Thursday Open Thread

Posted on June 6, 2019 by rikyrah

Psychiatry, Racism, and the Birth of ‘Sesame Street’

How an African-American psychiatrist helped design a groundbreaking television show as a radical therapeutic tool for helping minority preschoolers.

Chester M. Pierce was a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Education at Harvard University. He also served on the faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health.

He was a Senior Psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he spent much of his career. He was also a psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for almost 25 years. Dr. Pierce was revered by his many students of all backgrounds and ethnic groups as a brilliant, scholarly, kind, and humble professor who brought great dignity and honor to his profession and the Harvard community. He was a visionary pioneer in the field of global mental health. His wisdom continues to guide us today.

And because of Dr. Pierce, we are honored by FLOTUS’ appearances on Sesame Street.

This entry was posted in African Americans, Open Thread, Politics, Racism, TV Shows and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

117 Responses to Thursday Open Thread

  2. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 7:52 pm

    I needed this laugh 😂😂😂
    Hope you can 😂😂😂😂 too

    https://twitter.com/bloodhoundheart/status/1136036424149544962

    Reply
  3. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    Lord have mercy. I can’t imagine having SIX children in a war😪😪😪

    https://twitter.com/MadisonSiriusXM/status/1136752794004836354

    Reply
  7. SouthernGirl2 says:
    June 6, 2019 at 6:23 pm

    Amber Guyger appear at a pre-trial hearing in Dallas County.

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    Jon Zal (@OfficialJonZal) Tweeted:
    Is my phone broken, or am I actually listening to broadcasters speculating about whether Trump’s delivery today of words on a TelePrompTer marks a turning point in his presidency & suggesting he might now become a decent human being and dignified president?

    Stop it, you fools. https://twitter.com/OfficialJonZal/status/1136619285722423298?s=17

    Reply
  18. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 3:57 pm

    Finally watching Maddow from last night.
    So, because the Irish Government wouldn’t meet Dolt45 at his phucking Golf Club…
    They forced the meeting at some room AT THE PHUCKING AIRPORT?
    Even after being offered a CASTLE, where other Presidents have attended meetings.
    THE.GODDAMNED.AIRPORT?
    ARE.YOU.SERIOUS???

    Reply
  24. SouthernGirl2 says:
    June 6, 2019 at 3:01 pm

    Who does this except a subhuman savage? They’re not human, y’all.

    https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/1136724438869843970

    Reply
  25. Liza says:
    June 6, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Satan himself is a nicer guy than Mitch McConnell. I hate this evil bastard.
    https://twitter.com/RepRaulGrijalva/status/1136720705561726977

    Reply
  28. Ametia says:
    June 6, 2019 at 2:29 pm

    Regarding Biden…

    Trump vs Biden match-up=

    BIDEN

    Reply
  30. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 2:26 pm

    Prayers for the family.

    Country singer Granger Smith’s three-year-old son dies in a ‘tragic accident’

    Smith shared the ‘unthinkable’ news on Twitter and Instagram on Thursday
    The singer said he and wife Amber ‘made the decision to say our last goodbyes’
    Riv’s organs will now be donated to help others get ‘a second chance at life’
    ‘Our family is devastated and heartbroken’, Smith wrote to fans
    By LAUREN FRUEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

    PUBLISHED: 15:05 EDT, 6 June 2019 | UPDATED: 15:12 EDT, 6 June 2019

    Reply
  35. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    Anyone else interested in that movie where the guy wakes up from an accident and nobody has heard of The Beatles?
    It’s called Yesterday.

    Jack Malik is a struggling singer-songwriter in an English seaside town whose dreams of fame are rapidly fading, despite the fierce devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie. After a freak bus accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up to discover that The Beatles have never existed. Performing songs by the greatest band in history to a world that has never heard them, Jack becomes on overnight sensation with a little help from his agent.

    Reply
  36. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 2:00 pm

    Trump’s Approval Rating Drops in Some Red States

    Within the big three that put Trump over the top in the electoral college in 2016, his approval hasn’t changed much in Pennsylvania, where it went from -5 to -7. In Michigan, it went from -8 to -12 and in Wisconsin it remained steady at -13. In other words, things don’t look good for Trump in any of them.

