Law and Order: SVU Reviews F

This is a set of reviews of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I’ll often do no more than make brief notes about an episode, although occasionally I’ll go deeper. Also, often there are dissenting main characters on almost any political issue, but you can usually tell what the general position of the show is. All the rest of the reviews are available by clicking on the l&osvu label at the bottom.

(Now that I’m getting into some of the episodes that involve the character John Munch, I’m going to ignore most of his political statements)

“Nocturne” Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “After a pharmacy turns over some disturbing photos of a young boy, Benson and Stabler arrest a piano teacher (Kent Broadhurst) for child molestation. After the boy claims to have seen other pictures of young boys at the teacher's house, the detectives get a warrant and discover a series of videos that document the life of a young boy named Evan (Wilson Jermaine Heredia). Believing he can make or break their case, the team searches for him, only to realize that his testimony may not help at all because Evan is scarred far more deeply than they realized.”

One of the detectives at one point distinguishes between homosexuality and pedophilia. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American College of Pediatricians, which doesn’t make that distinction, is a much smaller group than the American College of Pediatrics, which is anti-homophobic. The former has a membership in the low hundreds and the latter had a membership around 67,000 around 2019.

“Manic” Season 5. Wikipedia summary is: “Detectives Benson and Stabler learn that an alleged victim (Rory Culkin) of a school shooting that claimed two lives, was in fact the perpetrator. After learning about the boy's psychiatric problems from his mother (Mare Winningham), the squad realizes that a major pharmaceutical company is also responsible. “

There are a few things about health care insurers and HMOs denying therapy and generally getting in the way of people’s health. This turns into one of the episodes where a business is the bad guy- it’s a drug company that irresponsibly mailed out samples of an anti—depressant without a doctor’s supervision of the patients. It was a pretty messed up marketing scheme and got two kids killed.

“Coerced” Season 5. Wikipedia summary is: “A homeless and schizophrenic man (Leland Orser), desperate to see his son (Spencer List), kidnaps a different boy (Dylan Bluestone) from his bed at night. After being attacked by the man, Detective Stabler begins to contemplate the factors that caused him to snap. This investigation exposes further crimes at an adult group home.”

Mental Health and Class

This is slightly about class gaps in the mental health care system, where some of the lowest income patients are treated by institutions that are corrupt and treat them poorly. I’m not sure how common that sort of thing is and it might have more to do with corruption than with class. The mental health center I get my treatment at wouldn’t do anything comparable to what is talked about in this episode and treats low income people and homeless people. But I know that some homeless and low-income mentally ill people can’t get benefits like SSI and SSDI (that are run by Social Security) and some of them probably end up in places like the group home illustrated in the episode.

“Choice” Season 5. Wikipedia summary: “A man (Rick Aiello) is arrested for attacking his pregnant wife (Josie Bissett) in protest of her drinking during pregnancy. Detective Benson finds out that she also overindulged in alcohol while pregnant with an earlier child (Katherine Roberts). The wife is taken to family court by her husband, who accuses her of endangering the fetus by putting it at risk of developing fetal alcohol syndrome.”

There’s some good pro-choice stuff in here. In fact, to a large degree it’s more about abortion than it is about rape.

“Abomination” Season 5. Wikipedia summary is: “The homosexual poster-boy of a sexual re-education group is found murdered. After a local fundamentalist is cleared, the detectives turn their attention to the victim's thesis about the failure of sexual re-education groups. An opposing professor (George Segal) is found who has a dysfunctional relationship with his son (Jonathan Tucker).”

 

Conversion Therapy

This is about homophobia and specifically “conversion therapy,” the idea that gay people can become straight through prayer and therapy. It reminds me of a movie called “Boy Erased” which is a true story about a young man who tries to complete such a program. It’s a fairly brutal program and doesn’t work (because sexual orientation is not a choice) and at the end of the movie we learn that the head of the program is now married to another man. It’s a great movie and illustrates what’s wrong with conversion therapy and like I said, it’s a true story.

Roseanne Reviews H

This is a set of reviews of Roseanne episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I will focus only on the political aspects and will mention what percent of lines spoken by non-family members are spoken by people of color.

