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Prof. Anthea Butler

@antheabutler.bsky.social
74K followers 5.8K following 2.7K posts

Fellow, Rothermere American Institute, Oxford. Emerita Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought, Penn. Ride or die Eagles fan, traveler and gin drinker.

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Reposted by Prof. Anthea Butler
Casino (1995) @casinofilm1995.bsky.social · 6h
Aren’t you gettin’ tired of all this shit?
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Aaron Swartz, coding prodigy and hacktivist who helped develop RSS and was a co-founder of Reddit, died by suicide after facing $1 million in fines and 35 years in prison for felony charges, just for downloading pdfs of research papers with the intention of making them accessible to the public.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 7h
Whoever cleared Jalen Hurts to be on the plane to and from London needs to be fired. Immediately. Blood clots are no damn joke
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Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 10h
The promise of slavery has had a long-standing presence in AI and Big Tech, where boosters and researchers have been steeped in eugenics and white supremacy for generations now.
An article from Mechanix Illustrated with the headline "You'll Own Slaves by 1965"

There is a drawing of a robot dressing and feeding a man"
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 7h
But sometimes they get it right, so congratulations!
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 11h
I remember that blog and I read it!!
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I Scare You Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 14/10/2026
A big part of how this works is a bunch of soft racists acting as if Black people being subject to racism is some extraordinary thing that rarely happens rather than a routine part of life. So they can act as if these are all individual cases totally unconnected to the last Black person they accused
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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 13h
“This is where ICE grabbed Liam Conejo Ramos and sent that five-year-old little boy to a detention center in Texas. ICE has now snatched up 6,200 children.”
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 12h
I've been thinking about it. And there is something to this. Especially since all of these institutions are signing up for it.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 12h
RIGHT!!!
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
You have a point. Let me step on it now before some douche bro steals it
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
😵‍💫
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
I’m tempted to do it. After reading about hugging face and watching battlestar galactica and the matrix too many times, I’m ready for this moment
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
I guess she never heard of Nat Turner
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
Same but later for me so I’m ok with pouring it up right now.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
I mean right now America is being turned into a nation of dumb asses and data farms. This is why the ai bots are like shoot, we can take this ish over, we’re better organized than these dumb ass humans.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
The other reason after I left was my absolute anxiety and distress about what’s happening to colleagues who do ethnicity, race or gender work. This administration wants to stomp out all of it along with the sciences. It is the race to make our universities and colleges empty husks and kill research
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
Normally I would not have talked about why I left Penn but that thread about academic women hit me hard this morning. My colleagues know the deeper reasons why I left but overall, I never felt truly appreciated for my public or scholarly output at my institution. The gild did recognize it however.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
I get it but tbh I was tired of sacrificing myself for the betterment of others. I’m in the Uk now, intellectually stimulated by interesting colleagues who appreciate what I have to share and help with. In addition my institution got a lot of media from me so I got tired of giving them extra.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
Ohh a story I know all too well. What’s interesting is that these types never think they are being observed. Just blatant.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13h
Ugh. Sadly can relate but I am glad that you made the right choice for yourself.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 14h
thanks, appreciate you!
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 18h
And truth to be told, I retired earlier than I had planned, but I actually like being relaxed and having the kind of intellectual conversations I was not having at my former institution.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 18h
Let me just say I felt a lot of this thread and that's why I retired from Penn.
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
"Men can generally be bad dept citizens as long as their research is valued, but women can’t." "Meritocracy is really just a way [to support] the status quo of a dominant white, male envrnmnt…I thought that if I worked hard enough, my work wld be recognized. But [that's] not how the system works."
academic.oup.com
Devaluation underlies gendered US faculty departures across disciplines and institutions
