“Even those too lazy to vote feel it their birthright to blast our elected representatives from every direction. We complain bitterly when we do not get all we want as if it were possible to have more services with lower taxes, broader health care coverage with no federal involvement, a cleaner environment without regulations, security from terrorists with no infringement on privacy, and cheaper consumer goods made locally by workers with higher wages. In short, we crave all the benefits of change without the costs. When we are disappointed, our response is to retreat into cynicism, then start thinking about whether there might be a quicker, easier, and less democratic way to satisfy our wants.”
Source: Fascism: A Warning
“Come! Come sit by me. It’s a nice bench. Nice and lovely on the butt.”
“You’re drunk.”
“Yeah, and you’re ugly, but do I complain about it? No! Because I don’t complain about things that I can’t change. That’s called intelligence.”
Source: Lovely Vicious
“Some may view this book and its title as alarmist. Good. We should be awake to the assault on democratic values that has gathered strength in many countries abroad and that is dividing America at home. The temptation is powerful to close our eyes and wait for the worst to pass, but history tells us that for freedom to survive, it must be defended, and that if lies are to stop, they must be exposed.”
Source: Fascism: A Warning
“...there is no satisfaction, in my view, that dares to compete with the ability to make social change...the ultimate realization is social change, and anybody who isn't into that, and who is trying to be something, is falling short”
Source: Color Me Flo: My Hard Life and Good Times
“We were inhabiting a space where it didn't feel like we had much company, a space critics might dismiss as a compromised middle, but I imagined as a radical center.”
Source: Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story
“Queer data is more than using data to tell stories about the lives and experiences of LGBTQ individuals: the presentation of the data is also an opportunity for LGBTQ people to see themselves reflected, although this mirror image is never a truly accurate representation.”
Source: Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action
“Over time, EDI work has transformed so that the purpose becomes to ‘fix the data’ rather than the problems the data was originally intended to represent.”
Source: Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action
“Greater consideration of when and where to collect gender and sex data is welcome. However, those passionate about the use of data for action must remain on guard that a ‘gender blind’ approach does not become misunderstood as a means to address inequality.”
Source: Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action
“The aggregation of LGBTQ groups offers a response to when small numbers is used as an excuse for an action. however, if research is conducted into the experiences of LGBTQ people, and the number of cases is smaller than anticipated, organizations might also use data to Halt initiatives or cut funding. small numbers therefore presents multiple dangers for the analysis of data about LGBTQ people.”
Source: Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action
“Gilborn et al. have described how the provision of too few ethnic categories [too much lumping] produces meaningless results but the provision of too many categories [too much splitting] can be almost as bad. … [with too few people in each category] the school reported no significant difference in attainment between ethnic groups.”
Source: Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action