Articles by: Flannery O'Connor Academy

 I Ask That A Proper Play About Muslims Be Written

 I Ask That A Proper Play About Muslims Be Written

“To think that we can understand Islam through current headlines and the conflicting opinions of political pundits is sheer illusion. But the misrepresentations embedded in many scholarly tomes from prestigious institutions create even more problems.” — Richard Martin Oxman Some citizens in Europe and the United States have engaged in ugly debates about whether or not they ought to welcome[Read More…]

by — 27/05/2018 — Comments are Disabled — Arts/Literature
The Disabled Disabling

The Disabled Disabling

  When West Milwaukee police killed Adam Trammell, a Black resident of the city, he was unarmed and alone in his locked apartment, just taking a shower. The police came because a neighbor had called them and reported that Trammel was acting “oddly.” Police arrived to do a “wellness check,” already knowing Trammell had schizophrenia. Trammell was not wanted for[Read More…]

by — 12/05/2018 — 2 comments — Human Rights
What Cannot Be Done With Logic, Correct Grammar and Politically Correct Statements

What Cannot Be Done With Logic, Correct Grammar and Politically Correct Statements

“The health of local waterways — these days — cannot be separated from the health of international rivers.” — Richard Martin Oxman In a local college publication, a well-meaning and hardworking student — obviously quite intelligent — reported on dangerous chemicals in nearby California waters, focusing primarily on pharmaceuticals and personal care products. It spoke of “potential” risks to the[Read More…]

by — 08/05/2018 — 1 comment — Environmental Protection
Photo by Lupuca

One Must Rail Against This Sin Of Omission In So-called Education Beginning Today: Carry It On

“The billion dead is the least of what would happen with the Nuclear Winter referenced by Chomsky and Ellsberg in Arizona, and the most horrid scenario imaginable is becoming increasingly likely by the day even with the ‘advance’ made recently between North and South Korea.” — Richard Martin Oxman “We must carry it on.” — Edward Curtin Around 34 minutes into the recent footage[Read More…]

by — 04/05/2018 — Comments are Disabled — Life/Philosophy
The Huge Blank: Thanking Tolkien for Touching Upon Truth for Activists

The Huge Blank: Thanking Tolkien for Touching Upon Truth for Activists

  “…the power of Tolkien lies in the way that he succeeds, through myth, in making the unseen hand of providence felt by the reader. In his mythical creations, or sub-creations as he would call them, he shows how the unseen hand of God is felt far more forcefully in myth than it is ever felt in fiction. Paradoxically, fiction works with facts,[Read More…]

by — 03/05/2018 — 1 comment — Life/Philosophy
Today’s Strange Fruit, The Collaterally Damaged

Today’s Strange Fruit, The Collaterally Damaged

    “One cannot study the history taught in schools and learn about Black History at the same time.” — Lorraine Hansberry During the formative years of my main mentor, the founder of Flannery O’Connor Academy, one of the most effective literary voices for Southern change was Lillian Smith, who with her partner Paula Snelling edited a liberal journal and[Read More…]

by — 27/04/2018 — 3 comments — Life/Philosophy
 Call Me Vincent, Call Yourself Vincent

 Call Me Vincent, Call Yourself Vincent

  “O bailan todos o no baile nadie.” — the Tupamaros The Universe is a poem without foreign words. My loved ones laugh at me when they hear I’ve been listening to John Denver. They’re sweet souls, but when they do that they’re doing — essentially — the same thing Hillary Clinton did when she invoked the image of “deploreables” on her[Read More…]

by — 22/04/2018 — 1 comment — Environmental Protection
 The American Bu$ine$$man’s Ten Steps to Product Development

 The American Bu$ine$$man’s Ten Steps to Product Development

  There are sixteen teens studying History, Journalism and Creative Writing at Flannery O’Connor Academy at present, and the other day we were all engaged in addressing serious issues related to product development. We conducted an experiment which I’d like to make you privy to, hoping you’ll put up with the humor used in this light presentation of a very[Read More…]

by — 17/04/2018 — 1 comment — Life/Philosophy
A Six-, Seven- or Eight-Step Program to End Racism

A Six-, Seven- or Eight-Step Program to End Racism

And if we don’t fight if we don’t resist if we don’t organize and unify and get the power to control our own lives Then we will wear the exaggerated look of captivity the stylized look of submission the bizarre look of suicide the dehumanized look of fear and the decomposed look of repression forever and ever and ever And[Read More…]

by — 16/04/2018 — Comments are Disabled — Human Rights
Make This Day A Day Of Reckoning

Make This Day A Day Of Reckoning

  “I always thought school was a form of torture.” — Valleria Ruselli “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” — Audre Lorde “Parents need to encourage their children to provide their teachers with tools which will enable them to instruct them along entirely new lines.” — Rachel Olivia O’Connor of the Oxman Collective (which sponsors Flannery O’Connor Academy) Stealth torture is the kind of torture[Read More…]

by — 16/04/2018 — 1 comment — Life/Philosophy
 Zusammenarbeit

 Zusammenarbeit

“Two weeks after Kristallnacht, Gary Cooper made a publicity trip to Berlin promoting Paramount’s The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, one of Hitler’s favorite movies. No major newspaper in the U.S. covered that. In 1938, MGM helped finance the production of German armaments, and the head of MGM Germany divorced his Jewish wife at the Nazi’s behest. She ended up[Read More…]

by — 15/04/2018 — 1 comment — Life/Philosophy
 In Classrooms of the Country Which Some in the Mideast Call the Great Beast….

 In Classrooms of the Country Which Some in the Mideast Call the Great Beast….

“In 2016 we allowed 15,479 Syrian refugees into the U.S., in 2017 we reduced that to 3,024, and this year we’ve only permitted 11 to enter. We care a lot about those folks, don’t we? Or should I ask whether or not we’re worried that a parent of one of those kids we’ve blown away will come our way?” —[Read More…]

by — 15/04/2018 — 1 comment — Imperialism
My Pro Latino Papi

My Pro Latino Papi

“More than one in ten Syrians have been killed or wounded since 2011 in the Syrian Civil War, but although the West is responsible for much of that toll, there was a more direct and sinister complicity regarding deaths on the part of the U.S. during the Central American civil wars.” — Richard Martin Oxman Between 1974 and 1996, the[Read More…]

by — 14/04/2018 — Comments are Disabled — Imperialism