From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Mon Aug 06 2001 - 19:22:15 MDT
Mike Wiik writes
> I don't recall there ever being a self-identified black person on this
> list. I haven't noticed any yet participating in this race discussion.
> If there are black people on this list, it would be a shame if they felt
> they could not reasonably participate.
It would be a shame if *anyone* with a good mind and with something that he
or she wanted to contribute felt that they could not reasonably participate.
There isn't any reason limit what you are saying to any special group.
One very lovely thing is that on email lists one's race or weight or
nicotine addiction need not arouse the immediate and usually harmful
reactions that people all too often have, for example, "Ugh! He's
a smoker", or "Ugh. She's a woman!", or "Ugh. He's fat.", or "Ugh.
She's asian." Let us pause for a moment to express sympathy for
the people possessed of such harmful reactions (in addition, of course,
to the usual sympathy for the targets of their reactions). In some
cases, racists or woman-haters or those who hate smokers or despise
the overweight *cannot* help it. They have not yet achieved sufficient
control over their reactions (in those cases where they even want to).
It is a very good thing that people do *not* feel obligated to reveal
their race, sexual orientation, weight, or drug habits on discussion
lists. I sincerely hope that you are not asking that they do so.
Lee Corbin
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