It’s been years since Dave Grohl needed to use his legendary Foo Fighters throne, which he sat on during concerts while recovering from a broken leg in 2015. The throne actually popped up at a concert last night, but it wasn’t a Foo Fighters show. Rather, Grohl lent his throne to Darin Wall, the bassist for Seattle doom metal band Greyhawk.
Earlier this month, Wall confronted a man who was approaching a Boise, Idaho venue with a gun. In the ensuing scuffle, Wall ended up getting shot in the thigh. Thankfully, the man was arrested. In Wall’s first concert since the incident, he sat on Grohl’s throne as he performed.
He posted about it on Instagram, sharing a photo of himself in the seat and wrote, “It was beyond a thrill to sit in Dave Grohl from @foofighters throne last night. This whole ordeal has been intense, surreal and humbling. Of course I wish it never happened, and that this bullet was not in my leg, but the love and support the rock and metal community has shown is staggering. Words can’t describe how moving this night was. Thank you all!”
He also spoke with Seattle’s KING-TV about how he came to have the throne, explaining that he appeared on a radio show and said he hoped he’d get to use the throne. Foo Fighters’ management caught wind of the story and Grohl was on board.
“He called me from the MTV VMA awards and [Grohl] said, ‘I’ll ship that throne up to you at my expense,’” Wall said.
Milwaukee-bred Quality Control Music member Lakeyah brings a ruthless rendition of her cutthroat song “Check” to UPROXX Sessions just days after dropping her latest full-length project, My Turn, with DJ Drama. It’s not every day a rising artist like Lakeyah can secure Drama’s assistance on a Gangsta Grillz-branded album/mixtape, which should be all the proof you need that this XXL Freshman is the real deal.
In an interview with Uproxx earlier this year, Lakeyah explained the “time” motif of her three releases: “I feel like success — slow success — builds character,” she said. “Everything is going to happen at the perfect time for me… I just feel like everything is going to fall into place. I’m just working my ass off right now being super consistent. It’s all about timing. You don’t want to burn yourself out, out here.”
Watch Lakeyah’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Check” above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
Michter’s Distillery out in Kentucky is producing some of the most sought after and beloved juice in the whole whiskey game, worldwide. Their entry-level bottles often take center stage on bar shelves and provide some of the best cocktail bases you can find. Their limited releases — ten-year expressions, toasted barrel finishes, and barrel strength bottles — hit high marks with both casual drinkers, experts, and industry folks as the perfect crossover bottles that work as mixers and sippers in equal measure. Then there are the unicorn bottles of Michter’s bourbon and rye. Expressions that have become some of the highest status symbol bottles in the entire whiskey world — in part, thanks to Billions making Celebration the drink of the show.
When it comes to ranking all the bottles from a brand like this, it’s hard to know where to start and what parameters to set. There are some really pricey bottles here and also some pretty affordable expressions. I did my best not to take that into account. This is simply about tasting these bottles and ranking them according to my palate. It’s really that simple, folks.
Below, I’ve ranked all 17 Michter’s expressions that are released either widely or by allocation to select bars and retailers. Full disclosure, I love this brand and its juice. Master Blender Andrea Wilson and Master Distiller Dan McKee are doing some of the best work in whiskey right now and even the top-notch releases listed here only feel like the beginning of what they’re building together, which is pretty exciting. So let’s get straight into it — click on those prices if you want to dive into Michter’s right next to Bobby Axelrod, Wags, and the crew.
Generally speaking, when you see a whiskey labeled as “American Whiskey” it’s a blend of whiskey with neutral grain spirits to help keep costs down and profits high. This expression is labeled as “Unblended,” specifically because it’s juice from Michter’s barrels only. The whiskey in these bottles was aged in barrels that are “whiskey-soaked.” Once the whiskey is just right, it’s then blended and small-batch bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Fruit greets you upfront. That fruit becomes more of dried fruit with bourbon vanilla and mild caramel sweetness. The fruit is what draws a line through the taste as the warm end slowly fades out.
Bottom Line:
Look, something has to be in this spot. While I really dig this expression, this is the bottle I keep in the freezer for shots and mixing highballs.
