THEBLOT BOOMERANG: Nov. 29 Edition

Give a voice to the voiceless!

 

THEBLOT-BOOMERANG-Nov.-29-Edition

You’re reading TheBlot Boomerang, where we bring the biggest and best of this week’s news back around every Saturday.

LINK: Rapper Tink Responds to Ferguson

Tink is an up and coming rapper/singer from Chicago. Produced by Timbaland, “Tell the Children” is her newest song, a response to the injustice in Ferguson. Feministing’s Verónica Bayetti Flores posted the track, adding, “She’s headed for big things.” Meanwhile, the powerful, heartbreaking “Tell the Children” sums up the sad reality for black America with its chorus: “Tell the children to watch out/Keep running, running, running.”

LINK: Calling Out Bill Cosby’s Enablers

Bill Cosby’s public image has crumbled as more women (20 at the time of writing) go public with stories of being sexually assaulted by the comedian. However, the charges are not new. Temple University employee Andrea Constand accused Cosby of rape nine years ago and had 13 “Jane Does” with similar stories. Three of the Jane Does (Barbara Bowman, Beth Ferrier and Tamara Green) gave interviews at the time. Still, the media either ignored or tiptoed around the charges for years. The New York Times’ David Carr explores this disturbing oversight and admits to his own role (he interviewed Cosby in 2011 for an airline magazine).

LINK: Native North America

On Thanksgiving weekend, let’s remember the indigenous people of North America. They helped European settlers celebrate the first Thanksgiving and were rewarded for their hospitality with smallpox and genocide. Some, such as Inuk singer/songwriter Willie Thrasher, were sent to residential schools where their native customs were forbidden, but nobody could suppress the talent of Thrasher and other indigenous musicians from Canada and the northern United States. They’re the stars the anthology “Native North America” from label Light in the Attic and compiled by Kevin “Sipreano” Howes. Rolling Stone interviewed Howes about the project.

LINK: The Essential P.D. James

Mystery author P.D. James passed away at 94 this week. An icon of the genre, she created detective Adam Dalgliesh, the star of 14 novels. James didn’t limit herself to series fiction. She also wrote “The Children of Men,” a dystopian tale that was the basis for the 2006 film of the same name. Her final novel, “Death at Pemberley,” was a murder-mystery sequel to “Pride and Prejudice.” Mashable pays tribute to James with a list of books for the curious first-time reader.

LINK: How to Argue on the Internet

My boyfriend’s grandfather had a saying: “Only an idiot argues with an idiot.” Of course, he lived before the Internet. Today, people love to argue online. Just scroll through the comments section of any article on Ferguson, immigration or Gamergate for proof. Some of the articles listed here are bound to inspire arguments of their own. Alas, debates have dissolved into flame wars for as long as the Internet has existed. Via Upworthy, here’s a video from PBS’s Idea Channel on how to detect logical fallacies and avoid making them yourself.

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