>The Cracker's got a point. >Honky-boy, aint't-got-no-rhythm, twelve-sandwich-eatin', pinky-in-the-air, >sissy-boy Thor >> >> In adhering to the party line - from nigger to negro to coloured >> to black to African to whatever - & in gingerly avoiding anything >> that could be mistaken for a racial clich=C8, the former masters >> seem to me to have replaced the shamboek with an even more >> humiliating condescension. >> >> Scottie B. certainly, this can be a problem. it is very easy to be condescending in conversations like these, and i think it's something for white people (in this context) to be very conscious of. if i were to say "i know everything about racism" or if i were to proclaim to be a spokesperson for black people, that would be condescending. it would also be condescending if i told black people how they should feel. but that is not what i am doing. in my opinion, racism is alive and kicking, and recognizing or addressing it is no more of a "party line" than a man recognizing a female coworker is being sexually harrassed. how we then deal with those facts determines the benefit that can come about. i think there is a difference between acknowledging a very real problem and tiptoeing around it by attempting to be politically correct. political correctness if used as a way to appear intelligent and informed, or as a way to simply avoid an issue IS very condescending. but i'm not talking about politics, either. the changes that still need to occur are at a much deeper level than just correcting one's speech, although argueably, any writer understands the power of words to convey meaning, intentionally or not. i doubt that you (scottie) are suggesting that there is no real way for white people to discuss racism without being condescending, because i believe that you see that racism is not a just a thing of the past. if you (or anyone else) have ideas about more effective ways to discuss these issues, i would be happy to hear them. please don't take that as being sarcastic - i sincerely would like to hear your thoughts. elizabeth