“Fender Bender” Episode 21 Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne is rear-ended by Mrs. Wellman, injuring her neck, and must rest for awhile. When Mrs. Wellman does not apologize, Roseanne considers suing her.”

There is definitely a class dimension to this and although it doesn’t seem like a crushing defeat, it’s about the rich winning. Roseanne gives up on the idea of suing Mrs. Wellman when the latter asks if Roseanne has a good lawyer. Roseanne knows that Mrs. Wellman, as a rich person, has a good lawyer and that she and Dan don’t have a good lawyer. There’s also the issue of respect. Mrs. Wellman doesn’t apologize after the accident because her lawyer advised her it would be admitting guilt. But, when Roseanne considers responding to that lack of respect by suing her, Mrs. Wellman, as I said, wins.

There’s about 65-70 lines by non-family members and only about 10% are by people of color.

“April Fool’s Day” Episode 22, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “It is tax season and Roseanne and Dan contemplate how to make the process easier. Dan eventually stresses out when he is unable to complete the tax form. Roseanne tries her hand but they end up traveling to the IRS office.”

This is kind of mixed. There’s a lot of non-partisan criticism of the tax system. There’s one very brief apparent suggestion for a flat tax. But there is also a part where Roseanne talks for about half a minute about how rich people pay less tax than the working and middle-classes because they have accountants and tax lawyers that can identify the loop-holes in the tax code.

There’s about 40 lines by non-family members and about 20% are by people of color.

“Happy Birthday” Episode 24, season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne, though only turning 37, feels she has hit a dead-end in her life. Always wanting to be a writer, Roseanne makes a wish on this birthday that she had more time to write. Dan and the kids surprise Roseanne with her own writing studio in the basement and leave her alone so she can write. Unfortunately, Roseanne is hit with a severe case of writer's block.”

Out of about 25 lines by non-family members, about 20% are by people of color.

“The Test” Episode 1, Season 3. Wikipedia summary is: “Set in the middle of a hot summer day Dan is reluctant to give Becky driving lessons. Meanwhile, the whole family awaits the results of a more serious test being taken by Roseanne.”

There’s a very brief argument about abortion, with Jackie taking a pro-choice position and Crystal taking the pro-life position. Roseanne appears neutral but later in the series  expresses a pro-choice position at least once. As I have said elsewhere on this blog, my thoughts about abortion are:

“I’m pro-choice for the following reasons: I don’t know whether or not the fetus is alive but I am sure that A) women should control their own bodies, B) without the right to choose they can’t have full equality, and C) if men could also get pregnant there would be a massive pro-choice majority in this country.”

“Friends and Relatives” Episode 2, Season 3. Wikipedia summary is: “Dan lends Arnie $1,500 to buy Nancy an engagement ring. He instead spends it on her breast implants. When Dan falls behind on the bills, Jackie wants to lend him money, but he refuses because she is a relative. DJ starts peeping on his sisters.”

Out of about 15-20 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Reviews E

This is a set of reviews of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I’ll often do no more than make brief notes about an episode, although occasionally I’ll go deeper. Also, often there are dissenting main characters on almost any political issue, but you can usually tell what the general position of the show is. All the rest of the reviews are available by clicking on the l&osvu label at the bottom.

(Now that I’m getting into some of the episodes that involve the character John Munch, I’m going to ignore most of his political statements)

“Closure Part 1” Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “Benson does her best to help a rape victim (Tracy Pollan), who is able to describe her attack, but not the attacker (Neil Maffin) in perfect detail. When the detectives revisit the case a few months later, they find the woman even less willing to talk about what happened, as she claims she has moved on. Things turn uncomfortable within the squad when Benson and Cassidy, who spent a night together, argue over whether the relationship should be continued. “

They somehow know that she smokes pot and decide to not bust her for it (this is 1999 or 2000)

“Bad Blood” Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “The death of a young gay man initially leads Benson and Stabler to investigate his homophobic father, but once they start looking into the young man's living arrangements, they realize the person they're looking for may be closer than they think. Munch tries to help Benson find the man who raped her mother. “

There’s some stuff about homophobia in this episode. The detectives promise to respect the confidentiality of a gay NYPD witness, and in the show (maybe in real life?) there’s something called the “Gay Officers Action League.” There’s also a swipe taken at former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s ethics problems.

