I-200 must be understood as an attempt by a courageous brand of predominantly white men (with a few forward-thinking women and African Americans put prominently on display) to right an injustice and help heal simmering race relations across Washington state. If I-200's supporters may be faulted at all, it would be for at times failing to articulate more poetically the righteous crusade they head up.

I should say that I have not been directly involved with I-200 myself, so much of what I share is simply an effort to draw a few logical conclusions from the arguments its proponents have been putting out. In truth, this is just one white man's attempt to look within the hearts of I-200's proponents and try to understand the extraordinary level of sacrifice and courage these racial healers must exude on a daily basis.

At the center of their analysis is the keen observation that Affirmative Action programs have disproportionately assisted African Americans. White men have been totally left out. Indeed, Affirmative Action programs may be said to have actually discriminated against the white man for no other reason than his accidental, privileged social status. Finally, a group of whites (with a few forward-thinking women and African Americans put prominently on display) has stepped forward to say enough is enough. It is time to end this discrimination against the privileged white man.

To ensure the equal application of Affirmative Action programs across our multi-racial society, I-200 proponents have devised a three-pronged strategy to eliminate the white man's social privileges and allow them to share in the bounties of Affirmative Action. First, we must address white male privilege in the economic sphere. Unemployment rates for African Americans run as high as twice that of whites. The first step is therefore, to fire enough whites so that employment prospects are made equally bleak for both races. Certainly it would be hard to have racial discrimination once this was achieved. At the same time, the rampant practice of turning down bank loans to qualified African American applicants must be counterbalanced. Banks must be instructed to establish a certain number of qualified white applicants who will be turned down solely on the basis of race as well. (Of course, it is technically illegal to discriminate solely on the basis of race. For this reason, bankers will need to cite a range of fictional excuses as they currently due for African American applicants.)

Second, we must address white male privilege as a factor shaping quality of life issues. Currently, the infant mortality rate among African Americans is nearly double that of whites. In the name of racial healing, it is only just that we kill off enough white babies to even out the odds at the very start of life. For those whites sympathetic to the cause but made uneasy by the notion of drowning their newborns to promote racial harmony, it has been suggested that raising frightfully malnourished white children may be an acceptable alternative. That the selfless proponents of I-200- who time and again proclaim their only goal to be that of true racial equality- would willingly give the life of their own child for the cause of racial justice speaks volumes for their integrity and heartfelt compassion. But proponents of I-200 can't stop there. Whites, on average, live longer than African Americans, as well. It only follows that grannies must be put down in equal numbers. Once infant mortality rates and average life spans are made equal, certainly there will be little rationale for narrowly tailoring Affirmative Action programs solely for African Americans.

Third, we must address white male privilege within the justice and education systems. Currently, over 50% of all prisoners are African Americans, while just over 10% of the general population is African American. At the same time, a two-tiered educational system has created one system for wealthy white folks and another for the poor, who again, are disproportionately African American. To help tilt the scales of justice back in favor of the privileged white man, with regard to access to Affirmative Action programs, it is necessary to therefore switch a certain number of African American prisoners with a certain number of white prep students. Once we achieve a racially blind justice system and a racially equal educational system, then there can surely be no further basis for excluding white men from Affirmative Action programs.