What's in the news?

[Trieste]

Youtube seriously drops the ball with its Youtube Kids videos.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/10/youtube-disturbing-kids-videos-dark-peppa-pig-children

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/business/media/youtube-kids-paw-patrol.html?_r=1

Philly D even covered it himself.

Is there some sort of ELI5 for "institutional violence"? I googled and got some scholarly articles that were kind of over my head and dense.

[Oniya]

Is there some sort of ELI5 for "institutional violence"? I googled and got some scholarly articles that were kind of over my head and dense.

It looks like the best description is violence that is impersonal.  The victim could be any member of a particular group (frequently defined by race, gender, or other thing outside the victim's control), as can the 'attacker', and it doesn't even have to involve what most people would describe as 'violence'.  'I can't help you get birth control because you don't have parental permission.  Sorry, those are the rules.' or 'You have to take this medication because we're older and we say so.  Sorry it makes you into a little zombie-child.'

[Cassandra LeMay]

Is there some sort of ELI5 for "institutional violence"? I googled and got some scholarly articles that were kind of over my head and dense.

I am not sure, but I think a good starting point might be "structural violence", especially the definition in the third paragraph:

"It refers to the avoidable limitations society places on groups of people that constrain them from achieving the quality of life that would have otherwise been possible. These limitations could be political, economic, religious, cultural, or legal in nature and usually originate in institutions that have authority over particular subjects."

To make a - hopefully unrealistic - example, consider the government putting up billboards that read "Black people should only see black doctors". If you are black but there are only white doctors in your area this might discourage you from seeing a doctor when you need one, leading to adverse health outcomes (aka: you get sick when you shouldn't have). No one directly inflicts violence, but the oputcome is still a negative outcome that could have been prevented. At least that's how I read it.

[Lustful Bride]

I'm kind of curious. How did this tie back into the creepy kids videos? Its not an organized group just messed up people making really messed up videos for little kids on the cheap to earn ad revenue.

[WindFish]

A lesbian Democrat won a state Senate seat in Oklahoma:

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lesbian-democrat-pulls-election-victory-conservative-oklahoma-n821021

It's always great to see LGBT representation in politics, especially in places that aren't exactly LGBT friendly.

If I were a Republican running for midterms next year, I'd be getting worried. If Democrats can win in deep red Oklahoma, and are currently leading in the polls in the Alabama Senate special election, then things are not looking good for Republicans next year.

[Blythe]

A lesbian Democrat won a state Senate seat in Oklahoma:

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lesbian-democrat-pulls-election-victory-conservative-oklahoma-n821021

It's always great to see LGBT representation in politics, especially in places that aren't exactly LGBT friendly.

If I were a Republican running for midterms next year, I'd be getting worried. If Democrats can win in deep red Oklahoma, and are currently leading in the polls in the Alabama Senate special election, then things are not looking good for Republicans next year.

I'm from Oklahoma and was delighted that Ms. Ikley-Freeman won, though I am sadly not going to be reading too much into it for this particular state. She won by the barest margin. I'm not sure this will be representative of major change just yet, but it is extremely promising.

If anything, though, as she won by only 31 votes, I would like to say that this is exactly why every vote matters and why it is so important to participate in elections. If Democrats want to see change in 2018, they will need to keep up their momentum and need to mobilize voters to get to the polls.

[Trieste]

It looks like the best description is violence that is impersonal.  The victim could be any member of a particular group (frequently defined by race, gender, or other thing outside the victim's control), as can the 'attacker', and it doesn't even have to involve what most people would describe as 'violence'.  'I can't help you get birth control because you don't have parental permission.  Sorry, those are the rules.' or 'You have to take this medication because we're older and we say so.  Sorry it makes you into a little zombie-child.'

I am not sure, but I think a good starting point might be "structural violence", especially the definition in the third paragraph:

To make a - hopefully unrealistic - example, consider the government putting up billboards that read "Black people should only see black doctors". If you are black but there are only white doctors in your area this might discourage you from seeing a doctor when you need one, leading to adverse health outcomes (aka: you get sick when you shouldn't have). No one directly inflicts violence, but the oputcome is still a negative outcome that could have been prevented. At least that's how I read it.

Much obliged. That helps a lot.

I'm kind of curious. How did this tie back into the creepy kids videos? Its not an organized group just messed up people making really messed up videos for little kids on the cheap to earn ad revenue.

It was mentioned in a couple of sources you linked. I believe the link is that, in this case, the abusers are utilizing a structure that's supposed to be set up for children's protection, and one that many children use. At least, I assume so. I'm a chemist, not a sociologist. :)

[Oniya]

I saw that there was one video in particular that was mentioned - a takeoff on Peppa Pig with the topic of 'going to the dentist'.  Although I didn't watch the video in question, the description sounded like the sort of 'we're going to do awful things to you because we're big and we can' type of scenario.  (Not that I have anything against dentists, but you can help kids a lot by explaining things instead of making it a terrifying Steve-Martin-esque production.)  If a kid sees a video a video that portrays dentists as 'people who hurt children', it might make their next visit to the dentist something traumatizing, especially if the parent (assuming that YouTubeKids was 'safe') hadn't also seen the video and could understand the sudden reluctance.