Abstract. Women faculty experience academia differently from men in many ways, which can lead them to consider leaving their positions. Using a large-scale
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 19h
In Brazil, President Lula sues Zuckerberg, producing evidence that Meta was suppressing pro-Lula accounts in the run up to the last election round. paydayreport.com/lula-files-l...
paydayreport.com
Lula Files Legal Complaint Against Meta Alleging Election Theft
The legal complaint against Meta for election interference is an unprecedented move
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
I left x despite having a large following bc I don’t want to make free content for the world’s wealthiest racist. It’s not worth it to me.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14/10/2026
Look at the shabby state and increasingly authoritarian trajectory of the country and ask yourself if we can endure 2 more years of a lawless Trump administration wreaking havoc with no check from Congress, then vote accordingly. This is not the time for a protest vote or purity politics.
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James Hell Brooks @kleinman.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Probably a bad thing that the right can come up with a totally nonsense conspiracy theory about James Talarico and journalists have to spend valuable time 3 weeks before the election debunking it instead of covering Paxton actually going to Dubai with his mistress on a trip paid for by a criminal
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
"The way in which female protesters and female journalists are displaying their strength and imagination in these last few months will have far-reaching consequences" What do the protests in Delhi mean for the rest of the world? asks the brilliant novelist Amitava Kumar
amitavakumar.substack.com
Let The Arrows Fall
If each sixth person on the planet is an Indian, what do the protests mean for the world?
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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Yesterday afternoon in my town, ICE kidnapped a man walking home from Dunkin Donuts with coffee for his family right off the street. New Jersey is under siege. This is the least violent kidnapping we’ve had, but it’s still a kidnapping.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Palantir didn't have to evade the UK's controls on lobbyists to get astonishing, unminuted access to government ministers and officials, or even to hire them to lobby their colleagues. Why not? Because there aren't any. My column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Palantir is worming its way into the British state – it’s time to curb this controversial US company’s influence | George Monbiot
Tom Watson has said ‘mob rule’ must not decide public contracts. Perhaps he should take a look at his new employer, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Aria Winningson @aria.labeledrude.online · 14/10/2026
happy sickos day to all who celebrate
Wikipedia page for "Sickos"
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 14/10/2026
The Modi government has removed more than a hundred million people from voter rolls and is cracking down on a vigorous protest movement. www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
newyorker.com
Is This the Beginning of the End of Indian Democracy?
The Modi government has removed more than a hundred million people from voter rolls and is cracking down on a vigorous protest movement.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 13/10/2026
🚨 NEWS: Trump is backing out of a scheduled deposition with BBC lawyers THIS FRIDAY, citing “matters of national importance” after weeks of radio silence. His team now wants to delay his testimony until JANUARY 2027—after discovery closes—and the BBC is asking a judge to FORCE him to testify.
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Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
NEWS: CBS News foreign editor Shayndi Raice held a "completely unhinged" all-hands meeting at the network's foreign bureau today, in response to this @oliverdarcy.bsky.social story about Raice pushing back on foreign correspondent Holly Williams's 10/7 story. www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...
Meanwhile, last week, CBS News marked the anniversary of the horrific October 7 terror attack with reports from foreign correspondent Holly Williams. Her morning piece prominently addressed the devastation that Israel's ensuing war had inflicted on Gaza, with Gayle King introducing it by mentioning the staggering death toll. That report, which was critical of Israel, appeared to make it onto the air without incident.

But something peculiar happened later in the day.

Williams was working on a separate report for the "CBS Evening News" and planned to include the death toll from the war in Gaza. That would have provided viewers with important context about the consequences of the conflict that followed the October 7 attack. But Status has learned that Williams received pushback when CBS News brass saw it in her script.

The pushback, Status has learned, was delivered by Weiss' handpicked foreign editor, Shayndi Raice. (Remember, Weiss dismissed former foreign chief Claire Day amid friction over the network's coverage of Israel, as Status previously reported.) I’m told that there were discussions about how to potentially note the tens of thousands who have been killed in the wake of the October 7 attack, but ultimately the context was omitted from the “Evening News” piece.Indeed, Williams' report aired without mentioning the nearly 75,000 people, many of them children, who have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. 

