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People can't believe that Detroit is actually east of Atlanta. Here's why it's true.

You'll never see America the same way.

via Pexels, Wikipedia and Wikipedia

Is Atlanta really west of Detroit?

As the old saying goes, “the map is not the territory,” and sometimes maps can be misleading. David Blattman, head of production at Barstool Sports, shared four unbelievable facts about U.S. geography on Twitter, all of which appear to be wildly incorrect, but aren't.

“These geography facts have left me speechless,” Blattman wrote on Twitter.

  • Alaska is the northernmost, westernmost & easternmost state.
  • You can travel north, south, east, or west in Stamford, CT & the next state you hit is NY.
  • Reno is further west than LA.

  • Detroit is further east than Atlanta.

Each one of these bullet points deserves a fact check, but Snopes stepped in to make sense of the last one, which feels false. Is Detroit, a midwestern city, really east of Atlanta, a city that’s a 4-hour drive from the east coast?

Yes, Detroit is east of Atlanta.


“Atlanta is actually west of Detroit. Its coordinates are (emphasis added): 33.7488° N, 84.3877° W while Detroit's are 42.3314° N, 83.0458° W,” Bethania Palma at Snopes confirmed. The fact-checking site reached out to geographer Maria Lane for further comment.

She explained that our eyes are fooled by their locations because the east coast extends further east as it moves north. Conversely, in the south, the coast moves towards the west. This makes Atlanta appear to be much further east.

We are also fooled by how we’ve determined what’s “east coast” and what's "midwest.”

"So it shouldn't be any surprise that places on the southern 'east coast' are further west than places on the northern 'east coast,'" Lane wrote. "And northern places that we consider 'inland' or 'midwest' when compared to those far-north areas of the east coast, can still be relatively farther east than coast-adjacent places in the South."

This Tumblr post from @realtivegeography explains it perfectly.

https://www.tumblr.com/relativegeography/111177770466/atlanta-is-farther-west-than-detroit

So what about the other three hard-to-believe geographical facts?

Alaska is the northernmost, westernmost and easternmost state.

It makes sense that Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state. It also has the title of easternmost because the Aleutian Islands arc right up to the edge of the Western Hemisphere and cross over into the Eastern Hemisphere. Alaska’s Semisopochnoi Island (179° East) is so far west it actually lies in the Eastern Hemisphere. Alaska’s Little Diomede island lies only 4 km from Big Diomede, a Russian territory. In the dead of winter, when the water around the island freezes, one can walk from the U.S. to Russia in under an hour.

https://mapsontheweb.zoom-maps.com/post/173359016889/due-to-the-aleutian-islands-alaska-is-the

You can travel north, south, east or west in Stamford, Connecticut, and the next state you hit is NY.

Blattman explained this perfectly in a tweet with a map showing how it works.

Reno is further west than Los Angeles.

How can Reno, Nevada, be west of Los Angeles, California? Los Angeles has beaches, and Reno is 128 miles from the coastline. Much like how the east coast recedes west as it heads south, the west coast does the same, pushing Los Angeles to the east of Reno.

reno nevada, los angeles california, west coast

Reno, Nevada in relation to Los Angeles, California.

via Google Maps

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geography
Well Being

Attacks on Asian-Americans need to stop. Here's what we can all do to help.

TRT World/Twitter

Attacks on Asian-Americans and Pacific-Islanders (AAPI) have been highlighted by advocacy groups since early in the pandemic, but it took nearly a year for the incidents to start receiving the broad media coverage they deserve. Despite stunning statistics in the rise in anti-Asian sentiment, discrimination, and violence, it's taken vicious attacks on Asian-American elders and a horrific shooting spree of Asian-American women to get the nation's full attention.

A killing spree at three spas in the Atlanta area left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent, last night. Details are still emerging, but we know that the shooter was a white man who loved guns and who purposely and premeditatedly targeted these businesses, driving dozens of miles between shootings at three different spas. We know that Asian-Americans make up around 3% of the population of Georgia and 75% of the victims of this shooting. We know that the killer blamed a sex addiction and targeted massage parlors (which are largely staffed by Asian women) because they represented "a temptation."

And we know that these shootings add another frightening layer to skyrocketing attacks on people of Asian descent in the U.S.

