No, Virginia

[Diana York Blaine]

Self-described "Unabashed elitist" Adam (I should hope so, with that
Princeton .edu hanging from you like so much chain mail.  I'm a public
school baby myself), also known as the Word-Frequency  Police, would like
to know what I mean by "objective" since I've used it twice in various
screeds. If you're paying close attention (and I hasten to note that you
are--wassa matter, don't they give homework in the Ivy League?  Sheesh.),
you'll know as a Pomo I doubt the ability for anyone to achieve full
objectivity. But the word/concept is still useful and I mean it thus:
having not a (you've probably seen this coming) SUBjective perspective,
but an OBjective one. (grin--no--laugh). Objectivity implies some
comprehension of the larger structure of any given situation and the
ability to analyze it given that comprehension.  To do this I feel you
need an awareness of the subjectivity of your own perspective to begin
with as this awareness is by no means a given.  For example, when
you suggest to undergraduates that most people on the planet are not
white, or are not Christian, or do not speak English, or (a personal
favorite) that Jesus was a jew, their reaction is often first one of
shock.  But then with a greater understanding of their relative position
on the planet, they can operate from a  more objective perspective. Diana