Structure, syntax, and flowstrictly editorial

August 8, 2006

A week ago the air conditioner had a stroke (from which it recovered three days later), the cats went to the vet (from which they returned three days later), and the rush job from Russell Sage took precedence. It's gone now (four days later), all 200 pages of tables and figures, marked with my barely legible red pencil marks. Now, somewhat hastily, I return to the 9/11 manuscript. It is unique: the author has such a good sense of structure, such a weak sense of syntax, yet somehow a nice flow. Maybe not unique, but certainly a puzzle to me.

From this....

A heightened sense of threat among African Americans (table 9.4) did not lead to the rejection of Islamic fundamentalists. Instead, African Americans’ under heightened threat appear to have focused their intolerance on Arabs, even though as we saw in the previous analyses that were less antagonist toward them than whites and Latinos. Still, sociotropic threat, even among African Americans who might have more favorable impressions of Arabs, has a negative and significant effect. It is important to note that while heightened sociotropic threat among African Africans does not enamor nor reject other groups, except for Latinos. African Americans who perceived greater sociotropic threat rated Latinos more favorably than other African Americans who perceived less threat.

... to this ...

A heightened sense of threat among blacks (table 9.4) did not lead to them to reject Islamic fundamentalists. Instead, it appears to have focused their intolerance of Arabs, though they were less antagonistic toward them than whites and Latinos were. Sociotropic threat nonetheless has a negative and significant effect. Even though heightened threat among blacks neither draws them to nor leads them to reject other groups, except for Latinos, those who perceived greater threat rated Latinos more favorably than other blacks who perceived less threat.

Not that it's any better, but at least it's understandable?

Sigh.