Journalist – Historian – Speaker
I have a longform piece for Pacific Standard today. I’ve been working on it for about 6 weeks. Please read and share throughout your networks, if you are so inclined. TWs for abuse of children by authorities. “Why would a school cop in Florida throw a slender, autistic fourth-grade student to the ground? You might assume …
My scholarly work centers around a simple premise: When you make a saint, you gotta tell a story. The same holds true for when you move a saint, create relics, place relics in new locations, develop new festivals. These sacred acts can have enormous cultural and political consequences, but only if you tell the right …
Former FBI Director James Comey and Senator Angus King (I-ME) both referenced the murder of Thomas Becket by the oblique order of King Henry II. Comey is before the Senate Intelligence Committee testifying about President Trump, Russia, spying, and possible obstruction of justice. Here’s a clip with video. Transcript: King: When a president of the US …
This ad from @zumajuice features a wheelchair user with cheese poofs and a big soda as “lazy,” in contrast to the slender juicing women. pic.twitter.com/KzqNPvPM7w — David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) June 6, 2017 I’m on vacation this week, but felt the need to post about this: I was alerted by a twitter friend to an …
A few weeks ago I wrote for Newsweek about Uber and its poor record on providing transportation for disabled folks. In the gig economy, profits pour in based on dodging the requirements of the regulatory state that enforce equal accessibility, pay, lack of discrimination, and basic economic justice. When vulnerable populations complain, they are brushed off …
This morning, for no particular reason other than I’m moving to Minnesota in 8 weeks, I’ve been playing around with the “state of the states” chart creator for spending on Intellectual and Developmental Disability. I’ve loved my time in Chicagoland. It’s packed with amazing advocates and leaders, but they are fighting against some pretty serious …
The Portland killer posted “Hail Vinland!!!” a few days before his rampage. For the Washington Post, I argue that this fetishization of an imagined Viking pure white past presents a huge challenge to historians and other humanists. “History has never just been “the past.” As a historian, I study the way that groups have always …
I used an extended airline metaphor to talk about limitations of “choice” in today’s piece at Pacific Standard, then tweeted with an @Delta in the promo tweet. Oops. @Lollardfish David, apologies for any disappointment with your seating. Have you boarded the flt yet? *HKM — Delta (@Delta) May 30, 2017 See, I used my experience with …
NEW at Pacific Standard. Please click over and share! Betsy DeVos and the GOP more generally say that we need to treat students like customers. Three responses. 1) What’s so great about being a customer if you’re not a billionaire? 2) The student’s relationship to their educational institutions and the people who work there cannot …
For some reason Sara Benincasa has convinced Neil Gaiman to do a live reading of the Cheesecake Factory’s menu if they can raise $500,000 for refugees, sending the money to the UNHCR. I love Neil’s voice. I love the way he reads. I can think of many things I’d like him to read other than …