I have no desire to end racism, I'd rather see it play out as far as it can go, instead of staying mired in bulk notions. I used to oppose it, and would argue with people about it, but came to feel I had no more to go on than anyone else, saw we were just being self-important to each other about stuff none of us knew anything about. I don't believe in equality of races, except as a practical averaging measure, to hedge our bets until we find out who is best and why, and what follows from that. For now I don't know, don't know how I'd get that information, or what use I'd have for it.

But some years ago I was glad to see The Bell Curve being hailed as brave scholarship investigating the question. The race question. I keep forgetting what exactly is the race question--who is better, smarter, faster? Who are the six million dollar men? I hope one day we'll be able to track the relative worths of races and demographics of people like issues on the stock market, daily, so that White guy intelligence might close four points lower today, loyalty in Pigmy Teenagers up a point and a half, Cuteness of kittens--but maybe that's digressing? I don't know.

I don't think racism ever was a real idea, just a seductive rationalization, and taking it seriously perpetuates it. I agree with Bobert, because affirmative action is a reasonable averaging method of policy that makes sense until we learn to really separate the wheat from the chaff. It doesn't matter if it's discriminatory, everything is anyway. Might as well have a half-decent reason every now and then.

Herc, my kids have gender ideas that didn't come from us--we think--but what can you do, kids meet up with stuff. There would appear to be an innate tendency of boys to make vvrroom sounds, which was probably very strange before motors. But my kids don't know to call a black kid black, have to describe each kid, and my daughter has never said anything about it in weighing her crushes on boys with darker skin, or tall hair like Jimmy Neutron, or whatever.

Yuk, you might want to know that--among other things--you sound like a humpty-dumptyish interior decorator who can't work a tape measure but with vast intellectual pretensions, with your yuks, and spare me pleases. I look forward to your finding something "yummy" a "treat" or perhaps "kind of wonderful." You seem to be styling opinions to flatter yourself, to pose with, as some of us do, as I know I do, but jeez, ease up. Offer something else in the b.s. bargain. Some people actually mean something when they talk about religion, doesn't hurt to listen, even if, like me, you have trouble seeing it. It might do you some good you seemingly utter high-handed doofus.