Michter’s really means the phrase “small batch” here. The tank they use to marry their hand-selected eight-year-old bourbons can only hold 20 barrels, so that’s how many go into each small-batch bottling. The blended juice is then proofed with Kentucky’s famously soft limestone water and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Buttery caramel and peaches mix with creamy vanilla and oak on the nose. The vanilla really shines as the peach almost takes on a grilled edge as it gets sweeter and adds a whisper of smoke next to peppery spice. The spice kicks up and warms the senses as the slow fade embraces stone fruit, toffee, and more vanilla with a final kick of charred oak.
Bottom Line:
This is a fine bourbon that really shines best as a cocktail base. That being said, it works well on the rocks too. That’s what’s so hard about ranking this brand. All their releases — even the entry-level stuff — are really refined and drinkable.
This single barrel rye is the rye that you can measure most others against (at this price point). The well-crafted juice is warehoused until the deeply charred new white oak barrels hit just the right moment in both texture and taste.
Tasting Notes:
Peppery rye and a hint of citrus open this one up. There’s a distant line of toffee but it’s really that peppery rye that shines the most, with a subtle velvet textural depth. The wood carries the sip towards a warm, spicy end that lasts just long enough to remind you to take another sip.
Bottom Line:
If you’re mixing Sazeracs or Manhattans this fall and winter, use this whiskey. It’s a dream in a cocktail.
This was the first American whiskey to be named “Whiskey of the Year” by The Whiskey Exchange in 2019. The reason this is a “sour mash” and not a bourbon or rye is that the mash bill doesn’t focus on corn or rye, hence it’s just a sour mash whiskey. The juice is then aged in new white oak with a heavy char.
Tasting Notes:
Smoked plums and rye spice mingle up top. The sip really embraces the smoky dark fruit with hints of vanilla and cherry popping up on the palate. The dram carries that smoky plumminess through to the end with a nice nod to the oak and bourbon-y vanilla underbelly.
Bottom Line:
This is the first bottle that I really didn’t know where to rank. It’s so damn unique and delicious that it feels like a huge disservice to rank it 14th(!). I really like this on the rocks or in a highball. And it ranking this low just goes to show how high we’re about to go.
Michter’s fills their barrels with 103 proof juice. After a handful of years spent aging, that proof inches upwards as the angels take their share. Usually, the whiskey is cut with that soft Kentucky limestone water before bottling but not in this case. This is pulled from single honey barrels that were just too good to cut.
Tasting Notes:
The nose draws you deep into the classic bourbon ecosystem of rich and buttery toffees next to salted dark chocolate-covered cherries, a touch of smoked stone fruits, and a minor note of spicy tobacco leaf. The palate delivers on those notes as the tobacco spice amps up before being smoothed out by rich and creamy vanilla, salted caramel, and apricot stone dryness. That dryness drives the mid-palate towards the finish with a pecan shell vibe next to slightly bitter singed cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
This is a very rare release from 2017 and continues to wow to this day. Back then, I’d primarily use this for mixing whiskey-forward old fashioneds thanks to those high ABVs. These days, however, it’s more of an investment bottle.
Like the bourbon above, this too is pulled from single barrels that were just too good to vat or cut. The juice is bottled as is at a slightly higher proof than when it went in the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
That dark cherry note is still there on the nose but this it’s supported by a butterscotch candy and a mulled wine spice mix that’s heavy on the cinnamon. The palate evens out with this creamy vanilla foundation that’s touched with eggnog spices next to a slight note of smoke — as if someone lit the vanilla husks on fire and let them smolder — while the cherry leans into a spicy tobacco warmth. That spicy tobacco drives towards a Tellicherry black peppercorn, adding to the woody depth of the dry and warm finish, bringing about a true Kentucky hug.
Bottom Line:
This will be much easier to find than the bourbon version. Still, I really like mixing with this. It’s bold and dry and works wonders in a cocktail while still being a great candidate for an on the rocks sipper. It’s a little hot neat but that’s just me.
