CNN Watch: Two Races in the US

This CNN article which serves to fluff up Paula Zahn's 'Racism in America' program reveals something slightly insidious about the cable news giant. It seems to assert that the US is composed of only two races, a somewhat simpleminded and racist idea in itself.

What's more, the article goes on to say that survey sample was composed of 1,207 Americans "including 328 blacks and 703 non-Hispanic whites." From what races came the remaining 171 respondents?

I don't know if CNN realizes it or not, but this bifurcation is dangerous thinking, subtly turning racial perceptions into an us-and-them mentality when we should be looking at the racial composition of country in more holistic terms. It is deeply irresponsible for CNN to put ideas like this in front of the American public.

A Note For Michael Richards

The way I see it, Seinfeld is a show with deep existential themes. Not necessarily about 'nothing,' the show is about selfish, greedy people who are damned by their own insensitivity. Their world is meaningless, offers little spiritual fulfillment, so the characters are cast adrift, filling their lives with drivel about shirt collar buttons and a girlfriend who eats her peas one-by-one.

Moreover, the characters are people who seek to satisfy their basest desires without considering the impact their pursuit might have on the other human beings around them.

On a variation of Satre's dictum, hell for the Seinfeld crew is not other people; hell lurks within their own tortured minds. Jerry, Elaine, George and, yes, even Kramer, are clearly anxiety-ridden, despairing souls. The brilliance of this conceit is that, despite this bleak world-view, it is a pretty darn funny TV show.

But reality...reality isn't quite so funny, is it Mr. Richards?