Im Black, You're White, Whos Innocent?

I think Shelby Steele brings an interesting perspective to the issue of race. I like how he elaborates the fact that racial tension is the result of by a power struggle. His Innocence Vs. Guilt idea was something I had not thought to much about but could relate to. I think that some of the ideas get a lost in his terminology at some points however. I think some of his examples were a little on the weak side, namely his reference to the Crosby show. I felt like he could have elaborated on his ideas and their correlation to the TV show a little clearer. Its true that the issue of race wasn't ever discussed on the show but the issue of race isn't brought up on any other sit-coms, and I wonder why the fact that the Crosby's would be any different, other than the fact that they were black. On the other hand, I found his personal experiences fascinating. I like the objective tone he seems to use. Hes really good at sticking to a middle ground without dismissing the fact that racism is still an issue. I liked his labeling of Jesse Jackson as a "challenger by instinct and Bargainer by political ambition."I thought it was a better example then the crosby show and gave me a better understanding of what each term meant. All in all I enjoyed the piece, I really enjoy reading about ideas that I haven t heard before. Steele's take on Racism and Class was unique and got me thinking.