This is where things get interesting. Michter’s originally dropped this back in 2014. The juice is standard bourbon that’s then finished in a toasted barrel from the famed Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville. They build these barrels by hand from 18-month air-dried white oak and then lightly toast the inside before the aged whiskey goes in.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a pecan pie vibe that’s nutty, dry, and full of dark Caro syrup sweetness with a hint of candied orange peels with a touch of cinnamon and cedar bark. The palate holds onto the sweetness as it leans towards a campfire roasted marshmallow, a touch of saffron and clove-stewed pears, a pile of sappy firewood, and creamy nuances of vanilla pudding all meander through your senses. The end has a light savory nature that leads back to the pear, vanilla, and marshmallow on a very slow fade.
Bottom Line:
This is the first big leap upward in Michter’s releases. This bottle is truly spectacular when it comes to bourbon and it’s not even in the top freaking ten.
This juice is Michter’s standard rye that’s finished in a second, toasted barrel. In this case, those barrels are air-dried for 24 long months before being lightly toasted and loaded with the rye. The juice then goes into the bottle at barrel strength.
Tasting Notes:
This has a spicy and sweet nose that’s just like a buttery, candied and dried fruit and nut-filled holiday cake that’s been drenched in good whiskey and left to sit for a month to really amp up those flavors. The taste has a clear sense of dates, creamed vanilla honey, walnuts, wet brown sugar, and a touch of salted dark chocolate with a whisper of bitterness. The mid-palate dries out towards that pitchy yet dry woodpile with an echo of dirt from the bottom of that woodpile on the finish.
Bottom Line:
Michter’s started out in the 1990s as the whiskey company that wanted to bring rye back. A couple of decades later, it’d be hard to argue with their success. Part of that is due to this bottle of booze. It’s everything you want in a rye that’s also an education for your palate — unique and endlessly drinkable.
This release takes Michter’s signature Sour Mash and, again, finishes it in toasted barrels. In this case, it’s an 18-month air-dried and lightly toasted barrel that carries the whiskey to the finish line before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a clear note of orange oils speckled over dark chocolate with a hint of salt, fresh honey, vanilla oils, and buttery toffee brittle (kind of like the inside of a Butterfinger). The palate leans into smoked cherries with mild notes of dry clove and allspice berries with a light dusting of nutmeg. The vanilla and toffee drive the palate towards a sweet cherry tobacco finish with a light kiss of warmth.
Bottom Line:
One of the biggest surprises of the whole Michter’s line is their Sour Mash expressions. These are killer whiskeys that will make you say, “Woah…” just like Keanu Reeves when you sip them for the first time.
This whiskey heralds back to Micther’s historical roots in the 19th century before the brand was even called “Michter’s.” The juice on the bottle is rendered from a very small batch of bourbons that were aged in Chinquapin oak which was air-dried for three years before charring and filling.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with this rich and meaty plum presence next to a hint of buttery toffee and creamy vanilla with a touch of wood lurking in the background. The palate goes full crème brûlée with sticky burnt sugar over the top and a slight touch of allspice and nutmeg next to a dark cacao powder dryness with a touch of smoke salt and light, dry cedar. The mid-palate leans back into the dark stone fruit and sweetness as it only slightly dries out.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those bourbons that you can stick on a bar cart that really draws the eye (it’s a very similar bottle shape to Pappy). The juice in the bottle really shines and stands next to any bourbon with way more hype and much higher secondary price points.
Chinquapin oak is at the core of this release as well. The variable here is that this isn’t bourbon. This straight whisky leans heavily into rye but isn’t rye, not by law anyway. The juice is devised to highlight the best of both worlds with a unique barreling that really brings something unique to the table and palate.
Tasting Notes:
Bright notes of orange peels dipped in brown sugar mingle with a hint of vanilla beans and Christmas cake spices. Those spices amp up on the palate and lean towards nearly Red Hot cinnamon notes, plenty of allspice, and a nice touch of nutmeg as a dry yet meaty raisin nature takes things in a new direction. The finish lets those orange oils shine as a cedar note arrives late, drying out the finish and letting the woodier side of the spices pop.
Bottom Line:
Along with Bomberger’s above, this really stands tall amongst the Pappy’s of the world. Trivia: “Shenk’s” is the original name for the brand. This holdover from a lost era is quality juice that will impress any passive whiskey drinker and satisfy any aficionado, even the great Wags.
Master Distiller Dan McKee personally selects these 20-year-old (at least) barrels from their rickhouses based on, well, excellence. The juice is bottled as-is with no cutting with water.
