From Miles Rzechowicz
Lawrence Hirschfeld’s work, showing that children are naturally inclined to attach more importance to race than to other factors, seems farcical (17 March, p 40). The only black child I know to have grown into a white adult is Michael Jackson.
The most important point that was left out of this article, though, was the distinction between differentiation and discrimination. The most obvious physical characteristic of a person is their skin colour, and this is therefore a characteristic that every person will notice. Those who claim it is wrong to register a difference between a black and a white person are deluded. Acknowledging a difference is not racism. Racism arises when observing a difference leads to different treatment of the person – to discrimination.
Duffy, Australian Capital Territory
