Disparate Impacts & Another View on Poverty
Dear Mike,
No, we haven't bridged our differences. Nor did either of us imagine we would. But I have a clearer idea of some of their roots. Do you? I hope so.
"Staying open to the possibility that they (our opponents) might, nevertheless, have a few smart things to say" still seems worth the effort. I'm quoting Sara Mosle (on NYC education news) here, quoting you. What a nice way to say it. It's one reason I especially enjoy reading the comments that follow blogs, and why I admire—and read with special care—comments made by a few diligent readers and respondents to Bridging Differences who fundamentally disagree with me politically.
The particulars of our growing-up years are certainly related to our disagreements. How much? Who knows? Maybe I owe some of my reactions to a feisty mother who wouldn't allow us to speak disparagingly of anyone—e.g. "Japs" was taboo in our house during World War II. I also had a father who switched sides in arguments as soon as anyone agreed with him. I was influenced by both of them. From them both also came a very strong sense of being lucky. They were, after all, not far removed from being victims of the Holocaust as Eastern European first and second