“Limitations” Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “At the request of a victim, the police commissioner comes to Cragen with a special request: close the case of the man who raped three women (Jenny Bacon, Judith Hawkins and Seana Kofoed) nearly five years ago before the statute of limitations expires. The detectives finally get a lead when they realize one of the victims knows the rapist, but she is not willing to talk. Following Cassidy's departure, Munch is partnered with Jeffries.”

There are two political aspects to this. The survivor who gets the police’s attention is clearly a successful businesswoman and that might have something to do with her getting their attention. The second one is that the progressive Quaker religious community comes close to being endorsed by the show.

“Misleader” Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “After the pregnant daughter-in-law of a prominent Christian right leader (Robert Foxworth) is found murdered in her hotel room, the detectives investigate a rash of hotel burglaries, only to discover that her adultery (and the probable father of her child) was what led to her death.”

A small aspect of this is the moral hypocrisy that exists in some members of the religious right.

“Remorse” Season 1. wikipedia summary is: “Television reporter Sarah Logan (Jennifer Esposito) refuses to let her recent rape get her down, and talks about her experiences on the air, leading to the arrest of a young man that the team feels is responsible. Over the course of the investigation, Munch and Jeffries become unusually affected by the case, albeit in different ways.”

There are two progressive elements to this. First, East Timor is referred to (East Timor was occupied by Indonesia between 1975 and 1999 or 2000 and it was a cause taken up by progressives in America). Second, one of the detectives is a fan of Noam Chomsky.

Women's Equality in Ireland

At one point one of the detectives says that Irishmen are raised to respect women. I’m not sure exactly where that line comes from, but there is some truth to it. Although I don’t know exactly what the current situation is, abortion has been in recent decades about 99% illegal in the Republic and before that it was completely illegal. But as far as I can tell, women there do okay in terms of equality. For 21 years starting in 1990 three Presidential terms were filled by women. During the last 30 years half the time the Deputy Prime Minister was a woman. I generally got the impression that Irish women do okay in terms of equality. Unfortunately, I think a majority of them are pro-life. I’m pro-choice but the point I’m trying to make is that there are pro-lifers who nonetheless are feminists or at least believe in equality for women, as flawed as such a combination of stances is. And I think it’s found in Ireland because a lot of Catholic pro-lifers don’t want women to “stay in their place” or something like that, they just believe that the fetus is alive, THAT’S why they’re pro-life, not sexism. (you see something similar with the membership of Sinn Fein, a party that is or was basically pro-life but which has also seen a lot of women involved as party activists or politicians and whose current leader is a woman) (You might see it a little bit with some other religious groups that are pro-life, but I think it’s mostly a Catholic thing)

Roseanne Reveiws G

This is a set of reviews of Roseanne episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I will focus only on the political aspects and will mention what percent of lines spoken by non-family members are spoken by people of color.

“One for the Road” Episode 14, season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Dan and Roseanne are not home, leaving Becky in charge. She invites her friend, Dana over to do homework. When they take a break, Becky whips up a few 'Tornadoes' from the Conner's liquor cabinet, resulting in the girls getting drunk. A hung-over Becky is left to explain herself when Dana's mother arrives the next day demanding an explanation.”

Out of about 25 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

“Born to be Wild” Episode 16, season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “The Conners' old biker pal Ziggy (Jay O. Sanders) roars into town, making them feel old, fat, and trapped. In the end, they realize that while their lives are not what they had planned, they still feel fulfillment.”

There’s a negative reference to the chemical DDT, which could be considered an environmental statement.

Out of about 50-75 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

“Hair” Episode 17, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Crystal recommends Roseanne for a job at the beauty shop that she frequents, doing the same tasks that she does at home for free. Roseanne is hesitant, but once interviewed, is persuaded into the position by the shop owner. After a short time on the job, she is given a raise, and more responsibility.”

Out of about 60 lines by non-family members, about 20% are by people of color.

“I’m Hungry” Episode 18, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne and Dan reach the point where they realize they must lose weight. Roseanne takes charge and puts strict restrictions on their diet, but she has the most trouble adapting to the new regime.”

Out of about 35 lines by non-family members, about 20% are by people of color.

“All of me” Episode 19, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Jackie has finally found 'the one,' but Roseanne continues to meddle.”