Tasting Notes:
Imagine dark and sweet cherries smothered in rummy molasses with a touch of dried roses, nuts, and cedar all leading towards the soft — almost wet — tobacco leaf. That’s just the nose. The palate doesn’t veer too far from those notes but adds in a touch of burnt ends from vanilla pods with a light spice that leans more towards that tobacco than woody brown spices. The finish really embraces the cherry but more towards the stem and seed as the nuttiness leans marzipan and the tobacco takes on an ever-so-slight chewiness.
Bottom Line:
I originally had this pegged as number six and it was just wrong. The top five of this list are all benchmark whiskeys that pretty much define their styles. Yes, this is only tied for fifth (which is wild). Still, this is a 100/100 whiskey and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
(tie) 5. Michter’s Single Barrel 10-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon
The juice in this bottle is a little under wraps. Michter’s is currently distilling and aging their own whiskey, but this is still sourced. The actual barrels sourced for these single barrel expressions tend to be at least ten years old with some rumored to be closer to 15 years old (depending on the barrel’s quality, naturally). Either way, the juice goes through Michter’s bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentucky’s iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with subtle notes of soft wood and worn leather next to light touches of dark berries, orange oils, egg nog spice, and slight toffee sweetness. The palate starts off equally soft with something more akin to maple syrup sweetness which then leads into a rush of berry brambles. The mid-palate hits on a bit of dark spice, vanilla tobacco, and dark cacao… maybe espresso?… bitterness. The finish leans into a dry-yet-almost-sweet oak with a touch of an almond shell and dry grass coming in at the very end.
The real beauty is in the softness of the taste. There are no rough edges whatsoever and the whole sipping experience is like a silken dream. The soft limestone water does help the drinkability without making it feel thin. And while this isn’t an ABV bomb that’ll leave you burning, it’s not meant to be. This is the epitome of a slow-sipping bourbon with real depth.
Bottom Line:
I honestly don’t know which Michter’s I prefer from the 10 and 20-year. I’m not being hyperbolic. They both have their charms and that’s why they’re tied. That being said, I do drink the 10-year bourbon as a go-to on the rocks pour and the 20 comes out for Christmas, birthdays, and so forth.
Still, if I’m being completely honest with myself, that’s more to do with price than taste. So here we are.
4. Michter’s Singel Barrel 10-Year Kentucky Straight Rye
This release is in the same selection process as the 10-year bourbon above. The hype on this whiskey is so stratospheric that a single barrel of this stuff sold for $200,000 last year. Even if you get 200 bottles from that, you’re still paying $1,000 a bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Butter-rich toffee meets marzipan cut with rose water next to black peppery spice, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, and an earthy cedar bark. Bespoke Red Hots mingle with orange oils, more cedar, vanilla pods, and a rush of fresh spicy/sweet chili peppers. The almond edge loses some of its marzipan sweetness and dries out as the cedar marries spicy tobacco, soft vanilla cream, and orange oils linger on your senses.
Bottom Line:
This is phenomenal rye. That being said, I use this to make Manhattans. We call them “$50 Manhattans” in my circle of friends because that’s just how we roll. Side note, don’t let anyone ever judge you for how you chose to enjoy your whiskey.
All we really know about these barrels are that they prove the prowess of the Michter’s team to bring in the best of the best in the whiskey world. It’s rare that a 25-year-old whiskey aged in a new oak will taste this nuanced but that’s sort of the magic of Michter’s.
Tasting Notes:
There’s an earthiness here that feels like dried white moss on a wet forest floor next to little popping notes of bitter yet oily espresso beans, vanilla that costs way too much to buy, oranges wrapped in gold cellophane, and an almost wet black pepper vibe. Okay, let’s move on to the palate. Golden sultanas draw you in with a very clear sense of clove that almost leads to anise (maybe black licorice) with that vanilla staying dry as the orange oils become burnt and this distant note of salted, almost black cacao powder harkens the finish. That finish does lean into a classic Tellicherry cracked black pepper but remains dry and features just the right amount of dried fruit sweetness.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those sips that might change you as a whiskey drinker — yes, it’s that good. It’s also an investment bottle. Our advice is to pay a grand for the pour at some high-end whiskey bar and stow away the bottle for your kid’s college fund.