In February, the death of an 84-year-old Thai man who was violently tackled in his driveway shone a spotlight on the issue in the Bay Area, where a spate of attacks has erupted in recent months. A video of a 91-year-old man being violently shoved to the ground in Oakland prompted actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu to offer a reward of $25,000 to anyone who could help identify the attacker. (It turned out police already had him in custody as a suspect for other similar attacks.) A 64-year-old Vietnamese grandmother was assaulted and robbed of $1000 while walking to her car in San Jose as well, and Chinatown businesses have been hit by an alarming increase in robberies.

Amanda Nguyễn, CEO and founder of the civil rights organization Rise, shared a plea on Instagram for people to raise awareness about the increase in anti-AAPI violence last month.

Other kinds of attacks have also made headlines in recent weeks. Mike Nguyen, who owns an Asian restaurant in San Antonio, went on CNN last week to speak out against Texas governor Greg Abbott lifting the state's mask mandate. Four days later, the front of his restaurant was graffitied with the phrases like "No Mask," "Kung Flu," "Commie," "Hope U Die" and "Ramen Noodle Flu." Nguyen, whose background is Vietnamese and French, was also greeted with the words "Go Back 2 China" spray-painted on a bench outside the restaurant.

According to NYPD data reported in the Queens Chronicle in September, anti-Asian hate crimes had already increased 1900% from 2019 to 2020 before fall even hit. (In the same time period, anti-Jewish and anti-Black hate crimes in New York had decreased, so it's not a matter of overall hate crimes increasing.) The Anti-Defamation League reported in June that there had been a "significant" number of reports of harassment and attacks against people in the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, and the United Nations stated in October that hate crimes against Asian-Americans were happening at "alarming levels," citing 1800 incidents in just two months, from March to May of 2020.

Reading people's individual stories, it's clear that the vast majority of incidents include references to the COVID-19 pandemic. People blame Asian-Americans for the coronavirus—a xenophobic idea that has been inflamed by politicians who insist on calling it the "China virus" or "Kung flu." (That's not merely conjecture; Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council said that their data showed that the increase in racist and xenophobic attacks was "catalyzed by rhetoric from the president and other government leadership.")

The AAPI community needs every American of goodwill to step up, speak up, and act to put an end to these attacks. Here are some things everyone can do to help:

- Personally: If you see or hear someone using anti-AAPI language, say something. Don't let phrases like "China virus" or "Kung Flu" or comments blaming Asian people for the pandemic go unchallenged. Commit to not being a passive bystander, but rather an active disrupter, of harassment when you see it. If you witness an incident, report it at stopaapihate.org.

- Socially: Get to know AAPI members of your community and listen to their concerns. Raise awareness by following and sharing the hashtag #StopAAPIHate on social media. Speak out about Anti-Asian hate crimes and share positive stories about people from the AAPI community as well.

- Educationally: Seek out information about the kinds of discrimination people in the AAPI community face. Click on the links from this article or simply Google terms like "Anti-Asian" and "AAPI hate crimes." If you're a parent, teach your kids how to recognize when their peers are engaging in anti-Asian jokes or behavior and how to be an ally.

- Organizationally: Make sure your workplace and organizations you're a part of are committed to protecting AAPI members of your community from harassment. This PDF from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance put together has specific action items employers and organizations can use as a guide.

- Monetarily: Buy from AAPI-owned businesses, many of which have suffered during the pandemic both from economic loss and discriminatory attacks. Support AAPI advocacy and anti-discrimination organizations such as iHollaback! (an anti-harassment organization that provides free bystander intervention training) or the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (a coalition of more than 100 organizations advocating for AAPI communities). Keep an eye out for crowdfunding efforts for individual victims of hate crimes.

- Democratically: Reach out to your local, state, and national government representatives to voice your support for the AAPI community and ask them to denounce xenophobic rhetoric in politics. Learn about the president's plan for the AAPI community and push him to take action on those commitments. Elevate the voices of elected officials from the AAPI community and those who speak up against anti-AAPI discrimination.

You can also check out more anti-Asian violence resources here.

Let's all commit to creating a society in which everyone is uplifted and where all people can feel safe no matter who we are or where we come from.

