Credentials without Identity--Race Bits

[Dale Thorn]

Huge Cajones Remailer wrote:
> At 12:38 PM 12/11/1996, Timothy C. May wrote: By the way, on this
> >oftentimes off-topic issue of "bigotry" and "racism," here's a zinger
> >some of you may not have thought much about. And it's certainly
> >related to the themes of Chaumian "credentials without identity,"
> >which is very much on-topic.
> >Consider a "race credential" offered by some entity. Perhaps one goes
> >down to the local Aryan Nations office and gets one's genetic
> >heritage stamped, or down to the Kwanzaa Youth Center to be similarly
> >stamped....
> >(Why some groups might want this is left as an exercise for the
> >reader.  Perhaps a less-inflammatory example (to some of the
> >sensitive amongst you) might be that some women want to interact in
> >"women only" forums--a clear case of discrimination, no?--and may
> >want a "gender bit" avaiable to display as a credential.)

There are good things to be said for "hanging out with one's own kind" -
sometimes it can facilitate getting things done, by eliminating potential
sources of friction, etc.  OTOH, this is largely a negatives issue, yes?
Looking at positive issues, one could probably find as much interesting
and enlightening in direct contact with persons of other races, religions,
and cultures (if the conflict isn't too destructive), if not more so than
with one's own, when one considers that growth and learning (essential to
good health) bring greater conflict than when one is merely comfortable.

[remainder snipped]