A Sociological Eye

  We really need to talk about the concept of neurodiversity. Current events make that very clear. As you are likely aware, if you were in contact with media at all this week, President Trump has announced that there has been a terrible rise in autism, and that it has two causes. One, everyone expected him to name, because it is the fixation of his Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr.—childhood vaccines. But nobody except for thrilled antivaxxers paid much attention to that same old discredited claim. The other was the surprise, intended to draw headlines and furor: acetaminophen, generally referred to in the US by the brand name Tylenol. In particular, Trump claimed that autism results in children whose pregnant mothers took Tyelnol. This isn’t actually a new claim, and those at the core of the MAHA movement, seeking to “Make America Healthy Again” through actions ranging from sensible to bizarre, were probably familiar with this particular belief. But as most peopl...

  This is a portrait of Elihu Yale and his intimates being served by an enslaved boy wearing a padlocked collar. I’m showing it to you because I want to talk about Yale Law School, and specifically its graduate JD Vance. A funny thing about Vance's Hillbilly Elegy book: the man believes he had a unique experience, because he felt like an outsider when attending an Ivy League university. He didn't come from a background of wealth and prep schools and world travel. He was at a loss as to how to handle his cutlery when taken out to a fancy restaurant by a potential employer, because the place settings included a salad fork and dinner fork, a soup spoon and teaspoon, a steak knife and a butter knife. And when he went back to his hometown, he found he did not want to brag to strangers about going to Yale. If they were the kind of people who would disrespect him unless he shared that credential, then they weren't people he wanted to bootlick, and if they were ordinary locals...