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Malcom Gladwell makes a good argument that To Kill a Mockingbird's Atticus Finch traded in racism for sexism, implying that the purported rape victim had it coming, while Tom Robinson certainly appeared to be guilty. The upshot is that a guy gets away with murder because he's white, and Finch is OK with that. Now I've got to re-re-read the book (or be lazy and just watch the movie).
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You'll enjoy this biting 1996 critique of "Guidelines for Bias-Free Writing," a hyper-PC book lecturing readers on the importance never using terms with origins in sexism, racism, ageism, or really any -ism, real or imagined (and in this book they're almost uniformly of the latter group).
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Virginia Beach auto dealerships are engaging in criminal activity—including kidnapping and fraud—in order to force confused, brand-new enlisted men and women to buy cars that they can't possibly afford. Diamond Motorcars, Tidewater Auto Brokers, and Charlie Falk are all doing it. These people are evil.
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The Margherita pizza was created in 1889, in honor of Queen Margherita of Italy. Its colors are those of the Italian flag. The use of cheese was a first on the pizza, setting a culinary habit that is the standard today.
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that New Yorker article is pretty great — just finished reading it myself. (as a bonus, it’s the only coherent and well-argued thesis I’ve ever heard from Gladwell, to the extent that I had to keep checking the byline to make sure it was him.)
also, I think you’ve slightly misrepresented the article / the plot of the book …
essentially, Atticus’ defense argues that Robinson’s contact with Mayella Ewell was both imcomplete and consentual (well, from her perspective at least) … that she attempted to seduce him and he refused. we’re led to believe (both the jury in the fictional court, and also “we” the readers of the novel) that her injuries come from a completely separate incident in which she was raped by her own father.
so Gladwell is essentially pointing out that Attcius has asked the jurors to trade CLASSISM for Racism — he essentially degrades the Ewell’s in their eyes to the point where they’re able to see Tom Robinson as respectable in comparison. Of course, the sexism stuff is IN there — he essentially calls Mayella a slut, not only to cast doubt on her testimony, but also to help the jurors imagine a sexual scenario in which the black guy is NOT a rapist — but this, while relevant, seemed to me secondary to the issue that Gladwell is underlining, namely that middle-class disgust of impoverished people like the Ewells was often used to sway sympathy in the favor of black defendants (both in this fictional story, and also in many real-life cases of the era.)
This is course is part of Gladwell’s larger criticism of the novel, which is that the “heroic” Atticus is someone who is limited by his tendancy to view and challenge racism only on a person-by-person basis, being unable or unwilling to view it as a larger social phenomenon.
… aw, heck. just go read the article, y’all. it’s a good one.
You’re right, that is his larger thesis, but Gladwell does specifically point to the nastiness of the sexist charge that she had it coming, which is what I had in mind. Like I said, I’ve got to reread (or watch) this because, yeah, my memory of it isn’t so hot. :)
About the MotherJones article, which hit home as I am a 10 year veteran of the USAF and was a dependent son of a career enlisted man…
The reason these vultures can so easily and so profitably prey on young servicemen is because these businesses have figured out how to abuse the system to their advantage. They use the chain of command to enforce bad loan repayments by by-passing the usual loan scenarios and appealing to commanders and higher ranking NCOs who pressure the young troops to pay off the debts – which is a misappropriation of the power inherent in their rank.
Many of these businesses are also experts at abusing the US Federal Marshall service; reporting allegedly delinquent troops/debtors to the nearest US Marshall service and having the taxpayer foot the bill of enforcing bad loans that fall into arrears.
Yes, it is foolish to agree to these terms; but we are all young and foolish from time to time, and the clear and open omnipresence of these crooked businesses outside every military base I have ever been at lends a semblance of legitimacy to them. “How can they ALL be crooks?” is the question that runs through every young enlisted person’s mind…
The businesses are all experts at skirting the law because it is their business and they can focus on it. The service men and women are at a natural disadvantage, even the smart ones, because it is NOT their business to understand their rights and good business practices; it is their business to serve and they should be focused on their military jobs. They need help; and the seedy perimeter around every base needs to be punched through and warned about.
We need to prevent them from taking advantage of the existing rank structure to enforce collections, and prevent them from using the tax-payer to foot their collection bills. That will make them more careful about lending responsibly, and the market itself will deflate to more rational practices, I hope.
Although Sexist, drawing attention to the victim’s behavior and statements is admissable (see Duke lacrosse) and, plainly, good lawyering. I would hope my lawyer would do the same, were I to be accused, in such an environment, of such a crime. Finch loses the case, btw. The jury is not swayed.
As to his responsibility to face up to structural Racism, geez… that’s asking a lot. Would Pacino’s “YOU’RE out of order! The whole trial is out of order!” been an effective defense? Finch’s restraint in the face of outrage (and spit) is what’s admirable. As he walks out, he is readying his appeal. The courtroom is where structural Racism will be put on trial, eventually — Brown made law, after all. In this he adopts a very Lincoln-esque (dare I say Obama-esque?) attitude. I begin to think a dose of Folsomism would have cooled heads in Cambridge. Scotch-and-soda = Budweiser?
As to murder of Mr. Ewell, I think Gladwell has a point. Atticus looks behind the door and sides with Boo — the savior of his daughter and son. Not sound legal footing, but speaking as a father of two, I’m right there with him…. that kind of moral “frisson” makes good fiction.
About the pizza article, in Jersey, there is a (horrible, trying to get a market in Philly by filling my mailbox with their ridiculous menus) place that sells pizza topped with, get this, french fries and hot dog slices.
Queen Margherita must be rolling in her grave.