LETTER: Full Spectrum

Bill Madison asserts that our race is "paramount" in determining our identity (DP 2/18/92). He has apparently missed the entire point of his column. My race is not only not "paramount" to my identity, but completely insignificant. My identity is based on the content of my character, not upon a morally irrelevant characteristic such as skin color. The essential problem with the melanin theory of racism is its claim that race matters -- that one's race determines one's character. Simply put, if skin color determines character, then skin color is a morally legitimate basis for discrimination, and racism is not only defensible, but desirable. This argument is as incorrect coming from a black racist such as Dr. Welsing as was its mirror image coming from the white racist eugenicists of the early 20th century. Individuals may be good or evil, intelligent or slow -- in short, may differ throughout the full spectrum of human personality -- without regard to their race. Consequently, differences in character form the sole legitimate basis for discrimination, and racism is immoral. The illogical and misguided arguments of Welsing and Madison serve only to exacerbate the problem of racism by making skin color more salient. Making people mistakenly believe that race matters ironically contributes to the very segregation and consequent mutual misunderstanding of which Madison complains. Maybe Madison should reexamine why skin color is so important to him. JEFFREY BUCHOLTZ College '92

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