Taylor it says invalid item, and there's no picture or anything...

Hey Al, just to fuck with those people using Firefox or whatever... you should periodically change the filename of your picture. Cheers!

Beck, scroll down halfway through the page. It's there, halfway down the page and the item number sgv233 (or whatever it is) is highlighted for you.

Yeah, as I was posting my last message I totally thought to myself "shit, these issues are purely stemming from relative perspectives of soc vs. psych". I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw that. I do absolutely agree with you that "covert forms of racism which occur systemically and institutionally still persist". It's so easily swept under the social carpet however, that it is often difficult for us to detect. That's why I found the idea of using taboo as a benchmark as such a revelatory concept! Racism (or any other phobic -isms for that matter) is a concept that is hidden in our society. Taboo subjects on the other hand are made socially explicit. Since these taboos are merely the by-product of that so-called carpet-sweeping, they can be used as a sort of gauge.

Here's an example of what I mean:

The fact that the word "nigger" is a linguistic taboo (for my ethnic class, that is) is a clear indicator of racism alive and well in our culture. When hate is no longer classified by race, the word will lose its power. But one often forgets that it's a two-way street; not only must white people have no more reason to use the word (by it's current definition that is), but there's also a certain disdain by black people towards any white people who use the term. By hating the people that use the word, the word maintains it's credibility regardless. I'm not proposing that one side hates the other any more or less, nor am I pointing out that black people are to blame for the persistance of the word, but clearly there is a certain element of "hate" present on both sides that propogates the definition of it.

Also, I don't argue that your examples may have underlying elements of racism associated with them. But I think that it is a political and beaurocratic racism that stems from our individual problems with micro-racism, and as such I would argue that it has to be dealt with in that order. The root of the problem must be addressed; and to me, it is a problem that should be dealt with at the cultural psychological level.

I could stir shit up but I won't... Tee hee...

Taylor... I don't get the jacket thing... it's not at the link you posted

For anyone with firefox you can just right click on Alberts picture, go to "adblock image" and you're done

For that much money that jacket better be bullet proof! Either that or made of leather or some other exotic material. Maybe give him the ability to save the world. I don't think I would pay that much for a jacket.

I forgot to point out that at the ludicrously generous exchange rate of 0.815 cents to the American dollar, Simon's jacket cost a whopping $1,404.92 Canadian dollars.

Everyone please feel free to give him shit for the extravagance of his jacket. I told him he could tell me how much it cost straight up and I wouldn't ever bother him about it, OR I would alternatively find out myself and make sure he never heard the end of it. Banking on my lazier tendencies, Simon foolishly chose the second option. Now he must face the consequences of his indiscretion.

Taylor, i don't entirely agree in the self evidency that in solving individual personal racism international institutionalized racism will follow. In a direct example would be the Civil Rights Movement- in many ways racism fostered against Blacks in the United States has been curbed, and yet, as i suggested earlier covert forms of racism which occur systemically and institutionally still persist. Rosa Parks can sit at the front of the bus now, but will she be taking that bus to Boeing initiated job program that inflicts a slave labour's wage? The same conclusion can be drawn from the gains taken from the feminist movement and the persistence of partriarchy in society. My point had more to do with the fact that interpersonal "micro" level racism is constantly the issue of debate, and that exactly from what you said, larger issues of racism stem from our inability to deal with personal forms of intolerance- and in this way institutional racism often deflects its exercise of hate. in some ways i think you're right in pointing out that the issues of "macro" level racism are not really racism at all- i think if you look at all my examples they concern themselves mostly with groups and their Conflict over resources. in that sense, race is an externality to the discussion. the problem is then that race exasterbates those inequalities in resources- for the reason that Africans as a race of people dying of AIDS are coded as dependent, uncivilized or untechnological instead of addressing more concrete reasons for their debt burdens which have absolutely nothing to do with the race and character of their people. this is the same process of misidentification with race that codes "terrorist" as middle eastern, and not any other possible race (we've all heard of the Unibomber yes?)

as for your raising of Altruism, i am really unsure how to address that. seems to me if governments are willing to initiate unjust wars in the name of resource acquisition it doesn't seem like Altruism works at a macro level where Conflicts over Resources are all encompassing- whereas Altruism at the personal level, at the level of families and friends seems like something much easier to address, execute and understand.

(by the way, this is a wonderful example of Sociology and Pyschology butting heads)