In fact, of course, we’re all mutts…

In fact, of course, we’re all mutts—and as Americans, we’ve been mixing it up faster and more thoroughly than anyplace on earth. At the same time, we live in a state of tremendous denial about the rambunctiousness of our recent lineage. The language by which we assign racial category narrows or expands our perception of who is more like whom, tells us who can be considered marriageable or untouchable. The habit of burying the relentlessly polyglot nature of our American identity renders us blind to how intimately we are tied as kin.

Patricia J. Williams, “The Elusive Variability of Race,” GeneWatch, (Volume 21, Issue 3-4, July-August 2009). http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/GeneWatch/GeneWatchPage.aspx?pageId=197

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