[Restorer]

The problem is that in America we take a spectrum of human types and historically we attempt to fit everyone on that spectrum into a category of either "black" or "white." Various other cultures (for instance, Brazil) classify people by color, rather than race.

Thus in Brazil, people will often have a full brother or sister who is considered to be of different color. In America we historically force people into one or the other "race" whether they fit or not.

This either/or dichotomy has actually had some beneficial effects, in the long run. The logic of the Declaration of Independence made the slavery of blacks impossible unless you could somehow remove their humanity. OTOH, once you recognize their humanity, there is no logical place to stop short of recognizing their full rights as equals.

Societies, like Brazil, which are descended from feudal cultures, are able to recognize a range of in-between groups and statuses which just don't fit into our black/white, slave/free, inferior/equal categories.

[doug from upland]

Well, if no one else has recognized the significance of two black actors winning best actor and actress, I'll say it. It is about time. Hollywood, the liberal bastion, has been the center of racism but no one has called them on it.

The Hollywood RATS who criticize the right wing need to look in the mirror. Why did it take them so long? Let's see, who is it that judges people by merit, not by race? Is it the left or the right? What hypocrite pukes.