[Missy]

Yeah it's essentially using a medium intended to support and protect children instead to bully them. As if someone were to become a preschool teacher or set up a day care service in order to foster your trust to allow them access to execute whatever their intentions really are.

Really the perpetrators of this bullshit should be subject to whatever laws and legal processes are in place to prevent and protect children from this kind of abuse.

[Ariel]

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/charles-manson-dead-dies-tate-murders-1202618959/

May his victims finally rest in peace.

[TheGlyphstone]

I didn't even know he was still alive.

[Cassandra LeMay]

Attempts to form a government in Germany fail, after one of the parties walks out after four weeks of negotiations.

What's next? Nobody knows, but it's either new elections or a minority government (which would be a first in modern German history).

[Lilias]

Tennis champion Jana Novotna dies aged 49

[Callie Del Noire]

I saw that there was one video in particular that was mentioned - a takeoff on Peppa Pig with the topic of 'going to the dentist'.  Although I didn't watch the video in question, the description sounded like the sort of 'we're going to do awful things to you because we're big and we can' type of scenario.  (Not that I have anything against dentists, but you can help kids a lot by explaining things instead of making it a terrifying Steve-Martin-esque production.)  If a kid sees a video a video that portrays dentists as 'people who hurt children', it might make their next visit to the dentist something traumatizing, especially if the parent (assuming that YouTubeKids was 'safe') hadn't also seen the video and could understand the sudden reluctance.

My niece, who has Ectodermal dysplasia, had to have her teeth ground down. She didn’t hold still and got hurt, being my brother’s child bit him and held on; the dentist and her mom talked to her after about it (she’s 2 going on 3)

I imagine the subject of ‘owies’ will come up a lot given our concerns about her immune system issues. So far she’s had two ear infections and an infected lymph node that turned out to be an antibiotic restistant infect. Not a good year

[Oniya]

My niece, who has Ectodermal dysplasia, had to have her teeth ground down. She didn’t hold still and got hurt, being my brother’s child bit him and held on; the dentist and her mom talked to her after about it (she’s 2 going on 3)

Yeah, it's bad enough when they haven't been told it's some sadist's playroom.

[Callie Del Noire]

Yeah, it's bad enough when they haven't been told it's some sadist's playroom.

The dentist is a freak guy, her sister and brother love him, give little bit’s condition I doubt she will

[TheGlyphstone]

https://www.cnet.com/news/cards-against-humanity-saves-america-us-border-wall-donald-trump/

CAH is buying a piece of land on the US-Mexico border.

[Caeli]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/21/politics/trump-sanctuary-cities-executive-order-blocked/index.html

A federal judge issues permanent injunction blocking Trump's executive order to deny federal funding to sanctuary cities.

[Oniya]

https://www.cnet.com/news/cards-against-humanity-saves-america-us-border-wall-donald-trump/

CAH is buying a piece of land on the US-Mexico border.

How humane of them.  XD  (Someone had to say it.)

[Callie Del Noire]

The dentist is a freak guy, her sister and brother love him, give little bit’s condition I doubt she will

Great guy! Damn

[gaggedLouise]

Just a few weeks before the Nobel prizes awarding ceremony and banquet, and in the wake of the #metoo wave, one of the big daily papers of Stockholm has published allegations from eighteen women that an acclaimed stage manager and leader of a club for literary events got much too hot with therm and committed sexual harassments and assaults. The guy in question is married to one of the members of the Swedish Academy, who award the literary Nobel each year. and has enjolyed powerful support from this worthy institution; some of the assaults are suposed to have taken place in apartments owned and managed by the Academy...so the story could be rather damaging not just to the man himself but to the Academy.

Incidentally, the Academy is made up of eighteen members - and widely known in this country as "the eighteen".  :P

The man hasn't been named in the old-school media so far, but the information in print about what he does (in a legit manner), his connections and the places concerned is so specific that he is kind of "identified under wraps" - many people soon figured out who it is and the name rapidly leaked into social media. Jean-Claude Arnault (born in France, of course) is not a widely known celebrity or a household name, but a well-known name for many years with the culture and media set in the capital  It's a matter of only a couple of days, I think, before some newspaper gets into print with his name (the media here are much less eager than in the US to name people in ongoing crime stories and scandals before someone's been sentenced in court, and in this case we're still way off even the beginning of a trial, and most of the women who spoke out were unnamed).

In English: https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/man-with-swedish-academy-ties-accused-of-sexual-assault/

[Lustful Bride]

Iran plans to send ships to the Gulf of Mexico before tour to South America.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/new-cold-war-iran-sends-warships-to-gulf-of-mexico/ar-BBFvRCQ?li=BBnb4R7&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Lustful Bride]

Had to keep it as a link, but another good video that examines and looks at the very strange and disturbing videos on youtube targeting kids.

[Deamonbane]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/worldnews/4985103/manchester-city-robinho-prison-2013-sexual-assault-milan/

Once national team Brazilian star footballer condemned to 9 year in prison for sexual assault in Italy.

[Lustful Bride]

230 killed in attack on Mosque in Egypt. :(

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/militants-kill-more-than-230-at-mosque-in-egypts-north-sinai/ar-BBFzF2B?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15