The Internet is full of interesting things to read outside of The A.V. Club—no, really! In our periodic Read This posts, we point you toward interesting or noteworthy pieces that caught our eye.


The world as David Simon sees it—as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun, and as the creator of acclaimed streetwise TV shows like The Corner, The Wire, and Treme—has always been out of alignment with that of Republican Party, which relies on a more racially homogenous base. So it should come as no surprise that Simon understands the tectonic demographic shifts implied by last night’s reelection of Barack Obama. As he notes in an eloquent blog post entitled, “Barack Obama And The Death Of Normal,” Ronald Reagan won his mandate an electorate composed of 89 percent white voters; now “that number is down to 72 percent and falling.” The nut graf:

This election marks a moment in which the racial and social hierarchy of America is upended forever. No longer will it mean more politically to be a white male than to be anything else. Evolve, or don’t. Swallow your resentments, or don’t. But the votes are going to be counted, more of them with each election. Arizona will soon be in play. And in a few cycles, even Texas. And those wishing to hold national office in these United States will find it increasingly useless to argue for normal, to attempt to play one minority against each other, to turn pluralities against the feared “other” of gays, or blacks, or immigrants, or, incredibly in this election cycle, our very wives and lovers and daughters, fellow citizens who demand to control their own bodies.


The full article is here. And please don’t miss Keith Phipps’ ongoing coverage of Treme’s third season.