Out of about 50 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

“To Tell the Truth” Episode 20, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Jackie gives Roseanne the silent treatment when she has had enough of her meddling in her love life, but the sisters reconcile. Gary proposes to Jackie on a whim, and Roseanne goes into overdrive with wedding preparations, but Gary and Jackie soon realize they're not ready for marriage. As the ending credits roll there are photographs of the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Princess of Wales.”

Out of about 40 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

Law and Order Special Victims Unit Reviews D

This is a set of reviews of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I’ll often do no more than make brief notes about an episode, although occasionally I’ll go deeper. Also, often there are dissenting main characters on almost any political issue, but you can usually tell what the general position of the show is. All the rest of the reviews are available by clicking on the l&osvu label at the bottom.

(Now that I’m getting into some of the episodes that involve the character John Munch, I’m going to ignore most of his political statements)

“Assumptions” Season 20 Wikipedia summary is: “A Muslim woman appears to be assaulted in a synagogue and two teenage boys are seen fleeing the scene, which prompts the Special Victims Unit to come in and investigate. The case quickly is confirmed as a hate crime and controversy quickly erupts. However, the case takes a shocking twist when it is discovered that the Muslim woman may not be telling the exact truth. Later in the episode it's revealed that the Muslim woman was raped by her ex-husband. He knew she was a lesbian and due to Sharia Law he believed she was still his wife. Meanwhile, Benson receives news that Rob Miller, who raped defense attorney Nikki Staines, has been released from prison on bail, leaving Benson shocked and dismayed.”

 

Israel/Palestine, Anti-Muslim Bigotry 

The two main issues are the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and social conservatism among Muslims. The Muslim woman is a City Council person who takes a very public position in support of the Palestinians and there is great hostility towards her from the Jewish population. The idea is that she is allegedly anti-semitic because of her support for the the Palestinians.

It’s not inherently anti-Semitic to support the Palestinians, although it can be, as I have written in several essays that are found here, here, here, and here. But supporting the Palestinians is usually based on a very good argument, a version of which I deploy here.                                

There’s hardly anything in the episode about anti-semitism among the Arab community of NYC, but there’s plenty about anti-muslim bigotry among supporters of Israel.

The other main issue is social conservatism among Muslims, something that I think a lot of progressives ignore. One really awesome part of this episode is that the victim is a RELIGIOUSLY OBSERVANT MUSLIM LESBIAN. You don’t hear about that everyday. In fact, a briefly-appearing character stupidly assumes she believes in Sharia (very conservative Islam) because she wears a hijab.

One of the last things is that this Muslim, Palestinian-supporting City Council member is an anti- eviction activist.

Lastly, I’d say that in America there’s not much anti-semitism of the Nazi sort or the left-wing sort or the Arab/Muslim sort. But there is one type of anti-Semitism that is unrecognized by most people and that is the Evangelical kind. I discuss that and some related stuff here.

“Payback” Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “Two detectives from the NYPD's Special Victims Unit, Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler, investigate the stabbing and castration of a cab driver, only to learn that the victim had purchased a phony hack license from an inmate (Matt Skollar) at Rikers Island. Further investigation reveals that the dead man was a Serbian soldier named Stefan Tanzic, who had been indicted on charges of ethnic cleansing. Herself a child of rape, Benson has trouble separating herself from the case after realizing that the victim was a rapist. Stabler tries to keep her from crossing the line in her attempts to protect suspects whom she feels were justified in their actions.”

 

Bosnia/Kosovo/NATO

I like the part about the rape-infused ethnic cleansing that took place in the Serb campaign in Bosnia around 1994. Although a lot of leftists weren’t sympathetic because Serbia was seen as in conflict with the US, I always was very concerned about the muslims of Bosnia. That’s based partly in hind-sight on the fact that Serbia consistently went after it’s neighbors in very heavy-handed way- first Croatia, then Bosnia, then Kosovo. Also, I was political friends with a Bosnian woman who said that what the Serbs did in Bosnia and Kosovo was wrong. Because of this I have mixed feelings about the NATO war against Serbia over Kosovo- there were some bad things about it (bombing civilian targets), but I think it was for a good cause.

There were some weird references to homosexuals and one very minor character was gay.

