* And as for Southern racism, I have heard it said lately that Alabama * has become a good place to live for blacks today, precisely because * the legacy of racism has been directly confronted, challenged, * opposed, and defeated. I think also more often in the south one finds a pattern of ill will through confrontation as opposed to ill will through ignorance. Some Midwestern cities are still pretty provincial in their racial attitudes--they're so infrequently in contact with minorities that they (minorities) are seen as having the same base characteristics as those from common media portrayals of them. So, the ill will comes from fear and misunderstanding. In the south, many large cities are populated by more black and hispanic citizens than white citizens. Like it or not, (and there are certainly those who do not), whites have no choice but to exist in something more approximating attempted harmony. And I'm sorry this is off topic. -- Mark Bunster |Exchange conversation if you dare-- Survey Research Lab--VCU |Share an empty thought or a laugh. Richmond, VA 23220 | [log in to unmask] | (804) 367-8813/353-1731 | -edFROM