You have arrived at the web home of Noah Brier. This is mostly an archive of over a decade of blogging and other writing. You can read more about me or get in touch. If you want more recent writing of mine, most of that is at my BrXnd marketing x AI newsletter and Why Is This Interesting?, a daily email for the intellectually omnivorous.
Beyond being in sync with the racial realities of young children who have not yet been corrupted by their parents' color-bound politics, Sesame Street modeled the kind of racial idealism we should continually strive for. In Sesame Street's diverse neighborhood, characters always asked questions about why someone looked or acted differently than they did. Their questions were never returned with a north-directed middle finger or someone screaming, "ignorant!" The character was glad to answer the question and tell others about him or herself. I remember Oscar frequently being asked why he was green. Not complaining any more than usual, he was happy to point out that he's not really green, but that he once took a dip in a muddy marsh and hadn't taken a bath since.