    In a few states where Trump won with larger margins, the drop over the last year has been more precipitous:

    North Carolina went from +3 to -4.
    Georgia went from +5 to +1.
    Texas went from +10 to +3.
    Arizona went from 0 to -6.

    But here are the real shockers:

    Alaska, which Trump won by over 12 points, went from +10 to 0.
    Kansas, which Trump won by over 20 points, went from +6 to +1.
    Iowa, which Trump won by over 9 points, went from -4 to -12

    Reply
  37. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 1:26 pm

    Department of Homeland Security officials alleged at a lunch with Senators this week that migrants are “renting babies” to get across the US border.

    Senator Chuck Grassley said DHS officials made the claim Wednesday, Politico reported.

    “I can’t believe that this actually happened, that the people down there in Central America or Mexico are renting babies to get across the border and then sending the babies back and renting them again to come back across the border,” Grassley said.

    so, if they are ‘ rented babies’, then it doesn’t matter if we keep up with them…

    see….this lie to cover their deliberate ‘losing’ of these children.

    Reply
  41. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    Rep. Jamie Raskin said the Judiciary Committee is starting to think that, without an impeachment inquiry, Dems could lose some fights to compel the W.H. to cooperate.”It is necessary to avoid a series of legal minefields in conservative courtrooms.” https://t.co/jHEgUMlSlH— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 6, 2019

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 12:15 pm

    They can start with his impeachment 😠😠

    https://twitter.com/RealMuckmaker/status/1136369437781553152

    Reply
  45. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    @rikyrah: So far, I’ve asked three Democrats I know IRL who are supporting Biden WHY they’re supporting Biden. Every single one supports him not because they think he’s the best qualified in the field or because he inspires them or they think he’d be a much better president than any of the others but because they think he has the best chance to beat Trump. They’re scared shitless of a Trump win, and I don’t blame them. I just disagree with their risk assessment.

    I read a comment the other day at another blog, and can’t find it anymore. But, to this person, they believe that progressives aren’t looking deep enough to why Southern Black voters are going for Biden. They have no illusions as to where they live, nor with the people that they live with….which is why they look to the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT for protection against the state governments, which are nothing but hostile to them. Remember, these state governments were no less hostile to them during 44’s Administration, but, they had a FEDERAL APPARATUS which they believed, provided a layer of protection for them. They see what NOT having that – in Dolt45….and, they want it back. They don’t need to be ‘ inspired’. They just want some sort of barrier of protection.

    I hadn’t thought of it that way, but, it makes a lot of sense.

    Reply
  46. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 11:55 am

    The corruption of Dolt45 and the lowlifes he has hired is EVERYWHERE.

    This is why I believe Kamala Harris should make this her issue. Say, ‘ I am not Kamala the Cop, but I AM Kamala the Prosecutor. And, the level of corruption needs to be cleaned up, and I am the one to do it.’

    She can do this and blunt Biden’s ‘ but, Trump is an anomaly, by pointing out the level of corruption, up and down with the GOP, bring up Turtle and his wife and those articles about them from this week.

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 11:14 am

    For many black voters, 2020 isn’t about pride or making history. It’s about beating Trump
    By MARK Z. BARABAK
    JUN 06, 2019 | 3:00 AM

    Catrena Norris Carter is a bundle of conflicting impulses.

    As a black woman, she’s delighted with Kamala Harris’ presidential bid. As a liberal activist, she’s thrilled with Elizabeth Warren’s groaning board of progressive policy proposals.
    But as someone consumed with defeating President Trump, Carter is determined to think with her head, not her heart, and that cold calculation is pushing her toward Joe Biden among the crowded 2020 Democratic field.

    The former vice president may not excite her like some candidates. But he boasts one asset that, to Carter’s mind, surpasses all others: As a white male firmly embedded in the political establishment, Biden — more than a female or black candidate — stands the best chance of winning the White House.

    “We really need to be taking the temperature of the entire country,” said Carter, 51, who two years ago helped rally black women across Alabama to put Democrat Doug Jones in the U.S. Senate. “Not just people who think like us.”

    ……………………………

    “They are so sick and tired of being sick and tired of Trump, there’s this almost unconscious feeling they’re going to go with the candidate that is more likely to beat him,” said Ron Lester, a Washington pollster who has spent decades surveying the attitudes of black voters.

