Because–in the wake of Sandy Hook and Las Vegas–talking about gun control, gun regulation, background checks, mental health, institutional capture by the National Rifle Association, the Republican Party’s gun lobby, gun culture, toxic masculinity, American cultures of violence, racist understandings of ‘terrorism,’ white privilege, political hypocrisy, the rural-urban divide, and all of the rest seemsContinue reading “‘Jokes’ About Country Music Fans’ Taste In Music Is All I Got For Now”
Author Archives: Samir Chopra
The David Horowitz Center Posters Brooklyn College With Libelous Hate Speech
On Wednesday morning, shortly after I had finished discussing Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes‘ ‘Path of the Law‘ with my Philosophy of Law students and returned to my office for a quick break (before I headed out again to discuss Hannah Arendt‘s The Human Condition with my Social Philosophy students), I found a rather unwelcome messageContinue reading “The David Horowitz Center Posters Brooklyn College With Libelous Hate Speech”
Oscar López Rivera And FALN Were Right: Puerto Rico Is A US Colony
Oscar López Rivera served many years in prison–before finally having his sentence commuted by Barack Obama earlier this year–for having the temerity to suggest that the US treated Puerto Rico like a colony–and that Puerto Ricans should do something about it, including taking violent measures if necessary, a standpoint forced upon them by the systematicContinue reading “Oscar López Rivera And FALN Were Right: Puerto Rico Is A US Colony”
‘Social Media And The Training Of Our Minds’ At Three Quarks Daily
My essay ‘Social Media And The Training Of Our Minds‘ is up at Three Quarks Daily.
The Academic’s Peculiar Dissonance
The academic state of mind is distinguished, I think, by a peculiar kind of dissonance; the academic is able to entertain two conflicting states of being simultaneously; each informs the other and brings to it its peculiar intensity and torment. At one end of its affective and emotional spectrum lies the well-known impostor syndrome: theContinue reading “The Academic’s Peculiar Dissonance”
The Boycotter’s Guide To The NFL
Should you or should you not boycott the NFL? Let’s review the cases for and against. For: if you boycott the NFL, you will be supporting the civil rights protest conducted by Colin Kaepernick–one underway since last year when he began taking a knee during the playing of the American national anthem before NFL games;Continue reading “The Boycotter’s Guide To The NFL”
A Momentary, But Edifying, Lapse Of Focus
This past Friday, I went climbing in the Shawangunks with my wife and daughter; we were guided by Carolyn Riccardi of Eastern Mountain Sports and received some wonderful instruction throughout the day. My daughter attempted some elementary routes as did my wife and I. I also attempted and succeeded in climbing a slightly harder route–forContinue reading “A Momentary, But Edifying, Lapse Of Focus”
Social Media And Envy
Of the many states of mind I fear–trust me, there are many precincts of my mental spaces where I fear to tread–I dread envy the most. And a prime domain for the evocation of envy is social media: it is where, after all, your ‘friends’ and those you ‘follow’ let you know how wonderful theirContinue reading “Social Media And Envy”
Brooklyn College’s Disrepair And The Attack On Public Education
Over the past two weeks, I’ve sent the following emails to my departmental faculty list, complaining about the state of classrooms at Brooklyn College. First on Thursday, September 7, I wrote: Once again, this semester, I’m teaching in 4145 and 4219 Boylan. These classrooms are a disgrace. The air conditioner is so loud we cannotContinue reading “Brooklyn College’s Disrepair And The Attack On Public Education”
A Synesthesia Of Sorts
For a long time now, perhaps as long as I can remember, letters and numbers have had colors and personalities and aesthetic grades. Here are the ways in which they do, for me: I see colors in vowels. The letter ‘a’ is yellow; ‘e’ is red; ‘i’ is white; ‘o’ is black; ‘u’ is grey.Continue reading “A Synesthesia Of Sorts”
Samir Chopra 