This is a sourced barrel of 25-year-old juice. That’s all we really know besides that it’s a whiskey that needed zero cutting to taste amazing.
Tasting Notes:
This draws you in with this matrix of rich and brandy-soaked holiday cake brimming with candied and dried fruits that edges into a smoked almond nuttiness and an almost funky rummy molasses next to browned butter on its own. That browned butter is what informs the palate, as the silkiness of this taste cannot be overstated. The palate really leans into the smoked almonds with a nice savory edge while the butter marries the holiday cake and almonds to create rich marzipan with a very mild cedar note that’s like a very old cigar humidor. The end just sits on your palate like a soft hug from an old friend as the nuttiness and sweetness slowly fade out, leaving you … happy.
Bottom Line:
This 25-year-old bourbon is a masterpiece. We’ll never know where these barrels came from. But you know what? Who cares? This juice is the nectar of the gods. Look at it this way, there’s a reason this costs about twice as much as Pappy 23 on the secondary market.
This is a collaboration between Master Distiller Dan McKee and Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson who selected six barrels between ten, 20, and 30 years old. Those barrels were vatted and bottled without any cutting with water.
Tasting Notes:
Buttery dark chocolate fudge sits next to an earthy, almost mossy note as eggnog spices mingle with a savory fruit hint on the nose. It’s all subtle but so clear. Then the taste takes those spices and builds out a flavor profile of grilled peaches next to smoked pineapple topped with maple-syrup-soaked pecans and a splash of vanilla cream and a dusting a freshly ground cinnamon. That dry spice leads from a mid-palate to a finish that holds onto those sweet pecans while the dry moss makes a late comeback and settles into your senses with a note of nutmeg, smoked peach, and orange oil.
Bottom Line:
For my palate, this is perfect. This is one of those bottles that makes me mad that I cannot drink it every day. It also makes sense that the Billions writer’s room chose this to be the ultimate of the ultimate whiskeys for their show. There’s really very little out there that tops this whiskey (no matter where you are in the world).
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
Most collectors of Funko Pop! action figures know the brand has collectibles for just about every form of entertainment from music to TV. The brand even has some exclusive Golden Girls Funkos. Funko has been recently beefing up their collection of music-related actions figures, and after unveiling dolls of Aaliyah and Devo earlier this year, they are now immortalizing some of hip-hop’s biggest stars.
Funko just dropped their new Vinyl Gold collection this week. Fans can now show some love to their favorite emcees by purchasing a Notorious B.I.G, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, or Tupac Shakur Funko. Rather than having a large head and cartoonish features like most Funko figures, the rappers in their Vinyl Gold collection are more realistic looking.
Each premium vinyl figure stands at five inches tall and features one of their recognizable outfits, with Biggie sporting a crisp white suit, Lil Wayne showing off his tattoo’d arms and red accessories, Ice Cube in some all-black attire, and Tupac standing shirtless with his signature bandana and Timberland boots. Biggie’s Funko is the only one with a different size option as there’s a 12-inch figure available for fans who want to make a statement.
Lorde has become one of the most prominent female musicians in the world, but if you ask her, she doesn’t necessarily always feel like a female artist.
In a new Variety profile, Lorde was asked “if women’s creative decisions are more closely scrutinized than men’s,” and after carefully considering the question, she responded, “There are specific archetypes that people want you to oscillate between. I’m sure there’s a double standard. I almost don’t think of myself as a female artist sometimes, just because I’m less an object of desire.”
She continued to note that it feels good to be involved in more aspects of her career than just strictly music:
“I don’t feel bound to the systems of our industry the way a lot of women do, which is a really privileged spot to be in. ‘This is not something I would ever do.’ It’s a game and if you know the rules, you also know how to break them. If you think that the industry is real life, you’re going to run into problems. It’s fantasy and archetype.
I feel so empowered being involved in all the different areas of my job that traditionally would be left to someone else, whether it’s something like lighting my show, directing videos, graphic design. Being bold is vital because people are only going to listen to you if you speak up. It’s hard for me — I’m shy, I’m a shy girl. But, you always regret not being bold, and you very rarely regret toughening up and doing it.”
