I hadn't yet thought about the opposite characteri...

2007-03-17T16:28:00.000-05:00

I hadn't yet thought about the opposite characteristics of racism, such as kindness or compassion, but I fully agree with Mr. Lourie's statement. I don't think we are born with any specific traits, which further supports the idea of being raised and taught such things.

I particularly like the comments of both Mr. Louri...

2007-03-16T22:30:00.000-05:00

I particularly like the comments of both Mr. Lourie and Michael Abraham about the issue of "born racist." I agree with Mr. Lourie that we're not born with any innate value system--the way(s) we behave toward others, both positive and negative, are learned behaviors. I think Michael is on to something important when he says that what helps Huck overcome the prejudices he's ingested from society is that he has the opportunity to encounter Jim as a human being (reminiscent of MLK's allusion to Martin's Buber's I-Thou relationship replacing the I-It relationship). What Bull Connor lacks is the ability to see blacks in any other way than through the window of his own limited and skewed vision--he doesn't see them as human beings. We have to be open to the possibility of sharing our own common humanity.

Dr. No

Comments on The Struggle For Equality In America: Born Racist?

I hadn't yet thought about the opposite characteri...

I particularly like the comments of both Mr. Louri...