: I saw this site, endracism.org,

February 05, 2001

I saw this site, endracism.org, advertised at a movie theatre recently, so I thought I'd check it out. I

don't really recommend going there, because it is a stupid and ugly site, but I think I'm going to rant

about it for a little while.

My first problem with the site is the interface. It is ugly and difficult to navigate, so people who aren't

fully comfortable with the internet will have a hard time using it. Also, it requires you to have the most

sophisticated computer software to view it, which means it's excluding at least 75 percent of its potential

audience.

And then comes the message. I almost feel guilty for disliking the message, since it's one I ought to

like: "racism is evil." Yes, yes it is. But how do they define racism? It's not only skin-based

discrimination, but also ageism, sexism, ableism, classism, "genism" and "specisism." I kid you not.

It seems to me that by putting all of these -isms under one blanket term, they're diluting their message. A

lot of people can identify with arguments against racism, and might even be swayed by them, but what about

this quote:

"The ultimate form of racism is the belief that the human race is superior to other species with whom we

may not be able to mate -- either animals or Vulcans. The more scientists learn about apes, for example,

the more closely related to them we appear to be."

How stupid can you get? I happen to sort of agree with the message, but if you call everyone who thinks

they're better than an earthworm a racist, how are you going to accomplish anything?

Also, by lumping "geneism" and "specisim" in with skin color based discrimination, you're undermining the

argument that race is socially constructed. There is no such thing as black or white people, except in as

much as they are created by society, but there is such a thing as biologically-based genetic differences.

Argh!!

I could go on and on about this stupid self-defeating page, but I really need to go to sleep. I just get so

frustrated when fellow liberals shoot themselves in the foot like this. Okay, enough. Goodnight.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at February 5, 2001 01:18 AM