Digital Ethnorati

I find it incredibly ironic that since the loss of 2004, certain parts of the liberal blogosphere have complained forcefully about how the 'women studies' groups and "those whinny colored people" are destroying the Democratic Party and yet, here we are, almost a general election later and guess what? The emotional baby-eating feminazis and those colored folks who don't STFU are indeed destroying the Democratic Party we've grown to love and loathe.

I don't know if to to laugh or cry a little.

Oh, who am I kidding : Of course I am going to laugh!

Sure, when I started writing this article, I started out of the anger I felt after reading Gloria Steinem's now infamous "Hos Before Bros" editorial. After all, the mother of the modern feminist movement basically says white women are entitled to have their day in the White House before a black man.

Yet the anger turned into more of an outraged amusement. A lot of people around me are absolutely astounded at the transparent viciousness of the Clintons and company. Yet there's those who are kind of sitting back saying, "We were right all along".

Everything in this country, no matter how you cut it, ends up being about race. There is no denying it. There is no escaping it.

To walk away from a discussion about Race is to walk away from the possibility of understanding better the madness that produces Influence, Power and Wealth in this country. To walk away from Race is to walk away from understanding the craziness that produces this set of rules, preferences and practices we call American 'culture'.

The craziness that, for example, makes it possible for white women to compare sexism to racism.

Ahhh ... hmmmmm ... no.

This video comes fresh from not South Central but from the hardcore hinterlands of the East Village. The 40 year-old krumper is actually a neighbor of mine. We hang out at the playground while our kids play and shoot the shit for hours talking about everything and anything.

I could not for a million years believe him when he told me he told me he was doing this series of videos where he's teaching himself how to krump. I looked at him and we had a "Wayne's World" moment filled with "ways" and "noways"

I told him I'd check it out but swamped with so much work complete forgot about it. And the, after much thinking about the current congressional session, I needed something to amuse my self with. Instead of Britney, I asked him to send me the URL.

And I saw this ...

Who knew!

In an attempt to go beyond discussions about the "digital divide", I organized a panel at this year's South by Southwest festival to discussing the exploding market segment of 'minority' technologists and early adopters.

I apologize in advance for my hemming and hawing. I have a lot of work to do with my public speaking skills. But stay until the presentation done by Stephen Wilmarth and his students from The Center for 21st Century Skills. A victim of our anti-immigration policies, this straight A student gives a heartbreaking account of how after being deported with her mother to Brazil, she tried to keep up with her technology program and classmates using Skype and other social media.

This podcast first appears at the South by Southwest website.