tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post6110258704405896995..comments2023-12-28T18:17:11.191-05:00Comments on Gruntled Center: The Young Are Embracing "Mixed Race"Gruntledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14377809238377382438noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-76928897705034187812011-02-02T15:25:23.101-05:002011-02-02T15:25:23.101-05:00Whit: Thanks again for indulging me. I think I se...Whit: Thanks again for indulging me. I think I see where you're coming from now. I wasn't implying that those without PhDs shouldn't have the temerity to comment; I certainly don't have one myself.Brendanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08675330988765544946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-43873301127877538762011-02-02T14:57:31.460-05:002011-02-02T14:57:31.460-05:00Brendan, I thought I did answer your question. Yo...Brendan, I thought I did answer your question. You asked why I commented on a sociology blog if I didn't believe in statistics. I responded that my aversion to statistics was only in one area because of their misuse. And even there, I am merely following your line of argument in which your views on the exact issue evolved.<br /><br />If your question was why I, not a PhD in Sociology, would be interested in, or have the temerity to comment on, a blog about sociology, I would respond that sociology, law, economics, history, political science and policy all would be benefitted by a little cross-fertilization. And the laws of physics might very well be relevant to the nature of regulations concerning motorcycle helmets.Whitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-1765997328876808752011-02-02T14:16:00.404-05:002011-02-02T14:16:00.404-05:00Sookie: I am from Kentucky, and more specifically...Sookie: I am from Kentucky, and more specifically Centre, where healthy debate is fostered and encouraged. I doubt the utility of debate in blog comment sections, and even more so when one side is debating much more fundamental things than the other. No one is going to get much out of a conversation where one participant is expounding on the effects of motorcycle helmet regulations and the other is questioning the laws of physics.<br /><br />Whit: Thanks for clarifying your position; I asked because you seemed to be speaking generally, about the value of all statistics to an "optimistic society." I wish you had answered my question, though. It arose from genuine curiosity, not rhetoric.Brendanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08675330988765544946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-49359240045755979842011-02-02T12:28:23.636-05:002011-02-02T12:28:23.636-05:00Brendan, my comment was directed to the statistics...Brendan, my comment was directed to the statistics about race and Will's suggestion to which you refer. It seems to me the costs, in preserving race consciousness, might outweigh the benefits of race-based statistics. As to other statistics, the same costs might not be present. On the other hand, I find it difficult to say we should fail to gather information because of the use to which the information might be put - Should we stop investigating whether some of the differences in female participation in some disciplines might be due to the underlying ability and inclinations, on average, of women generally?<br /><br />So I am not convinced one way or the other.Whitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-17880849462425698792011-02-02T08:45:44.480-05:002011-02-02T08:45:44.480-05:00Brenden -- I am a 'troll' -- my commentary...Brenden -- I am a 'troll' -- my commentary is offensive and to the point. You play a postmodern game with humanity, i do not.Mr. Mcgranorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12851136550476241757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-37001837623553625192011-02-02T08:44:55.191-05:002011-02-02T08:44:55.191-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Mr. Mcgranorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12851136550476241757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-36743883057338970622011-02-02T00:34:02.980-05:002011-02-02T00:34:02.980-05:00Brenden, don't they encourage healthy debate w...Brenden, don't they encourage healthy debate where you are from?sookienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-66382503617921827792011-02-02T00:17:46.631-05:002011-02-02T00:17:46.631-05:00How boring if we were all sycophants.How boring if we were all sycophants.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-63851077744242717552011-02-01T20:15:26.307-05:002011-02-01T20:15:26.307-05:00Whit: I'm asking this honestly. If you'r...Whit: I'm asking this honestly. If you're "not convinced about the need for statistics," why are you a regular reader and commenter on a sociology professor's blog?Brendanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08675330988765544946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-69894621877327774482011-02-01T14:02:17.510-05:002011-02-01T14:02:17.510-05:00Brendan,
Let's reserve the freighted word &qu...Brendan,<br /><br />Let's reserve the freighted word "oppression" for intentional acts by one person against another. Sure that still happens, but you can't prove that with statistics which could, and probably do, show differentials driven primarily by cultural, historical and other factors rather than by any contemporaneous intentional discrimination.<br /><br />I'm not convinced about the need for statistics. It may stimulate more navel-gazing than is necessary for a forward looking, optimistic society. But I do know that dwelling on "oppression" and being "victims" is a self-fulfilling prophecy.Whitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-19209516365317114772011-02-01T13:18:33.587-05:002011-02-01T13:18:33.587-05:00It's difficult to tell if Whitey Lawful is a s...It's difficult to tell if Whitey Lawful is a standard comment troll or actually mentally ill. Disgusting, if the former. Sad, if the latter.<br /><br />Years ago George Will endorsed the idea of removing race from the census entirely, with his rationale being that it would help erase the concept of distinct races and lead to less prejudice and conflict. At the time I thought it was a daring and interesting idea. It took me years to realize that, like most simple "solutions," it would allow more oppression: without the datum of race to correlate with housing and income, there's no clear way to show the truth that most American minorities continue to be economically crushed.<br /><br />I hope your absorption prediction is true; the combo-checkbox hasn't ended racial divides, but I think it is helping to mainstream the idea of being mixed.Brendanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08675330988765544946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-92229384576320527482011-02-01T12:45:48.293-05:002011-02-01T12:45:48.293-05:00I think we should all call ourselves mixed and be ...I think we should all call ourselves mixed and be done with racial politics. It seems our second black president (the first being Clinton)is in reality mixed, though he seems to prefer his black roots.sookienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-62743026009311619742011-02-01T00:50:40.779-05:002011-02-01T00:50:40.779-05:00They are for the wrong reasons. Its an extention o...They are for the wrong reasons. Its an extention of the commie program to upset western culture or white autonomy--or any autonomy for that matter--unless its perverse and that is what such amalgamation popularly represents.<br />To fulfill the indifferent dream of Martin Luther King. Notice they call their children post-racial. When you cannot not affirm race. So in the case of mulatto offspring -- they'll actually be 'black' due to negritude.Mr. Mcgranorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12851136550476241757noreply@blogger.com