“Hysteria” Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “When a young woman is found dead, she is initially believed to be a prostitute and the latest victim of a serial killer. As they look into her home life, however, Benson and Stabler realize that the victim does not fit the pattern, and may not be connected to the other deaths after all. After Munch's instincts lead the team to believe their suspect is a cop (Joe Lisi), Cragen consults his old friend Det. Lennie Briscoe for help. “
 

This is one where a cop is (one of) the bad guy(s), in this case a misogynist. In all fairness, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s less sexism than racism among police. They seem like they’re very much against violence against women.

“Stocks and Bondage” Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “When a financial analyst and devotee of BDSM is found strangled to death in a leather harness in her bedroom, Benson and Stabler at first suspect either suicide or accidental death from autoerotic asphyxiation However, the discovery of a large quantity of hidden diamonds leads the detectives into a shadowy world of money laundering and securities fraud.”

At one point the head of SVU talks to a witness who is an undocumented immigrant and makes it clear that he’s not with immigration.

Roseanne Reviews F

This is a set of reviews of Roseanne episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I will focus only on the political aspects and will mention what percent of lines spoken by non-family members are spoken by people of color.

“Sweet Dreams” Episode 8, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne tries to relax in the bathtub despite constant interruptions from her family; she ends up dreaming about murdering her husband and kids. The dream ends with Roseanne on trial, her family back from the dead to testify on her behalf, and a lavish musical number.”

Probably about 50 lines were by non-family members and none were by people of color.

“We Gather Together” Episode 9, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “On Thanksgiving Day, Jackie finally tells her mother about her new police career. They end up being the main event with their bickering and snickering flowing throughout the holiday feast. After dinner, Dan gets a huge shock when he learns his father is romancing Crystal.”

Of about 15 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

“Brain Dead Poets Society” Episode 10, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Darlene's homework poem wins teacher recognition, and she is asked to read it at the school's Culture Night. Roseanne is thrilled, but Darlene does not want to go. Roseanne puts her foot down, and the family goes to the event, where Darlene's reading strikes an emotional chord with all.”

Out of about 25-30 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

“Lobo-Cop” Episode 11, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne gets a second job at the Lobo Lounge, but soon discovers that she and Dan are spending too much time apart.”

Out of about 50 lines by non-family members, about 10% are by people of color.

“Chicken Hearts” Episode 13, Season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne's new job at a fast-food restaurant includes an obnoxious teenaged boss. When she invites him to dinner to try to butter him up for better shift hours, his nasty attitude soon convinces everyone that Roseanne deserves better treatment. Glenn Shadix guest-stars as an indecisive customer.”

This episode is, of all the episodes that are about labor and management, probably the furtherest from being pro-union. It DOES however illustrate a labor-management problem and one aspect of why it’s important to talk about working families. Ideally parents shouldn’t have to work when it’s inconvenient for their family life. They’re contributing greatly to our society by raising children and our society should help them with that.

Of about 40 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

Law and Order Special Victims Unit Reviews C

This is a set of reviews of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I’ll often do no more than make brief notes about an episode, although occasionally I’ll go deeper. Also, often there are dissenting main characters on almost any political issue, but you can usually tell what the general position of the show is. All the rest of the reviews are available by clicking on the l&osvu label at the bottom.

“Missing” Season 20. Wikipedia summary is: “The Special Victims Unit are called in after a little girl is found in the trunk of an abandoned car. The girl says her kidnapper wore yellow the same color as Big Bird and the detectives discover that she was adopted by two gay men after a surrogacy arrangement. After interrogating many suspects, the detectives find the girls kidnapper but they also learn that her kidnapper may not be who he claims to be and uncover a years kept secret kept by his mother, who may not be as innocent as she says she is.”

There is a gay male couple and this time it goes a bit further than the normal anti-homophobia of the show, because they have a child (one artificially inseminated a surrogate and the other adopted). Although that stopped being controversial about 15 years ago, it still is more significant than if they were child-less.

