So the year didn’t end. However, what does the trend of “end of the world” myths tell us about our psyche? The Conversation investigates.
A great article on the trend of young, white, male men and their role in… well, it seems that is the stereotype for mass shooters. I wonder how the discussion would change if the shooters were religious or coloured? Why is it in those cases, the motives are related to the background, culture or beliefs but in the case of white, young male shooters it is seen as a one off tragedy? Ah, the perils of living as the ‘Other’.
A great article on how to build professional networks: Little Gifts…
A critical analysis of the critically acclaimed series, Homeland…
Homeland intends its liberal viewers to experience some discomfort about Carrie’s domestic spying, but it also knows that guilt intensifies the pleasure we take in things that are bad for us. If Homeland were the anti-24 that it claims to be, it would finally have to deny its viewers this pleasure: Carrie would, in fact, be deranged and wrong. But she’s never wrong, because the current logic of liberal politics dictates that although paranoia may be deranged, it must also be correct.
It was interesting reading this article on marriage and settling. Marriage in Islam is seen as extremely important to someone’s Iman, or belief – in fact, it is “half one’s Iman”, and as such the structure around marriage is a little different. In the West however, marriage is sold as "happily ever after” and all about “your one true love…”. This article challenges that, and interestingly in doing so, reflects sentiments I have been exposed to in the more traditional Islamic/cultural circles…
It sounds obvious now, but I didn’t fully appreciate back then that what makes for a good marriage isn’t necessarily what makes for a good romantic relationship. Once you’re married, it’s not about whom you want to go on vacation with; it’s about whom you want to run a household with. Marriage isn’t a passion-fest; it’s more like a partnership formed to run a very small, mundane, and often boring nonprofit business. And I mean this in a good way.
On the topic of implicit racism or perhaps ingrained bias… Are you racist without knowing it? Find out more!