By lumping people into groups, the illiberals have succeeded in perpetuating the stereotypes that they claim to want to get rid of.

The article was very well written. Identifying with some group based on some arbitrary trait such as skin color, language, or common ancestry is an easy way life. It allows people to let the group think and make decisions for them and determine their future. If your group has tended to not do so well, chances are you probably won't do too well either if you conform to what the group expects of you. Thinking as an individual requires some work and it can be a little scary if you are not used to it, so the path of least resistance is usually to rely on what society tells you is supposed to happen with your life. That being said, it is easy to conquer a people if you can separate them into warring factions based on arbitrary, superficial differences, smart dictators have been doing it for centuries. It is much more difficult to divide and conquer a nation of individuals who agree on such basic principles as rule of law, government by consent, freedom of speech, etc.

It looks to me like people who have the desire to be part of one of these “communities” are generally people who either want something for nothing, have a compulsion towards the need for special treatment or have been programmed by some outside source (parents, friends, media, etc.) that if they do not identify themselves with some type of community they will then be vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by the people who are strong and powerful. i.e. those who do not need the strength of a community of their own. So as not to name any names lets just call this evil threat Mr. Charlie Bobo who works as a loan officer at the local credit union. You know the guy Im talking about, he drives that nice car, has the lovely wife and two happy kids, perfectly manicured lawn around his modest three bedroom house? Yeah, that guy. Hes the enemy from which these communities need protection.
So is it actually an issue of race? Id say a little bit.
Now keep in mind, I never mentioned anything about Mr. Bobos race. He could have any color skin.
So in that case is it an issue of class? Me thinks more so than not.

Good thoughts and very well written. Thank you Max.

I enjoyed this blog. I agree racism can be disguised as being proud of your region or heritage, but not all group pride is bigotry. For example, schools develop their own rituals that students are proud of, often with rude chants against rival schools. They don't mean it seriously.

The US looks so much a like wherever I go, but when I travel I like that people can identify me as being from Wisconsin. They probably like fried curd, brats, brandy, and would probably lost weight when they moved away from WI.

When I come back from a foreign trip, I'm happy I can wander to a local store, have it actually be open in the evening, have them know what V8 juice is, be able to get 32oz soda, and so on.