How could it be taken otherwise? Oh yeah, by zodiac.

Let us not forget the tapioca beards of the negroe jesuse lawne ornamtents.

umbilical. cat's, rabbit's

If I was a Negro, I wouldn't want White people tiptoeing around me because they were terrified of inadvertantly saying something racist. Imagine trying to be friends with someone who was subconsciously opposed to you, and was only capable of a pseudo-objective analysis of your behaviour, implemented via a complex feedback mechanism of ropes, pulleys, and two-way mirrors. I agree that the vast majority of people who are aware of their racial biases try to compensate somehow, but it's nigh impossible to calculate how much you should compensate. Most people overcompensate, and become patronising. They go up to a Black and for no reason just say something like "Denzel Washington... what a fantastic actor. He's not my favorite actor though. That would have to be Mr Sidney Poitier." (a snippet from The Office) Incidentally, the test is based on the times taken to respond to each question, not on how many errors you make. Of course if you make too many errors, there won't be enough data to draw statistically significant conclusions. The survey bit is optional, and does not affect the test (it is included so they can use your data to make exciting new discoveries in the field of Advanced Negro Engineering.)

Our brains have evolved to have unconscious biases. In many ways these unconscious biases are incredibly advantageous, if not necessarily to us as individuals, to the propagation of our genes. At least, that was true in the past. In our current society, the biases and instincts we naturally tend to have/develop are often at odds with the ideals and values of society. What counts is not whether you have such incorrect biases and instincts. Virtually everybody does. What counts are the conscious choices you make about whether or not to align yourself with the values & ideals society is moving towards. And it is moving. Black people don't have equality in America, but they've more equality than they had a generation ago, and it's likely they'll have more equality in another generation than they do now. Perhaps even as much equality as they have in Canada and other more enlightened nations. Similarly, women do not yet have equality in America, but they have rather significantly more equality than they had a generation ago, and will likely have even more equality a generation from now. Perhaps by then America will have even had a female national leader, as several more enlightened nations have already. Health care is another excellent example. In the past, health care was grossly unequal but now most enlightened nations have some sort of system that provides access to health care to virtually all of their citizens. Even America has a rudimentary form of such a system that's available to most of it's citizens.

I'm saddened that you're withdrawing "as vernal as spring" as an epithet for me! I've really taken it to heart over the last year, relying on it (for example) on certain mornings, saying to myself, "No, today I'm not going to lie in bed until 11 and then phone the office and tell them to fuck off like I did yesterday, because I AM AS VERNAL AS THE SPRING and instead I am going to pop right out of bed, brew a java, have a shower, and be at my desk by 10:43" I even added it to my personal business card, in tiny italic print with quotes and an ellipsis, like so: M------ J--------- "...as vernal as the spring!" though lately I've taken to crossing it out with a purple gel roller and writing "fucking sanctimonious bastard" instead. My two cents: I don't want to defend the pome as a whole because the whining of white people who, even if they are lower middle class, are vastly wealthier & have life easier than at least 95% of people who ever lived or are currently alive annoys the fuck out of me BUT I do think most people would read the "Go ahead..." stanza not as telling someone what to do, but disgustedly mentioning something they have already done. You know, someone cuts you off and you say "yeah sure...CUT me off. Fucking bastard"

mmm, my indignation isn't entirely mock. My sanctimony is mock...that's a real tough one to convey properly in print, mock sanctimony...I do it SO well in real life. But whining white people really do piss me off. Even though I'm white myself, and have my share of days where I feel all oppressed and life is just SO unfair blah blah blah...but I piss MYSELF off when I feel that way. This is the internet. If someone comes (as I do too) from a wealthy western nation whose population knows little hardship and enjoys enormous privelege and wealth compared to most of the world, how much of a bleeding idiot do you think they look like to the rest of the world when they start whinging on about oppression & hardship? Ever watch a movie that has a character who is the stereotypical spoiled whining complaining rich kid? Notice how by the end of the movie you're ready to cheer when something absolutely horrible happens to this character? We should all remember that. It's not something to take lightly.

You're both wrong.

she's fondling her prickly pears? wha?

No, it's almost surely Dovina.

And maybe "just", too.