This headline on a New York Times “The Ethicist Column” justly attracted mockery across the conservative media spectrum: “As a White Man, Can I Date Women of Color to Advance My Antiracism?” One could do a packed seminar on what’s wrong with that question. You can do whatever you want to do within the law. Whether you are white or not doesn’t change that fact. Dating to make a political statement rather than dating because you want to develop a personal, intimate, lasting relationship with someone else is a Kantian ethics violation, using a human being as a means to an end, thus demeaning and manipulating that person.

This is a victim of The Great Stupid, crying for help without realizing it. My favorites excerpts from the head-exploding letter to Prof. Kwame Anthony Appiah from”Name Withheld”(“a straight white dude and recent college grad who has very progressive beliefs and is looking for a committed partner who, in time, can equitably raise a family with me”):

• “I want to prioritize dating women of color. I’m after a cross-cultural relationship. I believe very strongly that one of the main ways to combat racism is through relationships. Part of me thinks that I will always be somewhat disappointed if what ends up becoming one of the most important relationships in my life is with another white person.” Comment: You’re the racist, you idiot.

• “For me, principles lead the way to attractions. I start by eating a food or adopting a habit because it’s good for me, and after trying it enough times, I find I really like it for what it is. The same applies to people I’m considering dating.” Comment: This is a “Cognitive Dissonance Loop.” It is presumably how Jane Fonda ended up marrying Tom Hayden because they were politically compatible. She has made it clear that she found her next marriage, to loose cannon mogul Ted Turner, far more emotionally rewarding.

• “Both I and my hypothetical partner of color would be choosing more learning and less comfort, to put forth greater effort and practice more listening, than we otherwise would in a culturally homogeneous committed relationship.” Comment: If you say so, Sparky.

People went bonkers like this during the Sixties, which was the last major outbreak of a Great Stupid before 2020. For his part, “The Ethicist” seemed to barely take the letter seriously. “What happens when you’ve finished your fieldwork, read through the syllabus and are ready for a new instructor? If the model is, instead, a healthful dietary regimen, will you allow yourself cheat days?” he asks, concluding with, “Perhaps some prospects will be grateful for your offer to put your privileges at their disposal while you embark on your journey of uplift. But — how to put this? — I suspect that most would rather be your honey bun than your grain bowl.”

It would have been more helpful and direct to simply write: “Get help. Quickly.”