It's not a personal preference situation. You're making a decision that affects those close to you, those you work with, and those you encounter in a grocery store aisle.
It's been so many years since polio and earlier vaccines that people have forgotten the power and importance of collective action. Hope we can turn that around.
The southeastern portion of the state has (in what I’ve read) traditionally been considered part of Appalachia. Geophysically, it’s simple: the one-third or so of Ohio that wasn’t flattened by the glaciers. It’s rolling, increasingly hilly as you get down to the Ohio River. I went to school at Ohio University in Athens, and a bunch of classes there consider Appalachia a part of their studies and focus.
I read Hillbilly Elegy when it came out and my first reaction was “hey, wait, Middletown is really more blue collar, rust belt.” My second reaction is “boy, Vance sure is willing to speak for a huge geographic area that he’s at best only on the edge of.”
But to the Bitter Southerner piece, I want to say that the whole “you have to be from a place to talk about a place” thesis has, for me, been as wobbly as anything Vance puts out. So, what, born there? And the deeper inside the geographic boundaries, the better? Nah. But maybe the author (of the Bitter piece) makes a stronger point that ANY generalization of people tied to a geographic area is weak, shallow, insufficient by definition. People will surprise you. (That’s my generalization.)
Evaluating the sincerity of racism and sexism? You're overcomplicating it. The mere expression of it fouls the air and puts a world where people love and respect each other just a little further out of reach. It's like evaluating the motivations of a belching coal smokestack.
...and it's a video. I look to the NYT for words on a page...I wish they wouldn't waste resources on stuff like this just for the "oh, it's cool" factor.
Oh please, NPR, take the money you spend on developing fancy misguided apps that supposedly serve up "curated content" and spend it on more reporters' salaries.
Lots more reporters. Lots and LOTS more reporters. The world is a big place, and the list of crucial, complex, reportable issues is growing by the day.
Then we can enjoy the "curation" work of the producers of the fine programs you put on the air and online—have you heard them? They're really a pretty good example of curated content. (Of course, those programs used to simply be called good broadcast journalism.)
To hire reporters you need $. To get $ in the digital age, you really should have some control of the distribution of your content. Therefore, an app makes sense, especially at NPRs scale.
NPR has had INTENSE control of their content since the 1970s. They don't need an app for that. They also have staggering amounts of donations and endowment funds. They may, sadly, have more money than they know what to do with.
It's been so many years since polio and earlier vaccines that people have forgotten the power and importance of collective action. Hope we can turn that around.