Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 13d

Selective outrage: The York County shooting involved suspected stalking, gun violence, and killing police officers. Barely a word from major politicians because the shooter didn't fit their agenda. But ICE shooting can and will be used to push a political agenda. That's all most of them care about.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 14d

Sending you all the positive thoughts/vibes.

Reposted by Marcelius Braxton

Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 14d

Some news.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 14d

Karen Attiah, a Washington Post opinion writer fired this month for her social media posts about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, has filed a grievance arguing that she should have been allowed to share her views on news events under the company’s labor agreement and social media policy.

Karen Attiah Says Firing by Washington Post Violated Labor Agreement

The company fired Karen Attiah this month for her social media posts related to Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Marcelius Braxton

Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 15d

Bothers me when people discuss Left movements in the U.S. w/out underscoring the GENERATIONS of repression, surveillance, violence directed at movements. The "Left" is so disorganized is used as a joke but I hardly ever see those same people saying 'THE LEFT WAS TARGETED & DISORGANIZED by the STATE'

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 15d

Just a note that “Judeo-Christian” is a false construct, exclusionary, and a dog whistle. It’s also incongruent with theology and history. It is predominantly used to center Christianity under the guise of inclusivity. Just because someone uses the concept doesn’t mean you need to accept/adopt it.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 15d

In graduate school (for philosophy), there was often a specific tell that a bad, flawed, or biased argument was coming. It was when people would begin with things like “Consider a simple analogy” and then proceeded to use a bunch of words that try to sound smart without good arguments or accuracy.

Dr. Katja Thieme (she/they) @katjathieme.bsky.social · 15d

What it sounds like when philosophers who are also anti-trans activists submit an amicus brief to a US court where they argue for banning trans girls and women from women's sports.

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the option of interpreting the Idaho and West Virginia
statutes as motivated by the justified aim of excluding
all males from female sports, it is quite invidious to
interpret them as instead motivated by the unjustified
aim of excluding males who identify as female in par-
ticular.
Consider a simple analogy. Imagine that we are
back in Medieval Europe. Gold is the currency of the
land. Consequently, many merchants prefer to accept
gold and only gold as payment. However, a new move-
ment is afoot, whose members are known as the alche-
mists. The alchemists purport to have found a way of
turning iron pyrite (fool’s gold) into gold. Some people
are convinced by the claims of the alchemists, though
many others are not. This difference in attitudes
starts to lead to time-wasting interactions in which an
alchemist or fellow traveler tries to purchase a good
using iron pyrite from a merchant who, unmoved by
well-publicized insistence on the part of the alche-
mists that only irrational prejudice could lie behind
lingering doubts about the possibility of converting
iron pyrite into gold, continues to insist on only ac-
cepting gold as payment. One such merchant, whose
unofficial working policy has hitherto been to accept
only gold as payment, decides to make his policy offi-
cial by putting up a sign on his store saying, “Only
gold accepted (no iron pyrite!).”

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 15d

In my AfAm course, only if they specifically say they were caught up in the rapture.

And yes I recognize this is probably a “Two Americas” moment, and I don’t care.

Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 15d

Question for profs: should an absence be excused if a student is raptured?

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 17d

If you are a P4 college program and you consistently say yes to this hypothetical, time to fire the coach:

If the team swapped coaching staffs with the other side (exception if it’s an all-time great like Saban), would the team be much better and/or would the team the coach went to be much worse?

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Reposted by Marcelius Braxton

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 17d

Karen Attiah made critical comments about *men who are white supremacists* and @washingtonpost.com said that they are a protected class

Be clear about what they were saying

That white supremacists are a protected class

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 18d

The existence and conduct of ICE is also political violence.

Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 27d

Political violence can be both action and inaction.

It is funding billions in weapons that are used to commit genocide and starve children.

It is treating school shootings as inevitable and refusing to protect children.

Politicians condemn the individual act while supporting the collective ones.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 19d

I keep getting asked if I’m worried about my job because I often speak up about issues. The answer is no.

I’ve learned over the years that if employers want to hire you or if they want to fire you, they can always find a reason.

It’s not worth compromising your morals or values for anyone.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 19d

The fact that we have to endure so many spaces where people calling out racism, sexism, and homophobia face more consequences than the people actually being racist, sexist, and homophobic tells much of what you need to know about how far away we are from being a truly functional, equitable society.

