An English Speaker’s View Of ‘A Room To Destroy’ *

Crime, English, Race

I’m going to defend Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who claims she misspoke or was misconstrued when she said about the rioters in Baltimore: “We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.”

This is a case of English misspoken. These days I no longer understand what most people around me say, because they can’t put together grammatically coherent sentences. What the mayor meant to convey is that there were unintended consequences to giving the crowds the “space” to protest: hooligans took advantage of the provisions put in place for peaceful protest.

“We also gave those who wished to destroy, space as well” came out wrong. The fact that the mayor’s response to the riots mirrored her botched words—her police force stood down—didn’t bolster the credibility of her office’s clarification.

* The post’s title is a botched play on E. M. Forster’s “A Room With A View.” Sorry, my bad.

Now For Some Real News: Indonesian Executions

Drug War, Journalism

Away from the American “news” media’s lazy, solipsistic navel-gazing in Baltimore, Indonesia has gone ahead and executed eight out of nine prisoners for drug-related offenses. Al Jazeera:

… A firing squad in Indonesia has shot Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran together with six out of seven other alleged narcotics traffickers. Their deaths have caused an international outcry.

Over the past few days, the foreign ministers of Australia, Brazil, France, and the Philippines had all expressed their dismay over their nationals’ imminent execution. …

MORE.

Waiting To Exhale In Baltimore

Crime, Criminal Injustice, Critique, Race

After waiting on the signal from Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Maryland’s Republican governor, Larry Hogan, finally called up the National Guard, late Monday, to deal with the “Black Lives Matter” riot that is “convulsing” the city. This time, on account of the murder of Freddie Gray, earlier this month.

Had he failed to wait that period of grace for an OK from the black mayor, the white governor would have probably been called a rrrrrrrrrracist.

Officials like the governor continue to renounce the connection between the ubiquitous gangs—on this occasion, the Black Gorilla Family, Bloods and Crips—and rioters who put the finishing touches to each “Black Lives Matter” protest. The protest is 95 percent peaceful, promised the governor of Maryland, today. The looting, arson, rock-lobbing, robberies and assaults are executed by an element separate from the peace lovers.

Whatever you say, Gov.

Yawn.

One suggestion to liven things up a bit more: When addressing the media, Baltimore officials should consider hiring the sign-language guy who rocked Nelson Mandela’s funeral, instead of the stuffy woman who currently gesticulates for them. The South African was the coolest, most creative and original act at the funeral. All the more so considering he didn’t even know sign-language.

Miraculously, Bruce Jenner Will Likely Continue To Love Women

Aesthetics, Gender, Pop-Culture, Sex

This is probably the only real Bruce Jenner we’ve ever seen; the rest has been celebrity and reality TV—Mr. Jenner has been embroiled in a vulgar reality show, in which he has been belittled and berated. Jenner’s gender identity is female; his pattern of sexual attraction is to women. The two—gender identity and sexual attraction—are different things. Bruce Jenner felt like a woman trapped in a man’s body. He has, however, always loved women and likely will continue to so do.

That too is a miracle, given the women who surround Mr. Jenner: shallow, plastic, empty, nasty (except the younger girls both of whom were beautiful, until Kylie Jenner, on the right, had plastic surgery. Now only Kendal, on the left, is gorgeous).

The newly deformed Kylie, after alterations, joining her sisters in the practice of self-examination (“selfie” posting):