A Sociological Eye

[This post was written as protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police were spreading around the U.S.. Curfews were beginning to be set in major cities and National Guard being mobilized. Major media outlets were alternating clips from the video of officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes with stories about looting and scenes of flames. The Minneapolis mayor had declared the uprising "domestic terrorism," and Trump had just threatened to send the U.S. military into cities without consent of their governors to force order on the populace. It seemed to many that the U.S. might descend into chaos, military occupation, or civil war. Yet every day, despite threats and negative media portrayals, more and more people were taking up Black Lives Matter signs and heading out into the streets.] _________________________________________________________________________________ I hear a lot of people asking that question Marvin G...

We've reached the 2020s. The start of a new decade is always a time when people reflect on the past and make predictions for the future. In peacetime, this is usually a happy and effervescent project. For more than a century, it has involved dreaming of flying cars, vacations in space, and robots that take care of us, instead of displacing us from our jobs. But 2020 arrives at a more anxious time. In the U.S., we may not be at war, but we don't feel at peace. This is the context in which I am contemplating our era and writing this post. It will meander rather wryly, and discuss consumer goods, and then there will be a bonus Nazi appearance! Very 2020.   Like many of you, I work long hours. The winter holiday season, when it comes, is a nice respite from the usual hectic pace of work--but it's mostly another flavor of frenetic, traveling to see family, touching base with old friends, and catching up on projects postponed for the "break." I do try to ...