To the Editor:
I would like to announce to Vincent Jones, regarding his article last week, that I do not care about "Black America." Nor do I care about "White America," or "Tall America," or "Short America." I value the flourishing of individual human beings, especially those who take pride in what they have chosen to be, rather than in having unchosen characteristics in common with others.
While I have pale skin, I do not have much political power. But if I did, I still would not impose my beliefs on others with the coercive power of the government. I would not threaten with force those who preferred to interact with, or not interact with, people of a certain race, sex, or sexual orientation, even if I thought their actions were wrong. For if I did such things, I would be like modern liberals, conservatives, and whip-in-hand slave drivers of the Old South: I would use force to get people to do what I wanted them to do.
I do not believe groups have rights. Only the smallest minority has rights: the individual.
If a person has a right to not sell his labor to someone based on race, doesn't someone looking to buy labor have the right to not hire a laborer based on race? Does it matter whether the people involved are black or white, or buying or selling? People should be free to interact with each other on terms they both consent to. Any other form of relationship is like that of master and slave.
Brian Schwartz '97