On Thu, 23 Dec 1999 18:20:11 -0800 "Paul Dillon"
<dillonph@northcoast.com> writes:
(cut) I'd be curious to know why you think the obvious issue that Rachel
first raised >concerning the racial category "black, Afro-american, etc"
hasn't been sufficient to >widely discredit him. It doesn't surprise me
that Jensen exists, what surprises is
>the wide spread willingness to entertain these ideas among folks who you
>would think should know better.
Obviously we're not dealing with an issue that's receiving objective
treatment. In this country "race" has always served as a lightning rod
for a myriad of social attitudes, myths, fears, etc., much as
antisemitism did in Europe before WWII. However, one clue as to the
current situation is obvious - the "backlash" against affirmative action.
We have been through some very rough economic times, particularly rough
for white, middle-class males who have been taught that financial and
career "success" is essential to their manhood. Now they're faced with
the specter of a whole new population of competitors. Believing in
Jensen is comforting, a way of simultaneously saying to oneself, "Don't
worry, they can't get you," and accounting for one's lack of billionaire
status by maintaining (as I have heard middle class people in the NY
civil service state flatly) that "You can't get a good job any more
unless you're a minority." Even with the economy doing well now, who
knows what will be next year (or month, or week)? Fear is one of the
greatest motivators of all.
Rachel
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