Carrol, I spent my formative years flashing a finger at those few vanguard party luminaries who knew better what the masses want than the masses themselves. Not to mention the fact that what looks from the top as "massess", from the bottom presents itself as human individuals with different goals and aspirations. Hence my knee-jerk reaction against anyone speaking for other than oneself, especially for the "masses." Among a rather short list of things I actually like about this country is that such individuals have a rather slim chance of getting anywhere near the halls of power.
As to the "battle against racism" - it was fought and won in the 50s and 60s. What we have today is a grievance manufacturing industry that commodifies the battle cries from that period to market the intellectual commodity it manufactures. True, not much different from other industries, but why should I revere it?
wojtek