“Dearly Beloved” Season 20. Wikipedia summary is “The Special Victims Unit are called in after a woman crashes a wedding claiming that the groom, a therapist, raped her. The detectives talk to several people, who claim that the woman has stalked them at times after sending inappropriate messages on Facebook and Instagram, which challenges the woman’s integrity. However, when it is discovered that the woman is pregnant with her alleged rapist's baby, the woman confides to Benson that she doesn’t know if she can have the baby due to being unable to love it and an upset Benson tells Rollins something that she overheard her mother say years ago.”

Abortion

There are two minor things and one bigger thing worth commenting on. First, the villain, a white man, is at the beginning about to get married to an Asian-American woman. Second, there a brief appearance by another Asian-American woman who is gay

The episode kind of brings up the subject of rape and abortion, even though there is no attempt made to stop a rape victim from having one. As I wrote elsewhere on this blog,

“I’m pro-choice for the following reasons: I don’t know whether or not the fetus is alive but I am sure that A) women should control their own bodies, B) without the right to choose they can’t have full equality, and C) if men could also get pregnant there would be a massive pro-choice majority in this country.”

If I were a pro-lifer, I would believe in making some exceptions and the very first one would be for rape survivors. As the show states, some survivors who get pregnant by their attacker choose to have then child, but if they choose to have an abortion that should be an option. It’s one reason I support Sinn Fein, now the largest party in Ireland. I’m not sure what their current position on abortion is, but they used to be the kind of pro-life party that made a lot of exceptions, including for rape.

“The Good Girl” Season 20 Wikipedia summary is: “The Special Victims Unit are called in to investigate a complicated pregnancy case involving a thirteen year old girl. Benson works to try and find out who the baby’s father is, but getting the answer becomes complicated when the teenage girl is reluctant to expose the baby’s father. She refuses to speak to Benson and the Special Victims Unit, prompting Benson to believe that the baby’s father might be someone close to the teenage girl who may have taken advantage of her.”

There’s a bit about homophobia where a gay teacher at a Catholic Middle School is in the closet because he would be rejected by them. It’s also noteworthy that he’s a white man in a relationship with a black man.

I also learned something pretty sick. In  Missouri, adults can marry children, I think starting at around 10. It’s sick.

“Diss” Season 20 Wikipedia summary is: “When a pop star is assaulted in her own home, the Special Victims Unit are called in to investigate what happened. The detectives soon find out that the pop star’s husband had a heated public feud with another competing recording artist, which could easily have been the motive for the assault. Just as Tutuola gets deep into the case, it is discovered that his family ties to one of the suspects of the assault and as a result, Stone, who is taking the case seriously, orders Benson to take him off the case.”

One of the characters is a bi-racial man and another is his mom. I know that’s not as unusual as it was 20 years ago, but still…. There’s also some stuff about how cops treat black people.

Roseanne Reviews E

This is a set of reviews of Roseanne episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I will focus only on the political aspects and will mention what percent of lines spoken by non-family members are spoken by people of color.

“The Little Sister” Episode 2, Season 2 Wikipedia Summary is: “Jackie takes umbrage at Roseanne's snarky remarks about her career ambitions when she reveals that she has enrolled in the police academy. Becky gets caught reading Dan's girlie magazine; and Darlene commiserates with a drunken Jackie about her frustrations over being the little sister.”

This is the first episode in which Jackie talk about becoming a cop, something she follows through with later on. Although I could put this in the negative column, since in general I’m not real fond of cops, it could be that the Landford police department have no bad apples at all- it’s probably so small it could be that they’re all good people. So, it’s pro-cop to one degree or another, but it’s also a very anti-racist show so maybe it’s not meant as an uncritical pro-cop message. For my thoughts about Black Lives Matter, see this.

This is also either THE or the first pro-porn episode, although it’s mixed. There’s some talk about the idea that women who do porn come from bad families, which is probably mostly not true. I don’t know if that’s part of the feminist anti-porn argument. In any case, overall it’s sort of pro-porn.

“Guilt by Disassociation” Episode 3, Season 2 Wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne gets her hopes up after a friend recommends her for an office job that would allow her to quit her hated telemarketing. After a quick interview, she lands the job—but the celebration is short-lived, when the offer is revoked due to her lack of computer knowledge.”

This episode is significant because out of about 60 lines by non-family members, about 85% are by people of color. And 1-2 lines is by a spanish-speaking immigrant.

