about racism and race in politics. We became friends or at least respectful of one another's philosophy during the last election.

I'm going to pass this on to her and flat out ask her if me being amused by it is racist? To tell you the truth the first few minutes of watching it was oddly uncomfortable but, after viewing it in its entirety, it was extremely humorous not because I was laughing at blacks but because I was laughing at how stupid my own race had been that they created a world where the irony expressed in that mockumentary was so biting even with its absurdities.

The most objectionable part is probably the letter from the doomed astronaut where he goes from Civil War style flowery rhetoric to the street slang talking about how cold it is in space. Once could look at that and say that the creators of the movie were going for cheap laughs with offensive stereotypes but I'm sure it wasn't some white guy impersonating a black guy narrating that letter. They hired African-American actors for much of this and the one white guy they featured was portrayed as completely full of himself.

It said that this played on HBO comedy showcase and although HBO certainly likes to push the envelope, they are undoubtedly liberal. The maker of the video also went on to become an accomplished Hollywood writer based on his exposure.

I think in the end, if we can sit down and laugh with each other, that's when racism is losing ground. Anytime we're forced to think and confront our demons like this is a good time in the history of man.

Jody, I was unsure whether I wanted to play this for my coworker but actually your objection helped to seal the deal. I think it's encouraging that members of our race get upset as you did and I think it points how far we've evolved. Just imagine if somehow we were able to share something like this in the 1950's. The dynamics would have been hugely different with major outrage on both sides of the racial aisle.

Art