Ebbie,

"Society as a whole" is, after all, just a bunch of inviduals. With a few exceptions, I've always found that laws formalize some widely help attitude, give it form and structure rather than serve as the catalyst/cause of some shift in attitude. Zip codes are more procedural and practical.

The "is there anyone here who's...." is wrong. Demeaning to the person asking the question, disrespectful to the audience. It's coercive, asking others to share in what is (at the basis) bigotry. Protesting doesn't equate with taking a stand against bigotry but more with getting labeled as not having a sense of humor.

There is a fine line between that kind of demeaning humor and satire. Finding it is sometimes hard. Maybe it's a matter of intent.

Note: While the above proscription against use of demeaning humor applies to Trolls it does not apply to troll as any attention he gets, positive or negative is pathetically apprecaited.

McGrath,

Read Crane Brinton "Anatomy of a Revolution". Great book that traces common elements in four revolutions (American, English, French and Russian) including the very important use of labeling to polarize and define the sides.

It seems to me that most of politics is ONLY about winning, with little attention to dealing with and solving problems. Most true when peolpe start capitalizing the "C", "L" and "R". But how about my favorite: a moderate radical reactionary?

Regards

John