“Somebody Stole My Gal” Episode 4, Season 2. Wikipedia Summary is: “Bert (Kevin Dunn), an emotionally needy architect at Dan's new job site adopts the Conners as a surrogate family, much to their chagrin.”

Out of about 50 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color.

“Five of a Kind” Episode 6, season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “A poker night becomes interesting when Roseanne receives a kiss from Dan's friend Arnie. Roseanne tells Jackie about the kiss but later realizes it was only a platonic gesture.”

Of about 60-75 lines by non-family members, about 30% are by people of color.

“BOO!” Episode 7, season 2. Wikipedia summary is: “The Conners celebrate Halloween. Roseanne and Dan compete to see who is the spookiest. Roseanne tries to rekindle the spirit of Halloween for Becky who is upset after she was not invited to a party.”

Out of about 20 lines spoken by non-family members, none are by people or color.

The Stars and Bars II

Recently great attention has been placed on symbols of the Confederacy in our nation. It almost seems like there is a near consensus that such symbols belong in museums and nowhere else. But Trump, who is still supported to one degree or another by a large minority of the population and might be re-elected, passionately believes that there is nothing wrong with such symbols.

I have named this post “The Stars and Bars II” because I did a post about 11 years ago called “The Stars and Bars.” It’s about how legitimizing the Confederate flag contributed to a woman (whose story I read about in the publication of the Southern Poverty Law Center) becoming a Nazi skinhead.

A lot of people believe that the Confederacy was about independence from tyrannical Washington DC rule instead of being about slavery. But when they considered ending slavery to get military support from Europe and win the war, they decided not to. Slavery was more important to them than independence.

When people invoke states rights in connection with the Confederate cause, what they don’t know or ignore is that the Confederate states were unhappy with those northern states that passed laws interfering with the Fugitive Slave Act and which banned slave-owners from bring slaves with them while inside those states. They were against individual states passing anti-slavery laws.

The Confederacy didn’t believe in freedom. According to the movie “CSA: The Confederate States of America” (which is a fake documentary looking at an alternative history where the South wins), they intended to colonize Latin America if successful.

The idea that the South was oppressed by the North is ridiculous. In two ways their voting population was over-represented in the US government.

First, as I explain towards the bottom of this post, the way the US Senate works is undemocratic to the benefit of the smaller states. I have yet to create a 100% fool-proof argument, but take the number two for two Senators and divide it by the population of Wyoming, the smallest state and do the same thing with California. The tiny percentage of a vote that residents of the former have in the Senate is MUCH bigger than the same for Californians, about 67 times bigger. There is nothing wrong about small states being out-voted by big states, it’s not like living in a small state puts you in a protected class and you need some sort of Affirmative Action. I’m willing to bet that the population of the average Confederate state back then was probably about 1/10 the size of the population of the average Union state (UPDATE 9/4/23 I just found a way to sort of nail this down without a lot of work- the average Confederate state had 5.25 congressional districts and the average Union state (including the border states) had 7.4 congressional districts).

There’s also the 3/5 Compromise, where in terms of allocating US House districts, each slave was counted as 3/5 of a person. I’m sure in some Confederate states before the Civil War, this meant at least an additional House seat.

So, the states that formed the Confederacy had MORE power per non-slave resident than the States that remained in the union. They were not oppressed by the North. Even with their inflated political power, they were often just out-voted. Considering that the Constitution gives every state an additional two votes in the Electoral College based on having two Senators, which creates a small and false degree of equality between the states, that statement applies to the election of Lincoln as well.

They were also, if it’s not obvious, just racist. One example of that is that some Black Union soldiers captured by the Confederacy were killed instead of being held as POWs and more generally Black POWs were treated differently than white POWs.  One of the military installations that Trump wants to keep named after a Confederate general, Fort A.P. Hill, is named after someone who had his men execute Black POWs. According to this (two other things in this post come from there), when Texas seceded, it was explicitly in favor of the idea that the white race is superior.

The Confederacy was all about racism and slavery and had no legitimate claim to being oppressed by the North. The Confederate flag is a symbol of racism and should be removed from anything official and military bases named after Confederate generals should be renamed and statues etc. about the Confederacy should be removed to museums where they belong.

