Hope and despair in eliminating racism

For those thinking that racism is dead, two tidbits I came across today highlight a) how long the road to equality and b) how far we've yet to travel.

Item A: Turner County High in Georgia will be hosting an integrated prom for the first time ever this year. Until now, whites and blacks at this 55% African American school have held segregated events. FYI, the Supreme Court decision eliminating racial segregation in schools, Brown v. Board of Education, was decided (unanimously) 53 years ago, in 1954.

Item B: All other things being equal, a white man would have to earn $220,000 more than a black man to be considered an equivalent romantic interest to the average African American woman. John Tierney explores the persistence of racial preference among women (of all races) in this blog post. The conclusion? If you are a man open to dating interacially, good luck. Men, as it turns out, do not have a statistically significant racial preference (bosom size was not discussed).

Prom-enade

Watched some folks doing prom pictures today. Seems like such an odd ritual, prom pictures. Everything on that day seems so important, but I honestly can barely remember what my own prom experience was like. Except that I definitely was uncomfortable being the center of attention.

The irony is that for many of these kids, prom seems like the coolest thing ever and in four years they'll all be laughing about how important it seemed to them. Makes you wonder, is anything in life any different? What experiences never lose the luster? Wedding day? Death of a relative?

It seems like time heals all wounds and mutes all joys. So given infinite time, we'd all be mellow. I guess MJ is a quicker way to mellow. Maybe that's what makes it so popular.

Hmm, prom to drugs. Not an unlikely connection.