Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Best Post of 2007?

A blog-friend of mine wants folks to collect their best post of the year, for a massive, end of year round-up. What's my best post? I have no idea! But perhaps you can aid me.

I include this list of nominees, which I culled after (literally) looking through every post I wrote over the past year. If the topic isn't clear from the title, I give a brief description underneath. But if you're particularly enamored of something missing from the list, feel free to name-drop it in the comments.

I look forward to your help! And happy browsing!

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2007 Best Post Candidates

“Card Me”, 1/7/07 (Discussing the phenomenon of "cards" -- "the race card", the "anti-Semitism" card, etc.).

“Sensitivities”, 1/28/07 (Defending Justice Ginsburg's claim that women bring certain "sensitivities" to the judiciary that men don't have).

“Narrative in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict”, 2/5/07 (Examining how everyone's particular "narrative" of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict impacts how we perceive news and events emanating from it).

“Taking Thomas Seriously”, 4/22/07 (A reflection of Justice Thomas' views on racism, and the implications they hold for White liberals and conservatives).

“The False Hero”, 5/9/07 (Refuting the idea that Justice Harlan was any sort of hero for his Plessy dissent, in which he specifically affirmed White Supremacy).

“Whiteness Candidates and Post-Racial America”, 5/21/07 (Exploring how and why groups "become" White, whether new groups are likely to become White now, and which groups are likely candidates for the transition).

Series on Parents Involved v. Seattle Supreme Court Case, 6/28/07 (9 posts total, links to the series available here).

“The Diversity Rationale and the Problem of Subjectification”, 6/30/07 (Defending the "diversity rationale" for affirmative action on the grounds that it gives due credence to the objective value of students of color).

“Colorphobia”, 07/09/07 (Arguing that American society needs to get beyond it's phobia of race-as-a-concept).

“The Chronicle of Madison’s Tomb: Why ‘Roe Rage’ Has Nothing To Do With Legal Theory”, 08/01/07 (A narrative demonstrating that the popular opposition to Roe v. Wade has nothing to do with it's legal legitimacy, and everything to do with policy disagreement).

“Why Is The Only Good Civil Rights Leader a Dead One?”, 10/01/07 (Asking and answering why Martin Luther King, a dead man, is the only civil rights leader accorded mainstream respect).

“On the Armenia Resolution”, 10/10/07 (Arguing in favor of the resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide).

2 comments:

Justin said...

I liked your "A Jew in Sun Country" posts. They are among my favorites because they combined thoughts on personal experiences as they relate to issues of minority religious standing. To me, that makes them more interesting than posts that talk about such issues in the abstract.

Anonymous said...

Please submit "The Trouble with Anti-Semitism." It is more poignant than the Jewish Card one, The "trouble" post perfectly articulates many of my thoughts. There is a tendency with liberals to dismiss people of a strong Jewish identity if they discuss Israel. I was an Orthodox Jew and I used to lived in Israel. Judaism is a big part of my history, so it often comes up. The most visceral antisemitism I experience comes from other liberals upon hearing about my past. People attack me, saying, "How can you support that evil apartheid state!!!??" before I mention any sort of political idea, or belief. Usually this is in response to a benign comment like, "I love spicy food. Israel has great spicy food." If they had bothered to ask first, they would have found that I am deeply conflicted and don't really have a strong political position in regards to Israel. Usually when I explain my politics they apologize. But if getting angry because I've LIVED as a Jew in Israel isn't antisemitism, then I don't know what is. This attitude prevents me from becoming more involved in activist circles. I feel as though people treat me like my past makes me a traitor to the radical ideal. This post spells out antisemitism 101 perfectly. I really did love the post. I think people could benefit from reading it. :)