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Reposted by Marcelius Braxton

Dr. Johnathan Flowers, Blade Wielding Bisexual (Lordean arc) @shengokai.blacksky.app · 19d

What we're seeing in the "don't sign up for protests" discourse is what Paulo Freire described as the convert's failure to trust the knowledge of the oppressed. As the convert tries to stand in solidarity with the oppressed, they refuse to let go of a world where they were the authority by default.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 19d

The Civil Rights era can be a valuable tool for understanding protest, grassroots and large scale organizing, communication, etc. However, to utilize it effectively requires examination, scrutinizing, and figuring out what still applies today and how. So many reference it without doing work needed.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 19d

You’re absolutely right AND the example given isn’t even “civil disobedience” as claimed.

bsky.app/profile/marc...

Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 19d

Civil disobedience is refusing to obey laws/demands/orders/commands of the gov. RSVPing to a protest and potentially being a target isn’t an example. It’s just a bad tactic. And telling targeted populations to become more of one without a clear long term vision or ways to protect them is a bad idea.

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 20d

Even if this was likely to happen (it isn’t) YES YOU SHOULD WANT TO MAKE THE FBI COME TALK TO YOU. Make them spend the time and resources, draw attention to their overreach!

Are people aware the entire nature of peaceful civil disobedience is forcing this kind of conflict?

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 19d

Civil disobedience is refusing to obey laws/demands/orders/commands of the gov. RSVPing to a protest and potentially being a target isn’t an example. It’s just a bad tactic. And telling targeted populations to become more of one without a clear long term vision or ways to protect them is a bad idea.

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 20d

Even if this was likely to happen (it isn’t) YES YOU SHOULD WANT TO MAKE THE FBI COME TALK TO YOU. Make them spend the time and resources, draw attention to their overreach!

Are people aware the entire nature of peaceful civil disobedience is forcing this kind of conflict?

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 20d

Primary them all. The messaging will happen (and is happening) no matter what! You honor people you admire or have esteem for. You can condemn murder without honoring him! If they’re worried about messages, worry about the one it sends to those they rely on for votes, who CK said awful things about.

Andrew Solender @andrewsolender.bsky.social · 20d

NEW: Expect some drama in House Dems’ meeting this AM over a vote to honor Charlie Kirk.

Some members undecided. Others voting no or “present.” But some in the party fear anything but a unanimous vote for it will be a messaging coup for the GOP.

@Axios.com
www.axios.com/2025/09/18/c...

House Democrats fume about vote to honor Charlie Kirk: "We're being totally set up"

The vote has been the topic of frenzied discussions in Democrats' closed-door meeting this week.

www.axios.com

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 20d

Many in higher ed are showing us who they are. So, we should believe them.

They say “free speech” for racism/sexism/homophobia but now punish comments they see as “insensitive”, “disruptive”, etc.

And then give speeches or write op-eds decrying the lack of “free speech” or “viewpoint diversity”.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 20d

Going to be sharing a lot of what @elizabethrb.bsky.social has written because she has been warning us for years about what we’re seeing now.

Elizabeth Beavers @elizabethrb.bsky.social · 20d

re-upping this for no reason

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Reposted by Marcelius Braxton

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 20d

Here’s what a Ball State University employee said that led to their termination:

Suzanne Swierc

Let me be clear: if you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can't be friends.
His death is a tragedy, and I can and do feel for his wife and children.
I believe in the Resurrection, and while it's difficult, I can and do pray for his soul.
Charlie Kirk's death is a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed. It does not excuse his death, AND it's a sad truth.
The shooting is a tragedy, and I can and do feel for a college campus experiencing an active shooter situation.
The deaths of Melissa and Mark Hortman, the children shot and killed in Minneapolis last month, and the children shot in Colorado today are all tragedies that also deserve your attention.
Charlie Kirk excused the deaths of children in the name of the second amendment.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 20d

With all this talk of terrorism laws and terrorism designations, you should really follow Professor Beavers. She’s an expert on these things.

Elizabeth Beavers @elizabethrb.bsky.social · 24d

digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/nslb/vol15/i...

The Danger in Designations: U.S. Terrorism Designation Lists in Gaza and Beyond

What is “terrorism”? The term has surged in U.S. political discourse following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel’s subsequent onslaught of Gaza, and escalating violence in the region...

digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 20d

Wilson Pickett - "Hey Jude"

Joe Cocker - “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 20d

Easy one is Joe Cocker's "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Siouxsie And The Banshees - "Dear Prudence"

Earth, Wind & Fire - "Got to Get You Into My Life"

So many more.

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Reposted by Marcelius Braxton

Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 20d

If people keep waiting for permission, waiting for others, waiting for the “right time”, or waiting for it to be “really bad” to stand up or pushback, there will be little left to fight for. The work is difficult, messy, and imperfect, but it’s best to
start now and join others already in the fight.

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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 20d

Push back*. Really need an edit button.

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