    For many, Lester said, “that is probably a white male,” given their deep-seated belief “that America is still a very racist place and a very misogynistic place and that a candidate who doesn’t get any white votes is probably going to lose.”

    Not all agree.

    Steven Reed, a candidate for mayor of Montgomery, said that “looking for the safest bet is a recipe for disappointment” in November 2020.

    “We need the best candidate with the best ideas and with the best opportunity to win and then implement that agenda,” said Reed, a county probate judge who is neutral in Alabama’s March 3 primary. “I don’t think playing it safe is the route Democrats should take if they want to win, if they want to excite the base, if they want to get out nontraditional voters and win over swing voters.”

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      June 6, 2019 at 11:20 am

      “The conversation in the barber shop and beauty salons is that Biden was there for Obama, he had his back … he’s a really close friend, so it makes them feel like they have a relationship, even if they’ve never met him,” said Anthony Daniels, who leads Democrats in Alabama’s House of Representatives. “A lot of times in the African American community they don’t trade old friends for new friends.”

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 6, 2019 at 11:49 am

      I dunno.

      Hillary was “the one who could win” in 2008 and 2016. In fact, one of the themes of her 2008 campaign was “inevitability”, as I recall. Now, she did win the popular vote in 2016 which doesn’t count without winning the electoral vote. But everyone believed so much in her winning against any Republican because they were all such weak candidates, we thought at the time.

      The lesson I think we should have learned by now is that picking “the one who can win” is not a good strategy.

      Reply
  55. SouthernGirl2 says:
    June 6, 2019 at 10:50 am

    He’s clearly unstable. And this bald faced lie will be reported wildly on Fox News as fact, deceiving the people. More reason to have Mueller testify publicly and during prime time to inform the public so they’ll know the truth. @SpeakerPelosi

    https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti/status/1136658155507728390

    Reply
  58. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 9:56 am

    The mainstream media has been ignoring Trump’s attacks on LGBTQ rights for weeks
    The major news networks spent less than 11 minutes combined talking about Trump’s plan to allow homeless shelters, adoption agencies, and healthcare providers to discriminate against LGBTQ people.
    By Alex Bollinger
    Tuesday, June 4, 2019

    A Media Matters investigation found that major news networks have been largely ignoring the Trump administration’s attacks on LGBTQ rights.

    While several new anti-LGBTQ initiatives were announced in the past few weeks, four of the major broadcast and cable news networks did not cover them at all, while the other two spent less than 11 minutes in total covering the initiatives over a 10-day period.

    Media Matters cited three attacks on LGBTQ rights from this past month. First, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a rule that would allow homeless shelters that receive federal funding to turn away homeless people on religious grounds and allow those shelters to house transgender people with their sex assigned at birth.

    Second, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on May 24 a proposal to overturn an Obama administration rule that banned health care professionals from discriminating against transgender people. Under the proposal, health care providers could cite their religious beliefs as a reason to turn away transgender patients.

    Last, HHS proposed a rule to allow federally-funded adoption agencies to turn away same-sex couples. Religious organizations have for years wanted to turn away LGBTQ parents and receive federal money.

    Of the six major networks that Media Matters looked at from May 22 to May 31, only CNN and Fox News covered these issues at all. NBC, CBS, ABC, and the supposedly liberal MSNBC did not cover them at all.

    Reply
  60. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 9:51 am

    David Fahrenthold
    ‏Verified account
    @Fahrenthold
    Follow Follow @Fahrenthold
    More
    NEW: We got leaked documents detailing 1,200+ different stays at @realDonaldTrump’s hotel. Here’s the guest who stayed the longest: a sheikh who wants to be president of Iraq, and who wants the U.S. to strike Iran.
    He spent 26 nights in a suite.

    Reply
  61. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 9:49 am

    Why do black voters support Biden? They just want to beat Trump.
    The pragmatic politics of race.
    By Theodore R. Johnson

    Joe Biden has a past that threatens his prospects with black voters — from his long-ago stance against busing to his mismanagement of Anita Hill’s testimony about Clarence Thomas to his onetime support of the 1994 crime bill. Now he’s running for president in a crowded 2020 Democratic field that includes three black candidates, all of whom will need strong African American support to secure the party nomination.

