Oct. 16, 2018, "Confronting Public Bullying" with Roddey Reid at the Berkeley Public Library Central Branch

Berkeley Public Library Central Branch Presents

Confronting Public Bullying

with Professor Emeritus Roddey Reid

Professor Emeritus Roddey Reid explores how a climate of fear and intimidation has come to dominate national life in the United States in recent years, poisoning our politics and even reaching into our personal relationships. At the core of this history is a larger U.S. culture of intimidation and bullying in the workplace, media, and political arenas that has been building for 30 years.

Reid will offer insights into the strategies and dynamics of contemporary intimidation and public bullying: how they work, the dangers they present, and the lessons to be learned.

Book Reading & Discussion

Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - 3:30-5:00pm

Berkeley Public Library Central Branch

2090 Kittredge St., Berkeley, CA 94704 - 510.981.6100

Roddey Reid is Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Diego, where he taught classes on the modern cultures and societies of the U.S., France, and Japan.

Fall Election Special: Political Thuggery and Party Identities

Fall Election Special: Political Thuggery and Party Identities

(The Way We Live Now, Part Three)

On Medium.com

Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Gillum, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Source: Michael Valdon; U.S. Congress, photo via Wikimedia Commons; State of Florida, photo via Wikimedia Commons; photo via Wikimedia Commons (BY SA 4.0)

 Author’s Note: This is the third installment in a series on the current public climate of fear and intimidation that has dominated national life in the United States since the kick-off of the last presidential campaign in 2015. Part One, “The Emotional Toll of Public Bullying and Political Intimidation,” focused on the experience of the sheer power and psychological effects of bullying in general and public bullying and political intimidation in particular. Part Two, “How Political Bullying and Intimidation Work: A Practical Guide,” looked at how public bullying works as a concrete method and set of political tools and provided readers with a map through this potent minefield and a way to anticipate future acts of aggression.

Aggression and Response

With Labor Day marking the official start of Congressional and local races, in Part Three I focus on the two major political parties to explore why over the years Republicans and their right-wing supporters have freely resorted to extremely aggressive political tactics—and just as important--why Democratic Party leaders and their liberal allies have often failed to take seriously such acts of political violence and skullduggery by their opponents and respond accordingly. Part of the answer, I argue, lies in their respective practices of loyalty and identity, social composition, and conceptions of governing.

Atchison Village Social Club Meet Authors: Confronting Political Intimidation and Public Bullying with Roddey Reid, July 20, 7pm

Atchison Village Social Club

Meet the Authors & Book Reading

Community Hall

270 Curry St., Richmond, CA 94801

Confronting Political Intimidation and Public Bullying

Discussion
with
Roddey Reid
Professor Emeritus, UC San Diego
Friday, July 20

7:00 pm
Community Hall
270 Curry St., Richmond, CA 94801 

What is political bullying vs. other kinds of bullying? How does it work?

Why do political intimidation and bullying seem worse now? 

What is their emotional and political toll?

How is the current harsh public climate a challenge to public life and civic action? 

Roddey Reid is ProfessorEmeritus, University of California, San Diego, where he taught classes on the modern cultures and societies of the U.S., France, and Japan. His latest writing has been on trauma, daily life, and the culture of intimidation and bullying in the U.S. and Europe. He hosts a personal blog called “UnSafe Thoughts” on bullying and the fluidity of politics in dangerous times. He is a member of the San Francisco chapter of Indivisble.org, the activist group that was formed in December 2016 and now has over 6,000 chapters nationwide.