I'm implicitly racist, but I love Barack Obama

So I was reading an op-ed in the NYT this morning
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/opinion/30kristof.html
which offered a link to the following:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/

It's an "Implicit Association Test" attempting to test our unconscious associations with race (and the leading party candidates).

Here are my test results:

"Your data suggests a moderate automatic preference for White people over Black people

Your data suggests a strong automatic preference for Barack Obama over John McCain"

(my emphasis)

Remember, the idea here is to open up the hood and look at visceral reactions, rather than something you have time to think about. It doesn't surprise me at all that I'm implicitly (moderately) pro-white -- I've had mostly positive experiences with white people, and my view of African-Americans has largely been formed by culture/media rather than personal relationships. Intellectually, I believe we are all God's children, and that there are no significant biological differences (other than appearance) between black and white folk, but my sub-conscious instinct is to prefer my own tribe.

I attribute my preference of Obama to self-conditioning. I really like Obama, so I associate him with positives. I see McCain as more of a tragic figure, so it's natural for me to associate him with negatives.

If my results are not idiosyncratic, if white people (who still have the majority of power in this country) exhibit an implicit preference for other whites, is this an argument in favor of affirmative action?

I think the main upshot is that we should not beat ourselves up over our unconscious bias, but we also should not overlook a potential disconnect between what we "think" and what we "feel". Furthermore, if we know we are biased against other groups, we should consider seeking out individuals in these groups to enter into relationship with.

The Jesus-move is to have a preferential option for the poor, the hurting, and the broken, regardless of race, ethnicity, or other demographic category. My base instinct is towards selfishness and preference for people who look and act like me -- the Jesus impulse has to be cultivated.

(Update: I took the test again and found no bias in preference for whites over blacks -- or vice versa -- and only a moderate Obama preference. But while the test is a fun tool, individual results aren't really the point. The important question is whether there is a pattern of subconscious racism in the population as a whole. I'm fairly agnostic to this question, but I'm willing to be convinced by good research one way or the other.)

Old people vote

I was at a retirement home this evening to attend a presentation. The presenter asked how many people had already voted. I think every hand went up. I don't know who's going to take the over-80 vote, but I think turnout will be high.


Along those lines, Elaine came across a good article about generational equity in the Washington Post last week. You might be able to access it at the following link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/21/AR2008102102252.html?referrer=emailarticle
If not, it is Robert Samuelson's column published on 10/22. You can get all of the New York Times and Washington Post content with free registration.

Sarah Vowell

Elaine and I went to Denver last night to attend a Sarah Vowell reading and book-signing at The Tattered Cover – the big independent bookstore in town. I haven’t actually read a Sarah Vowell book – she read from her newest The Wordy Shipmates – but her essays on This American Life are great, she’s sort of a Rock Star for nerds, and the event was free.


I came away impressed by her encyclopedic knowledge of her subject and her general style – which is to inject so much humor into history that you forget that you’re learning. The funniest/most poignant sequence of the night was when someone asked her how she felt about Sarah Palin injecting the phrase "city on a hill" into the presidential campaign. Vowell said she was saddened that Palin's reference was to Ronald Reagan rather than a more original source, like John Winthrop, or, you know, Jesus.


This recent interview in The Wall Street Journal covers a lot of what she said.

Even if you have presidential election overload ...

... you may enjoy the latest Frontline documentary: The Choice 2008. Personally, I cannot think of a single news source that provides in depth and objective information more consistently, and have recommended their online archive of documentaries to several friends and acquaintances. The latest installment interweaves biographical information on McCain and Obama, essentially ending (briefly and without much comment) at their VP picks. You can watch this program online, and it will be rebroadcast (on most stations) on Sunday, Oct. 26, and Monday, Nov. 3, 2008.

Buddy Says -- "You First Dan"

2 Questions:

1) Why is Dad wearing my shirt?

2) How many pans of biscuits will Mom have to bake to train the dogs to use the dog door.

The Morleys Wear Slippers

We spent last weekend in Chicago visiting our friends David and Nika.

Elaine likes to ride the train, so we took the California Zephyr from Denver to Chicago. I pretty much hated the train ride; it was rocky, there were very few electric outlets (which foiled my plan of watching movies all night), and I basically got no sleep whatsoever. Train travel could be great, but it’s not so great right now unless you’re taking a shorter trip or you can afford a sleeping car – which is way more expensive than flying.

Most of the weekend was spent wandering around town via long walks, bus, and train. We ate some great food ranging from David’s famous pancakes to vegan fast food (just as unhealthy as McDonald’s but without the animal products) to a giant Italian sausage deep dish pizza (that meal was sans our friends – see above). We walked through the Lincoln Park Zoo; checked out Hyde Park, including the U of Chicago Art Museum; saw some sketch theatre – Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind by the Neo-Futurists; and went the Museum of Science and Industry – which is epic.

Mostly we just enjoyed being with friends that we don’t get to see often enough.

I wish I could write something profound about friendship and how wonderful it is to spend time with people that you feel comfortable being yourself around, but the words are escaping me.