Law and Order Special Victims Unit Reviews B

This is a set of reviews of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I’ll often do no more than make brief notes about an episode, although occasionally I’ll go deeper. Also, often there are dissenting main characters on almost any political issue, but you can usually tell what the general position of the show is. All the rest of the reviews are available by clicking on the l&osvu label at the bottom.

“Caretaker” Season 20. Wikipedia summary is: “The Special Victims Unit is called in to investigate what could possibly be their most heinous and disturbing crime when a father and his daughter are found brutally murdered in their home and his son is found wandering the streets, with stab wounds and blood all over him. The detectives investigate the case while trying not to let their emotions get the better of them and when the murderer (Sasha Alexander) is discovered and the motives of the crime are finally uncovered, it comes as a shock to everyone involved and Benson starts having mixed feelings about the nature of the crime committed.”

There’s an appearance by the gay or bi-sexual psychiatrist who works with the DA’s office.

“Hell’s Kitchen” Season 20. Wikipedia summary is “The Special Victims Unit is called in after a woman (Genevieve Angelson) who works at a trendy popular restaurant is sexually assaulted at a VIP after-party. At first, the victim is reluctant to talk to the detectives, wanting to let it go, but they soon discover that there are more victims and that the rapist's assaults go way back to when the rapist was in high school. The detectives are soon led to an ADA (Jacob Pitts) who is a dedicated advocate for women’s rights, who might be holding secrets related to the case. Meanwhile, Benson becomes stressed as Noah’s defiant behavior continues.”

Capitalism and Sexism

There is one aspect of this worth mentioning. One of the two stories is that of a business owner who rapes his female employees. According to one victim, as a prelude to his assault he said “you want that promotion?” This tests my understanding of feminist-Marxist sociology, but it’s about a male employer abusing his power in relation to his female employees to get sexual gratification from them. If I had a better understanding of that kind of sociology I would probably have a lot more to say.

“Alta Kockers” Season 20. Wikipedia summary is: “When a young, promising transgender author is found murdered and physically assaulted, the Special Victims Unit is called in to investigate the case. The detectives are soon led to two elderly, reclusive brothers (Judd Hirsch and Wallace Shawn) who have both been harboring a terrible secret for several decades, which soon leads to a case of child sexual abuse suffered by both of the men in the past, which could change how the investigation goes when a decades old murder is uncovered. The case becomes extremely distressing for Rollins and Benson, who are both mothers, especially Rollins who is almost ready to give birth.”

It starts with the murder of a woman who works as a transgender prostitute. She’s killed by a john who didn’t know she was biologically male and who insists during questioning that he’s not gay.

“Plastic” Season 20. Wikipedia summary is: “The Special Victims Unit is called in to investigate after a young woman is drugged and sexually assaulted. The woman claims she was raped by a famous celebrity surgeon (Mark Feuerstein) and his girlfriend (Alyssa Sutherland). The investigation soon reveals that there are many victims of the surgeon and his girlfriend and the sexual assault case soon turns into a murder case when a body is found where a sexual assault is taped. Things soon take a rather bizarre and shocking twist when the girlfriend of the surgeon’s former identity is discovered, changing how the case goes when she proves to be not who she claims to be.”

The victim gets assistance from a gay male couple. It’s pretty brief but worth mentioning.

“Part 33” Season 20. Wikiepdia summary is: “Stone starts the court trial of a woman (Amy Rutberg) who murdered her husband, who was a police officer. The woman claims her husband was abusive to her, often raping, beating and intimidating her. The complicated case forces the Special Victims Unit to take sides and fight over what they think is right, particularly Rollins and Carisi, who have a heated argument with each other over their thoughts on the case. Meanwhile, the case brings back traumatic memories for Benson, who starts remembering her ordeal with William Lewis several years ago.”

This is sort of an example of them occasionally going after other cops.

“Facing Demons” Season 20. Wikipedia Summary is: “The Special Victims Unit is called in after a young man who was molested as a child commits suicide and try to investigate who was his rapist. The detectives soon discover that the man was in the same little league team that former squad member and Benson’s ex Brian Cassidy was in. Remembering Cassidy telling him he was molested as a child by his little league coach, Stone visits Cassidy and asks for his help to catch what could be a serial child molester who has been molesting boys for decades.”

There is a gay male couple.