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racial justice
Culture

A black couple turned away a contractor who arrived with a giant Confederate flag on his car

The legacy of American Civil War is one with a lot of emotional weight for most Americans, one flashpoint has always been what is the Confederate flag. For some a symbol of historical pride, but for others it is a reminder of centuries of oppression and bigotry. And when Allison Brown saw the contractor she'd recently hired pull up to her house in an Atlanta suburb with a giant Confederate flag hanging from his SUV, she took a stand.


Confederate flag capture on ring cam

"Hi, you know what I do apologize. I know you've come from a very long way but we're going to use someone else," Allison said politely when she spotted the Confederate battle flag. Her husband Zeke said that she was upset with the flag, to which Allison replied, "No, I'm beyond upset with the flag."



The contractor offered to take the flag down but the damage was done. "No, you don't need to take it down. You can continue to believe what you need to believe, sir. But no, I cannot pay you for your services. Thank you, have a good day." And with that the man got into his car and left.



The story went viral and people did not shy away from praising Brown for her steadfastness in an emotionally charged situation, and for treating the man like she would like to be treated.

The battle flag, or the flag we know today as the CSA (Confederate States of America) flag, did not start life as the official banner of the Confederacy. It was first the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia and was only adopted in the upper third of the official flag in 1863. The version we know today did not come to be known as the CSA flag until the early twentieth century when it was revived by the KKK and the Dixiecrat party.



Despite the historical murkiness of the flag's true history people remain divided about its meaning. In 2015 a pew poll found that, "Fifty-seven percent of the country saw the flag as a symbol of Southern pride, including 66% of all whites and 75% of Southern whites. But 72% of blacks saw a symbol of racism."

With that in mind maybe the contractor should have had some idea that showing up to a black family's home with the giant Confederate battle flag was a maybe a bad idea, but it appears that "pride" took center stage.

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This motorist's kind gesture is a reminder that we should all do good.

You're headed for work when you see someone stuck on the side of the road. What do you do?

Most of us would probably have to admit that we usually keep driving when we see situations like these. We tell ourselves that the stranded person is probably fine or that someone else will stop.

That’s why this video of a man stepping out of his truck to help an elderly man has already racked up over 6 million views on Facebook and is making headlines around the country.

The clip shows a driver abandoning his truck on a busy street to gently guide a man with a walker to safety from oncoming traffic.



Truck driver helps elderly man cross the street

Motorist captures the heartwarming moment a kind driver hopped out of his truck to help an elderly man across a busy road in Griffin, Georgia. The good samaritan stopped traffic to make sure he got to the other side of the street safely.

Posted by ABC News on Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Since being posted on March 11, the video’s been gathering attention from the masses.

And while some people seem to have taken the moment to preach about traffic safety (there’s always someone!), most reacted by commenting on the motorist’s humanity and good-heartedness — two things we all need more of in our daily lives.

E'Ondria Weems, the woman who shot the video, told local news station 11 Alive in Atlanta that she was concerned about the elderly man when she saw him trying to make it across the street. But before she could do anything, she said, the truck driver already had things in hand, making the man’s safety his top priority.

"It was so nice of him to do that. Makes you think there are still nice people in this world," Weems told the station.

What’s extraordinary about the video is just how ordinary it is.

Justin Jackson, the man who’s since been identified as the good Samaritan, said he wasn’t doing anything special. "The old man was walking across the streets and people were flying by and I was like 'l got to stop,'” he told 11 Alive.

We all know we should help other people, but we’re often too busy or preoccupied to notice all the small good deeds we could be doing to make each other’s lives easier.

Often, we become so caught up in global issues that we forget about the change we can effect in our own communities.

That’s why the acts of people like Justin Jackson and Evoni Williams — the Waffle House waitress who recently got viral attention after helping a man cut his food — are so important. They’re reminders that we could all be doing better and helping our fellow people.

And what we do doesn't have to be huge. As Jackson proves, it could be as simple as taking 30 seconds out of your day to steer someone to safety.

Take a look around as you go into the world today, and if there’s a chance for you to be kind to someone else, take it. Sure, a camera may snap the incident and turn you into a viral celeb for a moment, but the support you’ll provide and the reminder that the world can be a kind place is worth way more than any other attention or reward you might receive.

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