There comes a moment in every Ted Lasso fan’s life when they realize, “Holy crap, Rebecca was also the ‘shame’ lady from Game of Thrones!” If that moment for you is right now, I’m sorry and/or you’re welcome. You won’t watch Ted Lasso the same way again (unless it’s a Coach Beard-focused episode without Rebecca).
Hannah Waddingham won her first Emmy for her performance on Ted Lasso, but she deserved one for playing Septa Unella on Game of Thrones after what she went through. “Definitely other than childbirth, [it] was the worst day of my life,” she said about being waterboarded for 10 hours. “It definitely gave me claustrophobia around water.” But it wasn’t an altogether awful experience. Otherwise, Waddingham wouldn’t have kept a prop from the show, as she revealed during an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Unella’s most memorable moment came when she walked Cersei (Lena Headey) through town, ringing a bell and chanting “Shame!” as a form of humiliation. And Clarkson got Waddingham to confirm that she kept that bell after production ended. “That’s kind of messed up!” Clarkson joked. But Waddingham noted that it was a gift; not something she took from the set.
“That’s when you know that your character is really dead,” Waddingham joked. “When they give you like, the ‘hero’ thing of your character. They’re like, ‘Thank you very much and goodbye.’” She got waterboarded and was gifted a bell for her time on Thrones, and now she eats biscuits with Jason Sudeikis and Juno Temple. That’s what I call progress.
You can watch the clip from The Kelly Clarkson Show above.
Within hours of Amazon introducing its new personal robot, Astro, leaked internal documents revealed that the $999 Alexa on wheels is allegedly plagued with problems including an obvious inability to navigate stairs. More specifically, Astro has a tendency to hurl itself down them, which is not exactly great considering the little guy isn’t the sturdiest thing.
The internal documents also revealed a slew of alleged privacy issues, but sources say those aren’t exactly a major concern at the moment because, to be any sort of surveillance threat, Astro would need to stop killing himself first. Via Vice:
“Astro is terrible and will almost certainly throw itself down a flight of stairs if presented the opportunity. The person detection is unreliable at best, making the in-home security proposition laughable,” a source who worked on the project said. “The device feels fragile for something with an absurd cost. The mast has broken on several devices, locking itself in the extended or retracted position, and there’s no way to ship it to Amazon when that happens.”
“They’re also pushing it as an accessibility device but with the masts breaking and the possibility that at any given moment it’ll commit suicide on a flight of stairs, it’s, at best, absurdist nonsense and marketing and, at worst, potentially dangerous for anyone who’d actually rely on it for accessibility purposes,” the source said.
Following Vice‘s report on Astro’s alleged suicidal tendencies, Amazon released a statement to The Verge disputing the claims and asserting that the robot is a good, solid boy who doesn’t fall down the stairs.
“These characterizations of Astro’s performance, mast, and safety systems are simply inaccurate,” Amazon said. “Astro went through rigorous testing on both quality and safety, including tens of thousands of hours of testing with beta participants. This includes comprehensive testing on Astro’s advanced safety system, which is designed to avoid objects, detect stairs, and stop the device where and when necessary.”
However, as The Verge notes, the leaked documents “recontextualizes” the invite-only process that will allow users to get their hands on Astro. The process reportedly includes a survey, and one of the questions asks what type of stairs do you have in your house. We’re guessing the correct answer is “none.”
How race and racism are handled in schools has been an issue for decades, but the debate has been pushed into the spotlight in the past couple of years as the Black Lives Matter movement has gained momentum. Hysteria over critical race theory (or what people think critical race theory is) has overtaken school board meetings and resulted in legislation governing what can and can’t be talked about in the classroom when it comes to race and racism.
A viral photo of a class presentation listing the pros and cons of slavery illustrates how vital it is to incorporate racism education in schools. The watering down of American slavery has gone on for far too long, and no matter what the assignment was here, this kind of slide has no place in a classroom.
I would walk out of class. https://t.co/IXcjEAnBOA
— Sir James The Second🏳️🌈 (@YesSirJames) 1632662539.0
The image, which seems to have first been shared in 2016, shows what appears to be a student presenting a slide with the title, “IS SLAVERY ALWAYS BAD?” followed by a list of “pros” and “cons” of enslaving people.
