Stephan: Christmas is an ancient holiday far predating Christianity, but it is also a spiritual holiday in the modern sense. Here is a bit of history that speaks to this day in a way that might not at first be obvious. Since Jesus was the son of a Jewish carpenter, that is an ordinary working-class person of the time he almost certainly looked something like a Syrian or Palestinian today with a swarthy Caucasian skin tone, black hair, and dark eyes. The fact that most Christians visualize him as a tall light-skinned, light brown-haired European man, Warner Sallman's image, should tell us something about racism in our dominant religion. Maybe one of the things we should think about this Christmas is how we, both individually and collectively, can give American society the gift of racial neutrality and equality.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is no male and female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:11 Here there is not Greek
and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but
Christ is all, and in all.
The portrayal of Jesus as a white, European man has come under renewed scrutiny during this period of introspection over the legacy of racism in society.
As protesters called for the removal of Confederate statues in the U.S., activist Shaun King went further, suggesting that murals and artwork depicting “white Jesus” should “come down.”
As a European Renaissance art historian, I study the evolving image of Jesus Christ from A.D. 1350 to 1600. Some of the best-known depictions of Christ, from Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” to Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel, were produced during this period.
But the all-time most-reproduced image of Jesus comes from another period. It is Warner Sallman’s light-eyed, light-haired “Head of Christ” from 1940. Sallman, a former commercial artist who created art for advertising campaigns, successfully marketed this picture worldwide.
Sallman’s ‘Head of Christ’
Through Sallman’s partnerships with two Christian publishing companies, one Protestant and one Catholic, the Head of Christ came to be included on everything from prayer cards […]
Stephan: Screw you moronic Trumpers who are stupid enough to continue to follow Trump, and screw everyone else but the rich as well. We are a party of the rich, for the rich. Could the Republicans make it any clearer?
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a rally on December 11, 2020 in Columbus, Georgia. Credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty
The grassroots organization People for Bernie on Tuesday advised the Democratic Party to take a page from an unlikely source—right-wing Vice President Mike Pence—after Pence told a rally crowd in Florida that progressives and Democrats “want to make rich people poorer, and poor people more comfortable.”
“Good message,” tweeted the group, alerting the Democratic National Committee to adopt the vice president’s simple, straightforward description of how the party can prioritize working people over corporations and the rich.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?creatorScreenName=commondreams&creatorUserId=14296273&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1341476510616547330&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2F2020%2F12%2F23%2Fyes-exactly-say-progressives-after-pence-warns-democrats-will-make-rich-poorer-and&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px
Suggesting that a progressive approach to the economy will harm the country—despite the fact that other wealthy nations already invest heavily in making low- and middle-income “more comfortable” by taxing corporations and very high earners—Pence touted the Republicans’ aim to “cut taxes” and “roll back regulations.”
The vice president didn’t mention how the Trump administration’s 2017 tax cuts overwhelmingly benefited wealthy households and powerful corporations, with corporate income tax rates slashed from 35% to 21%, corporate tax revenues plummeting, and a surge in stock buybacks while workers saw […]
Stephan: Trump is making sure that we will all live in a less healthy environment. I guess he sees that as one of the ways he can punish everyone for his losing the election. The question for me is how is it possible that anyone can still support this blatant criminal; I simply cannot understand.
The smog that will get worse thanks for Trump’s EPA gutting air quality standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday declined to tighten air quality standards for smog, despite calls from environmental and health advocates for a stricter standard.
The EPA finalized its decision to retain the Obama-era air quality standard for ozone, the main component of smog, of 70 parts per billion (ppb).
In the stratosphere, the ozone layer protects the Earth from ultraviolet light from the sun, but at ground level it can worsen health conditions like bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.
“This decision fulfills the Trump administration’s promise to streamline the [National Ambient Air Quality Standards] review process,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told reporters.
Environmental advocates have called for tightening the standard to 60 ppb or lower, and have pointed to studies linking adverse health impacts of exposure to ozone at concentrations lower than the current standards.
“Air pollution kills thousands of people each year and failing to set a more protective standard means that the health of millions of Americans is threatened,” said Paul Billings, the American Lung Association’s national senior vice president for […]
Stephan: By the time I saw this report I had already seen three earlier racist police thuggery stories in the last week alone. The police and sheriffs in the United States are seriously out of control.
People hold up signs in Columbus, Ohio, during a Dec. 11 march for Casey Goodson Jr., a 23-year-old Black man, who was shot and killed by law enforcement. Credit: Stephen Zenner/AFP/Getty
A Columbus, Ohio, police officer was relieved of duty following the fatal shooting of a 47-year-old Black man Tuesday during which he did not activate his body camera, Mayor Andrew Ginther (D) announced.
Why it matters: The shooting of the unnamed man comes after the Dec. 4 death of Casey Goodson, Jr., a 23-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy, which triggered protests against police brutality.
“Our community is still raw and exhausted from the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and, most recently, Casey Goodson, Jr., right here in Columbus.”
— Ginther statement
Details: Ginther said during a briefing the police body cameras contain a 60-second “look-back” feature, which means the shooting was captured before the officer turned on his camera following the incident. But this does not record audio.
“The officer involved has been relieved of duty, requiring him to turn in […]
Kim Barker, Michael H. Keller and Steve Eder, Reporters - The New York Times
Stephan: Here is a good exegetic report on the police situation in cities all over the country. It is unacceptable in a democratic republic.
The Portland police have been accused of using excessive force during protests this year. Credit: Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi/The New York Times
It took Portland, Ore., almost $1 million in legal fees, efforts by two mayors and a police chief, and years of battle with the police union to defend the firing of Officer Ron Frashour — only to have to bring him back. Today, the veteran white officer, who shot an unarmed Black man in the back a decade ago, is still on the force.
Sam Adams, the former mayor of Portland, said the frustrated disciplinary effort showed “how little control we had” over the police. “This was as bad a part of government as I’d ever seen. The government gets to kill someone and get away with it.”
After the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers in May spurred huge protests and calls for a nationwide reset on law enforcement, police departments are facing new state laws, ballot proposals and procedures to rein in abusive officers. Portland and other cities have hired new chiefs […]
