Posted on 04/23/2014 7:21:34 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A few weeks ago, OkCupid, the popular freemium dating service, started offering its paid subscribers a very cool new tool. Rather than just sort through potential dates by using familiar filters like age and height, you could use the answers OkCupid members gave to various questions, such as Do you like to watch sports on television? or, my personal favorite, Do you find British comedies entertaining?
Questions are an important part of what makes OkCupid work. The site nudges you to answer as many questions as you can stand, and it also nudges you to make your answers public, as you can only see the answers of potential dates if you disclose your own answers. Answering questions allows OkCupids fancy algorithms to identify people who might be a good fit for you. Though these algorithms can be cleverly gamed, the basic idea that answering questions honestly will allow you to find people who share your sensibilities, goals, and quirks makes intuitive sense.
For example, OKCupid asked, Would you date someone shorter than you? If, like me, you are a compact American, you could save an enormous amount of time by ruling out women who are uninterested in dating smaller men. All of the time youd otherwise waste on messaging statuesque beauties could instead be spent indulging in more fruitful leisure time pursuits, like hang-gliding or backgammon.
In a somewhat similar vein, one of OkCupids questions reads as follows: Would you strongly prefer to go out with someone of your own skin color/racial background? I was struck by the not inconsiderable number of people who answered yesincluding some people I know in real life, many of whom are hilariously self-righteous about their enlightened political views.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
I am reminded of what I posted in 2010:
Your comment reminds me of something I heard Dr Martin Luther King Sr say on the Phil Donahue show years ago. He was speaking to the difference between prejudice and racism
[paraphrased]
Prejudice is a normal human emotion in that everyone seeks out people like themselves. It has been that way since the beginning of time. People are more comfortable with people just like them. If one recognizes this and accepts it as normal, one can begin to reach out to others without being coerced or forced to do so. They will reach out because it is the right thing to do.
Racism is defined by hatred.
It was one of the wisest statements I have ever heard and has stayed with me to this day. The term racist has been thrown around so much it has lost its orginal meaning.
The people of the Caucasus Mountains have suffered enough over the years. Don’t add to their woes by moving them to the Balkans.
That is species-ist. :)
I think that’s more of a cultural decision, not a race based one. Like with me (see post 15)
how about those television commercials for dating sites that a limited to one particular skin color? Any other group would be called racist.
Great article, thanks for posting.
A homo.
LOL!!
Well you have a white...a black..and a blue!!!
“Great article, thanks for posting.”
You are quite welcome. Thanks for appreciating it!
Ask me if I care what is or isn’t racist.
I prefer white girls.
One in particular these days
DearV.R.,
As the German woman had made note in her unrecorded statements .... ‘D’ey’s sho’ ain’t no nears me, is d’ey?!?!’
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