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Entry: Two New Myth-Busting Books Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/two_new_myth_busting_books#5096 Post contents: </i>The reason why America has such a ‘racial’ mess today is precisely because of a continuing belief in ‘race’ as something categorically definable...<i> I think you are overstating your case a bit - race does exist as a definable category (although, as of late, the definitions have been stretched and blurred quite a bit). It is as definable biologically as gender or any other physical characteristic. Now the question of what importance to give to that physical trait is a wholly separate issue. I would agree that the importance (or emphasis) that has been put on race has caused quite a bit of a mess. I think it is also a bit naive to believe there really is no prejudice. Prejudice - pre-judgment - is as natural as breathing. Again the issue is not so much whether prejudice exists, but how it affects behavior. My first instinct as a "pre-judgment" would be to trust someone of the same race, nationality, creed, political philosophy, etc. on an issue pertaining to that characteristic over an "outsider" so to speak. But it would be just that - an initial "pre-judgment". I would (hopefully) not be locked into that pre-judgment, and as further information unfolds, I may agree with the the outsider. If the prejudice locks you into that pre-judgment, then you may have a problem. Sent at: 2008 05 16