Gun Violence and the American Mind

“Reform the mental health care system.” Time and time again, this has been the right-wing response to mass shootings. From three years ago, when 26 lives were lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School, to more recently, when ten people were killed at Umpqua Community College, right-wing politicians have consistently shifted blame onto the American system of […]

Hipsters, Murals, and Putin’s New Youth Movement

It’s easy to see why Russia’s ultranationalist youth groups have earned comparisons to the Hitler Youth. Masterminded in 2005 by Kremlin ideologist and later Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov, Nashi (“Ours” in English) soon became the largest among the pro-Putin youth groups. In its heyday, it was some 100,000 members strong. Nashi members attended patriotic […]