At 5:29:56 PM on Friday, November 11, 2005, glen gordon
wrote:
> Patrick:
>> On the other, I have never known a white White,
>> they are always black; and never a black Black,
>> they are always white.
> I disavow myself from the racism of Patrick C. Ryan
> and the passive racism of the moderators who are
> condoning this stupidity.
Stupidity it certainly is, since <White> is an English
surname with very deep roots; the byname from which it
derives generally referred to hair color. Thomas White,
souter, recorded in the 1379 Poll Tax of Yorkshire West
Riding, was obviously white in the relevant sense, never
mind Geoffrey le Whyte and Roger le Whyte in the late 13th
century Hundred Rolls. Racism, however, it is not, any more
than it is racism for me to predict that the Lakeisha on my
class roster will turn out to be black.
Brian