While ABC's "World News with David Muir" devoted only a handful of seconds to marking the anniversary of the terror attack, the "CBS Evening News" report stood in particularly stark contrast to the package that aired on "NBC Nightly News." The NBC report prominently acknowledged the enormous death toll in Gaza and the broader devastation the war had inflicted across the region.

Suffice to say, I’m told Williams was frustrated by the intervention from CBS News leadership. In fact, I’m told the matter has prompted her to seriously weigh her long-term future at the network and whether she would like to remain at CBS News.

The CBS News spokesperson did not provide comment on the incident with Williams.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
could be but also this is a cancer marker in his family. Mom had it and also his older brother has it now.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
OHH this might cheer me up a little. Just a little.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Also, Pope Francis had a part of a lung removed early in his life. SMDH. Finally get someone who is a stand up fight for justice guy and this shit happens.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
If you are wondering why I am talking about praying when I don't usually, see here www.reuters.com/world/pope-l...
reuters.com
Pope Leo had lobe of lung removed as doctors found cancer, Vatican says
Pope Leo had a lower lobe ​of his right lung ‌removed during surgery on Tuesday and was diagnosed with ​lung adenocarcinoma, a common ​form of lung cancer, the ⁠Vatican said in a ​medical bulletin.
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Hassan Kariem, 42, died after falling from a Six Flags Over Georgia roller coaster. A family friend who described him as a “fighter” says he survived cancer and a battle with COVID. He and his daughter survived a car fire just weeks ago, she said.
wsbtv.com
Six Flags death: Man survived car fire weeks before roller coaster death
He was also a cancer and COVID-19 survivor.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
I can't say what I want to on here but let me just say that my raggedy Catholic self will pray for this Pope because he can't go before THAT MAN.
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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Oh Wow.
Tweet one:
James Talarico posts a picture with Kacey Musgraves.

Tweet two:
Kristi Noem responds "I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day.

And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico."

Tweet three:
Kacey Musgraves responds "I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it."
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The Editorial Board @editorialboard.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Paxton "has said he’s on a God-given assignment to protect Texas from the political left, and his supporters see him as a true believer ... "But ... he has not said what church he attends, or if he attends one regularly." www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/ele...
houstonchronicle.com
As Ken Paxton attacks James Talarico on faith, his church remains a mystery
The GOP Senate nominee talks a lot about God and Christianity. But he hasn't said much recently about his own religious journey.
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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Thank you @adamserwer.bsky.social for the fullest account of what’s actually dangerous in higher ed right now. State censorship at incredible scale. And for particulars of expert history framed as ideology I note @sethrockman.bsky.social on the block here. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...
theatlantic.com
All the Things You’re Not Allowed to Say In Texas
The state now controls what professors can teach.
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Sabrina Vourvoulias @followthelede.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
A new column by @willbunch.bsky.social about how York County, Pa. has "became the most dangerous place for immigrants in the eastern U.S." www.inquirer.com/opinion/york...
inquirer.com
How York County became the most dangerous place for immigrants in the eastern U.S. | Will Bunch
Local cops working with ICE in York County, Pa. have made hundreds of arrests, with many more afraid to leave home.
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Stephanie Farr @farfarraway.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The @inquirer.com keeping freedom of the press alive in the city where it was founded. www.inquirer.com/opinion/edit...
inquirer.com
The Case for Impeachment | Opinion
A series of essays illuminating how Donald Trump — an out-of-control president focused on his own profiteering while trampling the rule of law — is a clear and present danger to the republic.
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
for as long as i've been alive, republicans have ran the same playbook: a few weeks before voting begins, they roll out completely fabricated smear campaigns. these things are always coordinated, so the talking points take over the news. the party is never electorally punished for their dishonesty.
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Norm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Nick Sirianni has taken refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He is refusing to fly home to Philadelphia and is requesting political asylum.
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Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Still mad and sad about it
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