    …………………………….

    Biden certainly owes some of this early success to his tenure as Barack Obama’s vice president. But a fuller explanation has to do with the politics of pragmatism. When it comes to presidential races, black voters, perhaps more than any other demographic, vote not for what might be gained but according to what might be lost.

    Voters are generally risk-averse, preferring candidates they know over those who may be more exciting but unfamiliar. This holds particularly true for black voters: A study published last year in Public Opinion Quarterly noted that black voters are especially inclined to choose established candidates and efficiently assess contenders based on their perceived ability to preserve hard-won civil rights and racial equality gains.

    This approach isn’t new, but President Trump has intensified it. His disapproval rating among African Americans was 84 percent in a late-April YouGov poll, compared with only 9 percent approval. In a CNN/SSRS poll taken around the same time that grouped together all voters of color, 96 percent of nonwhite Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters reported that defeating Trump was extremely or very important to them in determining whom to support in the primary race; in a contemporaneous Quinnipiac poll, 61 percent of nonwhite Democrats said they believed that Biden had the best chance of doing so. Next best was Sanders, at 10 percent. If you were to go by Twitter or cable news coverage, you might conclude that minority communities are consumed by “identity politics.” But voters of color, including black voters, are squarely focused on getting Trump out of office. Biden, for now, is the beneficiary.

    Reply
  63. SouthernGirl2 says:
    June 6, 2019 at 9:44 am

    Measures up? Reading from a teleprompter? The same thing y’all mocked and demonized President Obama for? Because y’all are petty like that.

    https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1136629618725838848

    Reply
  71. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 9:14 am

    BlueSteelDC (@BlueSteelDC) Tweeted:
    What is shifting is other candidates.

    If you were splitting support with another candidate for X demo and that candidate drops out – yes that may move the need enough in a tight enough race to affect win or loose dynamics

    And since no one is above 50% yes there is some wiggle https://twitter.com/BlueSteelDC/status/1136545118058635264?s=17

    Reply
  75. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 9:02 am

    Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) Tweeted:
    “The bell rang and Donald Trump was hiding,” Doug Brinkley tells @mffisher in this piece on Trump and Vietnam https://t.co/GIpfByIKVY https://twitter.com/PhilipRucker/status/1136449270700281857?s=17

    Reply
  88. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 8:53 am

    The Full Zandar Report (@ZandarVTS) Tweeted:
    When I say “white voters will vote for the GOP even if it hurts them personally as long as it hurts *those people* more” this is exactly what I mean.

    Midwest farmers getting reamed by Trump tariffs, same thing. At most some will stay home. Not a one will vote Democratic. https://t.co/L1C0yps8Mw https://twitter.com/ZandarVTS/status/1136480264287412231?s=17

    Reply
  89. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 8:51 am

    Da phuq 😡 😡

    ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) Tweeted:
    Florida Sen. Rick Scott says his state should have less representation and federal funding https://t.co/Nq7gALyKvS https://t.co/3pdcbzRUkW https://twitter.com/thinkprogress/status/1136479258170277888?s=17

    Reply
  90. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 8:50 am

    Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) Tweeted:
    Border Patrol is confiscating migrant kids’ medicine, U.S. doctors tell Yahoo News. https://t.co/5SuTzI2UET https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1136407581277282305?s=17

    Reply
  92. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 8:49 am

    I know…
    Get the ENTIRE Phuck Outta Here 😠 😠

    https://twitter.com/PragObots/status/1136610150704439296

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 6, 2019 at 8:53 am

      Impeachment will not remove Trump, but it informs other criminals who are contemplating a run for the presidency that the voters will not tolerate it. Trump has already degraded the presidency, for there to be no consequences for that only insures that others will do the same.

      Reply
  95. Ametia says:
    June 6, 2019 at 8:39 am

    Word of the Day : June 6, 2019

    Kinetic: adjective kuh-NET-ik

    Definition
    1 : of or relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces and energy associated therewith

    2 a : active, lively

    b : dynamic, energizing

    3 : of or relating to kinetic art

    Reply
  96. rikyrah says:
    June 6, 2019 at 8:23 am

    Good Morning, Everyone 😄 😄😄

    Reply

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