Thank you for sharing your experience! I see "race" as a problematic variable as well. That's why I like to talk about origin, as in "what did the parents do?", "do the kids have access to careers outside of what their family showed them?".
When you say "taken a huge step backwards", do you mean the discussion actively harms progress? Or that you do not support the way it is discussed?
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adding to your edit:
> A million white kids idolise black sportsmen and musicians. It's completely normal, or it was.
If I see correctly, the choice of "identification variables" is what you primarily criticize (here: race). We don't differ here.
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adding to your second edit..:
> Yes, I believe that teaching people in general..
When you say "taken a huge step backwards", do you mean the discussion actively harms progress? Or that you do not support the way it is discussed?
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adding to your edit:
> A million white kids idolise black sportsmen and musicians. It's completely normal, or it was.
If I see correctly, the choice of "identification variables" is what you primarily criticize (here: race). We don't differ here.
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adding to your second edit..:
> Yes, I believe that teaching people in general..
I'll take this with me, thank you!