According to the presentation, the pros of slavery include:
– Slaves would be beneficial for some companies due to faster work performance
– Not all slaves are treated with neglect
– Most slaves have food, shelter, and clothing
– Slavery can be viewed as an opportunity to pay off debt.
And the cons listed were:
– Slaves were sometimes harshly beaten
– Slaves have little to no freedom
– Families may be separated
– Slavery goes against human rights.
Hoo boy. Lots to unpack here.
We don’t know what class this photo came from—maybe history, maybe a debate class—but it doesn’t matter. There is one, and only one, correct answer to the question the slide poses. YES, slavery is always bad. End of discussion. There are things that are simply not debatable, and slavery is one of them.
But unfortunately, it’s far too common for Americans to engage in these kinds of “let’s weigh the pros and cons before determining if making Black people work for free, using violence and family trauma to keep them enslaved for centuries, was really as evil as it sounds” arguments. It’s been happening in textbooks and classrooms throughout our history. It’s wrong. It has always been wrong.
@arthur_affect The other issue with pro/con “analysis” is that it doesn’t adjust the weight of any factors.
We don’t even have to stretch our imaginations very far to understand why it’s wrong.
Imagine a slide asking, “IS GENOCIDE ALWAYS WRONG?” with a list of pros that include “A smaller population would be beneficial for some due to fewer mouths to feed” and “Many people killed in a genocide aren’t tortured before they die.” No. We don’t do that. Never ever.
Imagine a pros and cons list like this for domestic violence. Pro: Abusers get what they want. Con: Sometimes the abused get physically injured. Ridiculous, right?
Imagine asking high schoolers to make a pros and cons list for drunk driving. No. That would be asinine.
But some people treat slavery as if it’s debatable how bad it was. I once had someone try to convince me that slavery wasn’t all that bad because “many slaves were considered members of their owner’s family and weren’t mistreated.” As if being enslaved was not mistreatment in and of itself. The mental gymnastics some Americans will do to make slavery sound better than it was is astounding.
@FreiheitKrieger @YesSirJames @BlackKnight10k My wife grew up in Alabama and their text books said slaves enjoyed b… https://t.co/ZyYgU3UynU
— My dog thinks I’m cool. (@timbell72) 1632668150.0
The fact that this slide was made and presented to a classroom in the 21st century is an indication that education about racism in schools is necessary. This slide is racism, and the fact that that’s not obvious to everyone is exactly the problem.
@ResistanceRages @YesSirJames Pros: Employers save money
Cons: Literally a human rights violation
This kind of presentation is what happens when you teach slavery as if it were just another policy decision and not the racist, dehumanizing evil driven by white supremacy and greed that it was. We need to teach history honestly and thoroughly, explaining the racist ideology that led to racist chattel slavery in the United States and the racist oppression that followed emancipation. Otherwise, we end up with this kind of whitewashed, false-equivalency pros and cons list that has no place in a civilized society.
Why on earth must the Sixers always be so weird? For whatever reason, few (if any) teams provide the constant drama that come from the fellas in Philadelphia, and this year, things are going to a new level due to Ben Simmons’ insistence that his basketball career continues elsewhere. As such, Philly is stuck in a pretty unforeseen holding pattern, as a 25-year-old All-Star who is under contract for another four years is just not going to play until he’s given the trade he wants. For a team with aspirations of winning a championship behind an MVP candidate in Joel Embiid, all the eyes are on this, and in classic Sixers fashion, things are going to be awfully weird until the situation resolves itself and it can figure out what it is — and, for that matter, will be — with Simmons gone and some collection of players and picks in.
Roster:
Seth Curry
Andre Drummond
Joel Embiid
Danny Green
Tobias Harris
Aaron Henry (two-way)
Isaiah Joe
Furkan Korkmaz
Tyrese Maxey
Shake Milton
Georges Niang
Paul Reed
Grant Riller (two-way)
Ben Simmons
Jaden Springer
Matisse Thybulle
Projected Vegas Win Total: 51.5
Biggest Addition: Andre Drummond
Philly didn’t exactly go out and reshape its roster during the offseason, and it must be said that the team’s biggest addition is not on the roster yet, because it is “the best player they get back in a Ben Simmons trade.” But among the players they brought in, Drummond is probably going to be asked to answer a very important question, one that the Sixers have struggled with for years: How can they remain a good basketball team while Joel Embiid sits? Maybe he can’t get the job done, at which case Paul Reed might get some run, but Drummond will assuredly get some opportunities.
