorted. The guy in the car next to me had his window down and he told me he was sorry. I still have no idea what she said. I’m just sitting here waiting for something to happen. Being hearing impaired is the only impairment that other people get mad at you for having and it really sucks Every day, I am exhausted from trying to hear people. I have two hearing aids and a device I wear on my chest to amplify what goes into my hearing aids. It’s simply amazing how many people refuse to adapt their speech when you ask them directly to. It’s amazing how many people get mad because of something I can’t help. It’ll be interesting to see how long I sit here and what exactly is going to happen because I have no idea.

@kalezelden A prayer for Judy.

Please continue your prayers for my mother Judy who is going through a cancer situation. It is aggressive, shocking to the doctors. She's had surgery, twice, and is now waiting to begin radiation. I can tell that she is already exhausted by the unfolding layers. Thank you.

@cremieuxrecueil Any teacher over 40 is not sleeping in!

Now, I will say, there's some lack of clarity here. We don't know how much of the effect is student- vs. teacher-side. The reform also allowed teachers to sleep in. It is possible for a decomposition to be done using preexisting times, but the authors didn't do it, sadly.

California was the first state to mandate later school start times for K-12. This was a good idea. It allowed students to get more sleep, and simultaneously, they started to perform better on tests! If suspensions are any indication, they might even act out less!

@GabsClark5 She is lovely a creative and healthy.

My daughter was socially transitioned at school. She was excited about getting “top surgery” when she was only in middle school. I was NEVER going to let that happen. Last weekend she graduated from high school, unmutilated! My cousin and I got her out of that cult. She and I were talking after the graduation. She looked at the video and said, “If you hadn’t moved back to Texas, she’d be a boy right now.” She took this pic of my daughter and me a few minutes later. I refuse to let my daughter be captured by gender ideology. So I created a plan to rescue my baby from that cult. We escaped from Vegas, did a digital detox, I formed a Nucleus Network, and began Affirming Reality. Now my daughter is thriving with $100k in scholarships and grants to a private Christian university. She’s got a clear vision for her future. She is free. I help as many people as I can get their children back, just like I did with my own daughter. Dr. Nikki Johnson and I have had great success @AffirmReal. Reach out to @notaproviderMD or myself to learn how or go to affirmingrealitydotcom.

@_gidDy_Up_ @Joeinblack What a testimony!

@Joeinblack as a parishioner and parent of students at a parish a lot like that (our pastor has two parishes as well right now 4k+ families plus a school) the thing I always want to tell my pastor is that he is making such an enormous impact beyond anything he can see. I know that sounds cliché but it is a big deal Father it’s my salvation it’s my childrens salvation - and it’s thousands upon thousands of big deals like that over and over for years and years. There are plenty of good priests who can’t manage well at that level (not criticizing them that’s just true, I couldn’t manage well at that level either). We’ve had them. The school shrunk under what became effectively lay management, the parish programs weren’t as effective. Who gets left out when that happens? Ppl like me and my kids bc we were on the margins at one point and its having a well run parish that gave us the opportunities to be all in as Catholics as time has gone on even though Im a single dad and we don’t fit into the stereotypical Catholic family mold. I wish my pastor got to see more of the difference he makes Father I wish you got to see more of the difference you make but on the other side it’s a real difference it matters so much and with everything I have I thank priests like you and my pastor for doing the hard jobs you have. Priests like you and him I would die for Father. I’m not exagerating. You make that big a difference in the lives of ppl like me and my kids.

Pastoring two parishes and a school, I hit stretches where it feels like there’s nowhere where there isn’t a fight. Somewhere, someone is always unhappy; Some express it in a healthy way and some don’t. Some recognize that they work with fallible humans and choose peace, some will never stop punching until they feel like their circumstances are perfect. This morning, I really called out to the Lord and I asked him if it’s supposed to be like this; I asked him if priesthood is supposed to be 24/7 dealing with conflict and fights and arguments, personnel, etc. A funny thing happened: it struck me that I don’t know if this is his Will and I’m not even sure how knowing the answer will help me. Here’s what I do know: Jesus is Lord and honestly? That’s really all I need to know. My job is to be as faithful as I can, to cling to Him with all of my might and to proceed boldly forward in faith, trusting that He has won, He is winning, He will win. #talkedtotheboss

@be_like_ice Fabric softener

Neurodivergent gang what’s a smell that instantly ruins your mood?

@therightfrankd Where is your church? My husband and I are middle aged with 19 and 20's sons and we find no couples with babies or young children who even come out of their houses ever (very few with children to begin with). I'm trying to start at a new church.

I'm a Catholic, so my response to having only two kids as "bordering on sin" is nuanced. Choosing to limit family size intentionally without a grave reason is a big moral problem, yes. But that aside, I think we need to address something else on the pro-natalist Christian right (which I am very much a part of). It is generally unnatural to intentionally limit yourself to one or two kids. It is also unnatural to be open to life, to have 5+ children, with ZERO familial and community support. Traditional families had grandma living on the same street; spinster aunts and siblings who helped with babies; moms in the same neighborhood coming together daily to share the struggle. So many of the families at our church are struggling. Many kids, but parents live far away, don't practice the faith, or are estranged. Siblings are few and far between. Many of these people are trying to do something without the natural supports of a healthy community life. I'm all in on being fruitful and multiplying -- we currently have five kids and we aren't old yet! But we also need to be very aware of the breakdown of real community and the challenge that presents to big, fruitful, and often isolated families. We need more than encouraging "have more kids" if we are really going to rebuild a healthy Christian society.