If we accept the pithy definition of insanity as doing the same thing twice and expecting a completely different result, then the U.S. “War on Drugs” has been insane for nearly two decades. Even worse, everyone associated with the effort knows it’s insane. American drug policy is hugely expensive and unfairly punitive, but we keep returning to the same failed practices again and again, long after we should have known better.
More Taser Trauma
Following up on my post last week about the increasing–and alarming–tendency of police officers to reach for their tasers even in instances of relatively minor disputes, John Cole’s Balloon Juice has drawn my attention to another head-slapping instance of a person being shocked for the crime of being in his own home.
Donnell Williams had just gotten out of the bath tub, wearing only a towel around his waist, when he turned the corner to see guns pointing right at him.
“I ain’t never been so scared,” says Williams.
Police forced entry into Williams home while responding to a shooting, but it turned out to be a false call. They had no idea at the time the call wasn’t real and that Williams is hearing impaired. Without his hearing aid he is basically deaf.
“I kept going to my ear yelling that I was scared. I can’t hear! I can’t hear!”
Officers were worried about their own safety because at the time it appeared Williams was refusing to obey their commands to show his hands. That’s when they shot him with a Taser.
Complete Control
As Pyongyang, the graphic novel by Guy Delisle, makes clear, illustration is an ideal tool for capturing the isolation and paranoia of North Korea. Part of the reason is necessity; the use of cameras and video recorders is strictly controlled in the police state, making recaptured sketches the most effective means of presenting the place’s absurdities. But the subjectivness of drawing is essential too, providing a means of capturing the subtext of glances and gestures when a more literal presentation might betray the gap between what North Koreans may believe and what they’re forced to say they believe instead.
What does Batman do on Sundays?
Comic book fans might want to throw away an afternoon exploring one of the better time-wasters I’ve stumbled upon lately: the Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters webpage. The site features an exhaustive listing of the religions of comic book characters, both mainstream and obscure, with numerous links and bios supporting their assertions.
What do we find out? Superman is Methodist, Spider-Man is Protestant, the Thing is Jewish, and Colossus is an atheist thanks to his Communist upbringing. There are also representatives from the subterranean Lava Man religion, Femizonian female supremacists, and God, who’s made a few comic book appearances. (Interestingly, there are characters who’ve met God but still don’t believe in him…notably, the Savage Dragon.)
Fairy Tales and Building Blocks
The latest issue of the New Yorker has two stories that are well worth reading. The first, The Book of Exodus, is an amazing, near-unbelievable article about a Muslim scholar in World War II Sarajevo who risked him life to protect a Jewish treasure. His act set off a cascade of selflessness that could serve as a fable about human kindness and its unexpected rewards. Unfortunately, the article isn’t available online (here’s a link to the abstract), but everyone should try to track it down.
The other story may not be as accessible, but it’s just as fascinating. Michael Specter reveals in Darwin’s Surprise that viruses have repeatedly embedded themselves in our DNA over the course of evolution, changing our genetic code and even enabling some of the developments that determine what it means to be human.