Biggest Loss: Ben Simmons
Who knows, maybe we’re here in a month and Simmons decides he wants to return to the team. But while he is on the roster, the assumption is that Simmons will never play for the Philadelphia 76ers again, in large part because, well, he doesn’t seem like he wants to. This leads to…
Biggest Question: What do they get back for Ben Simmons?
There is no more interesting question in the NBA right now than what Philly gets back for Simmons. The team obviously has the bar set exceedingly high, to the point that no team can really justify clearing it right now. At the same time, the Sixers do not seem in any rush to lower that bar, meaning it looks like we’re barreling towards a situation where Simmons just does not play basketball for a while as the season begins, drags on, and heads towards the trade deadline.
All of these questions, of course, will continue to exist. Will the Sixers be able to get a team, desperate to compete for something, to decide to part way with a huge package of players and picks? Will Philly ultimately decide the best thing is to just cut bait altogether? Will they get lucky and see another All-Star request a trade, so that they can offer up Simmons and, in all likelihood, cut to the front of the line by being able to offer Simmons? Who knows! It’s a legitimately fascinating situation, one that is going to hang over the team until Simmons is sent somewhere … or, you know, if he has a change of heart and plays for the team. But probably not. But maybe!
What Makes This Season A Success: They look like a team that can win a championship in the next few years. Having Joel Embiid means Philly is always going to be good (if he remains healthy, of course). Getting rid of Simmons means the team is officially building entirely around him, and it is pretty exciting to think about what that could look like. But it also has to be something that can make sure they win. Brooklyn and Milwaukee are both probably better right now, can Philly position themselves, through the Simmons trade and growth from some of their young guys, to pounce if either falter?
What Makes This Season A Failure: Everything stalls out. The Sixers have had a defined ceiling of “the conference semis” each of the last few years because that just keeps turning into the hurdle they can’t clear, for one reason or another. They cannot, with how much talent exists in the East, afford to continue to be stuck there. Of course, everything comes back to the Simmons trade, but even then, a falling off in form from Embiid, or Tobias Harris not rising to the occasion, or their young dudes not getting better would be a tough pill to swallow.
Donald Trump and the music industry have a fairly toxic relationship. In addition to a number of top-tier musicians, including Garth Brooks and Elton John, declining to perform at his 2016 inauguration, the 45th president couldn’t even get a Bruce Springsteen cover band to commit to playing. He’s further drawn the ire of the music industry by regularly using the music of dozens of well-known musicians at his rallies without their permission, and promptly receiving cease and desist letters. (There’s literally an entire Wikipedia page about it.) Among those musicians is Eddy Grant, who wrote, produced, and recorded the 1983 hit “Electric Avenue,” which Trump attached to an animated video and tweeted. But Grant wasn’t having it—and the courts are siding with the British musician.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Trump responded to Grant’s cease and desist with some sort of bullsh*t about how “the purpose” of his stupid animation (which he quickly removed… back when any social media network would let him use it as a platform) “is not to disseminate the Song or to supplant sales of the original Song. Here, a reasonable observer would perceive that the Animation uses the Song for a comedic, political purpose—a different and transformed purpose from that of the original Song.” But U.S. District Court Judge John Koeltl wasn’t buying it.
In his ruling, Koeltl described Trump’s use of the song as “wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad” and specifically noted that the Trump team’s reasonings for why the suit should be dismissed “misapprehends the focus of the transformative use inquiry.” Further, the judge notes: “While it is true that the animation is partisan political commentary and the song apparently is not, the inquiry does not focus exclusively on the character of the animation; rather, it focuses on the character of the animation’s use of Grant’s song.”
In other words: Trump’s attempt to stop the suit dead in its tracks failed, and Grant’s legal team is free to continue on with the appropriate legal process and, as the long says, “And then we’ll take it higher.” You can read the full ruling here.
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