[MD] Platt's race question

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Platt]
The white race is now often associated automatically with racism.

[Arlo]
Much as I find the "race" categorization appalling (whether used by 
blacks, white, reds or purples... really, it is a meaningless concept 
used only to create and engender artificial distinctions and 
hierarchies of "superiority"), this is actually a semi-valid point. 
At a diversity seminar here at PSU, which I had the misfortune of 
attending, I caused a bit of problem when I criticized the use of a 
dichotomous graph showing "blacks" (and other peoples of color) as 
"vibrant, outgoing, social, colorful, community-oriented, etc" and 
"whites" as "cold, introverted, asocial, bland, etc". It was just 
another example of creating useless dichotomies. Of course, the 
reverse happens as well. "Blacks" are often pigeonholed by the media 
as being uneducated, asocial, dug-obsessed, bitch-slapping, losers. 
In the end, all this means is that there is much more growing to do, 
on both sides, before these ridiculous dichotomies can be tossed into 
the historical dustbin. But so long as some people, black or white, 
define their superiority, puff up their ego, and seek universal 
scapegoats for all society's ills, I have a feeling they will be 
around for a long time.

God knows, shouldn't we be saying "that person is a Good person", not 
"that person is a black" or "that person is a white", or "blacks do 
this" or "whites do that"?  Isn't that the MOQ-way?