On How's Your Day Going?
Is it wrong that I love Alex's sad posts because I think they're kind of funny? Not because they're not true, but because they are, and that's hilarious somehow.
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On My Conversation With A Wells Fargo Fraud Specialist
I have never been to Rome and have no money to splurge like this and probably wouldn't go this far out even if I did, but there's something about this that I totally identify with. I think it's the idea that you recognize that you're reading a faddish book, or spending "too much" money on boots, and don't really care, but somehow feel like you're supposed to care and have to justify it. Even to a fraud specialist on the phone.
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On Enjoying Orientalism
@stuffisthings I agree completely that the major site of Chinese labor activism lies in China and among Chinese people, but your point C speaks to mine - there wouldn't be any reason for Apple to be worried about bad press if it didn't believe it would affect its bottom line. Americans DO deserve some credit for not being TOTALLY indifferent in this situation, since they are totally indifferent in almost every other situation.
Also, government intervention by whom? For the most part the Chinese government is not responsive to labor complaints; the answer would be the American government, agitated to the point of action by Americans.
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On Enjoying Orientalism
Great piece overall. But I feel like I have seen this crop up a lot elsewhere, so it's worth addressing:
"Over and over I have found myself saying to some smug armchair radical, oh, you are so against Chinese industrial practices, so these factories should all close, right? And the millions who work in these factories: they should starve, right? Because that would be more humane, apparently."
I mean - I'm sure some people somewhere believe that factories in China should simply be shut down. But I think most people on the Left who abhor Chinese labor practices are aware that Chinese workers face a dilemma in which simply shutting down a factory would leave them worse off than they are now. There is in fact a third way - to try to marshal social pressure to increase workers' wages and better their working conditions. This happened at Foxconn - they increased workers' compensation by 25%. I'd call that a win. Plus Foxconn is actually a wage-leader in Chinese industry, so perhaps by raising their wages it'll contribute to a virtuous circle of rising wages in other Chinese factories.
The point that there's not much Americans can do about working conditions in China, or anywhere for that matter, is essential. But "not much" is not the same as literally nothing.
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On "Alternative History Fiction" Is the Tackiest Genre
@jolie I think 3 is an example of 2.
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On "Alternative History Fiction" Is the Tackiest Genre
@jolie Seriously, I talk to so many people who think history is about memorizing facts and dates. History is all about the grand narratives and varieties of human existence, people! It's like fiction, but it really happened!
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On Das Racist And Other Friends I Never Made In College
It's embarrassing how much I self-identify with this. I had the hardest time making friends the first 2 years of college. The worst part, I think, is the self-doubt - you think you're a pretty normal person, pleasant if a little quiet, but apparently no one wants to be friends with you!
I don't even have any good advice for kids who might be in the same position, I fell backwards into a great group of friends through no will or actions of my own.
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On Evil Lobbyist Places Op-Ed Piece
For what it's worth, studies show that one of the best things to stop summer learning loss is summer camp. So we should be signing up underprivileged kids for canoeing and archery left and right!
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On Evil Lobbyist Places Op-Ed Piece
Um, but decades of research really do show that summer learning loss is real!
I doubt it's really THE MOST IMPORTANT cause of underachievement in school though.
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On Acid Flashback: A Cook’s Playlist Of Vinegars That Rock
This is awesome. When people describe a food by talking about how it has "notes of boysenberry" or whatever I can never really imagine what they're talking about, but I know instantly what white balsamic vinegar must taste like if it is like Care of Cell 44. All food writing should make comparisons to songs like this.