To the “certain someone”: get on your post game son.

“Only when we begin to look at ourselves as people and not as classifications can we progress.” i.e. – color blindness is key.

So, hypothetically, we all look at ourselves as people.

So, let’s make a metaphor for “people” for a second and say we’re all “athletes” and we’re all starting at the 100 meter mark to run the 100 meter sprint.

In actuality, out of the 8 lanes on the track, only the athlete in lane 4 is a trained Track and Field sprinter, and can actually start at the 100 meter mark. Lane 1 actually has a swimmer starting at the 150 meter mark, Lane 2 has a basketball player at the 200 meter mark, Lane 3 has the national poker champion at the 300 meter mark, Lane 5 has a person who goes to the gym every now and again, but he/she is starting at the 50 meter mark, Lane 6 is a football player, but he tore his ACL last week and is at the 400 meter mark etc. etc.

BUT! We are ALL athletes. And we ALL have to run this race, dammit!

This blind idealism is based in the idea that we are all on the same social, economic, political, etc. plane as “people”.

I think this is an issue of mis-articulation rather than ill-intent. What she really needs to wrap her mind around is the idea of opening your mind to other worlds and other situations and drawing parallels that can allow for effective collaborations and progress. And while it’s important that we find common ground, it’s also important that we understand and appreciate the significance of the ground that ISN’T common to all of us. That empathy isn’t always possible, but sympathy is still always appreciated.

However, your e-mail was pretty damn funny.