Right Hand, Left Hand

Jane Coaston, senior politics reporter at Vox, joins Sarah and Steve for a wide-ranging discussion ...

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Jane Coaston, senior politics reporter at Vox, joins Sarah and Steve for a wide-ranging discussion on racism and police violence as protests around the world continue over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.


Show Notes:

–Read Jane’s work at Vox

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  1. Adam Ewy

    Awesome Podcast. Many events since 2016 have changed my view of culture and politics. I clearly see the hypocrisy that exists on the right. Four years ago I would have never listened to the point of view of someone from the opposite end of the political spectrum. How can I access Jane Coastan’s thesis on Stalingrad (I’m a history nerd)?

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    Ethan Cordray

    I really liked this episode. It was very entertaining.

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  3. The BFJ

    Several fallacies went unchallenged:

    I've never come across a form of libertarianism that says it's not okay for you to adjudicate me but go ahead and adjudicate someone else for the same crime. Libertarians would say we should end said law for everyone especially if it's making criminals of non criminals.

    No serious person is asking for the Army to confront and end peaceful protests, but to end destructive rioting. It would be better for the peaceful protesters to see and end of destructive rioting. Using the Army may or may not be the best way to attain this, but it is disingenuous to imply that those for using the Army at the federal level are trying to end peaceful protests.

    The last one I can remember off the top of my head had to do with the misrepresentation of how conservatives view identity politics. It has nothing to do with what the identity of those who are engaging in politics. It has to do with the substance of policy that puts identity at the forefront and drivers of the policy in question. So that a black person is engaging in politics doesn't mean he is engaging in identity politics any more than when white people engage in politics can it be said that that's just white identity politics. Just as she rightly doesn't know what people mean by "the black community" I reject the question begging premise about white people.

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  4. Brad N

    The pizza shop analogy was marvelous!

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      Ethan Cordray

      I really enjoyed that bit.

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    Julia

    Thanks so much for having Jane on! Please have her back! I definitely agree most of American politics these days still basically feels an argument between whites on the left and whites on the right, each trotting out various minorities to do fan-service for their bases. So refreshing to hear an independent voice.

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  6. PM

    Thanks for the Jane!

    Which is not to say that I'm in complete agreement...

    I would argue that organizations defend their own. A lot of money/time/effort gets put into training a police officer and so they're not disposable. Getting rid of police unions would not change this.

    In smaller towns, where there are fewer police officers or perhaps only one, it can be even more problematic because there aren't unemployed skilled police officers just hanging around waiting to be hired.

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      Leticia Vega

      David touched on this point a little bit during the AO podcast Monday

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    RandyMc

    I think many of us can agree that we need to continue to reform police policies, just as we have for decades. Nothing that has happened in 2020 makes that idea more pertinent than in 2014. The only difference is that some that have come around have seen an actual murder by a police officer (It's happened before) and law enforcement/prosecutors cover for one of their own (it's happened before). These are not based upon false narratives (Hands up, don't shoot!).

    BLM is no more or less legitimate today than before, and taking a knee in performative protest is as banal today as it has been since 2014.

    Jane's bright, smart, and earnest, but, just as most everyone else, not able to give retail service to what has been sold wholesale for decades. I heard not much that hasn't been said into microphones for a long time. Tell me what more I can do. I'm frustrated. I can't fix the world, and trying to make my community better is apparently not enough.

    I'm glad some of you thought this was great. I found it tedious, and I've listened to her before. Lot's of words, but not much original thought. Maybe there's just not much more original ideas that can be said. I'm glad she was given a chance to speak to an audience that may not be familiar with her.

    Many of us have a "Wendy's" story. There will always be "Wendy's" storys, and they come in all colors. I'm sorry that father hurt her. I hope he's better educated now than he was then. But if we can't look back and see that our times are so much better than the past, it's hard to look forward to times that are better than today.

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    Kevin Johnson

    This one was WONDERFUL! I have never heard someone with whom I disagreed strongly at a couple points but enjoyed so much. As advertised, she is smart, irreverent, funny, and also eclectic in her views, surprising in some contexts...and even more important, willing to admit where something has her a bit stumped (unions). How much better off would we be if more analysts and policy makers would admit that an issue is important, but not readily solvable with off the shelf partisan approaches? She went on a bit long at times, but it was well worth it. Really great. On Sarah’s carry over point on suburban women responding to safety and fairness issues, it will be interesting to watch. To her point that polling shows support for protesters, doesn’t it also show support for strong action vs. rioters and looting, even using troops? I think overall polling shows this. Great job, and now please get Heather McDonald on. Thanks

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    Denise Cote

    Jane's story about the Wendy's is gut wrenching. I've been thinking so much about all this and how nothing will change until people's hearts change.

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  10. Kmsinatra

    I really enjoyed this podcast. I too have heard Jane before on Vox but really appreciated her contribution to this topic. I listened while running so did not mind her "monologues" as I found them interesting and it made the time go by faster! Thanks for great work guys

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