From a discussion group I participate in:<\/p>\n
Why do you feel that the government’s position will change the hearts and minds of people in this society. For instance, the government has for the past 30 years “advocated” equality. Do you believe that much has changed in terms of the perceived equality of the “separate races”?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I do believe that much has changed in the “perceived equality” of “separate races.” I don’t believe that the work is over though either. I don’t trust those who preach that there has been no progress. I also don’t trust those who say that there is no more progress to gain. Continued use of “racial” classifications isn’t helping the cause, but is instead contributing to the problem. Equality cannot be legislated or categorized on the Census and other forms that collect “racial” data for the government. Continued use of these categories does, however, allow the NAACP, NCLR and others to use them as means of creating “racial” spoils wars over taxmonies. This stratgegy was used extensively during the 3 years prior to the 2000 Census in pr campaigns and the Congressional hearings I attended on Census 2000. Check “black only” campaigns were used to try to get “multiracial” people to adhere to the “one-drop” rule on the Census. The scare tactic attached was that checking more than one box would bring back Jim Crow segregation and endanger “black” voting rights. Government endorsement of this “race” business quite literally does have an impact. Granted, the NAACP, NCLR and others will continue their “racial” warfare in other ways, but government complicity in this nastiness will blunted considerably. Again, let me stress, as I have before, that scrapping categories is not a cure-all, but it is a necessary step.<\/p>\n