I'm writing this email after a few weeks of intense reflection on Mr. Saletan's piece I am from Martinique, French Departement in the Caribbean. My mom is black. My dad's great grandfather was white. My mom is smarter than my dad, and is a doctor. I'm a PhD student in Civil Engineering. This piece caused me a lot of suffering, and all I want to do is show that the piece is flawed, to the core, by telling my story, briefly.

In Martinique, there were some white kids in high-school with me (~10%). Out of all the students that I knew in high-school, 2 years before me, 2 years after me, only a few were accepted in France's elite engineering prep-school. During prep school, I was in Paris. But me and my a few of my black friends made it, as well as my brothers. Only ONE of my white high-school mates made it. Now I was average in prep-school, and went to an average engineering school. I almost went crazy, but at the end, the secrets for success were support from friends and family, work and motivation.

In engineering school, I was ranked first after the first quarter. The reason: I was studying while everyone was partying. My "friends" reaction was a mix of awe and horror. Imagine, a black person ranked first in a school where 95% of the population is white! To avoid the ensuing psychological pressure, I stopped studying hard, fell to the 9th place, and seized the first opportunity to leave France and get my Master's at Texas A&M University.

I can't describe the horror I felt reading your piece. At the beginning I was confident. After all, I trusted Slate.com, and I liked your Human Nature columns. But at the end, I couldn't believe it. The only way for blacks to make it is to mix with whites, or even better Asians! To disappear by ethnic mixing in other words. Yeah. That's funny alright, except that I didn't find it funny. At all. I was depressed. How can a web site that I trusted so much say something like that?

I don't want to start arguing about your piece, poking holes etc. I just want to express my disgust and sense of betrayal. I am ashamed of my naivety in the past, thinking that the website you're managing was responsible, human and compassionate.

Being black is an everyday struggle. I have to protect myself from all sorts of soft and hard attacks. And sometimes I get tired.
Now I don't read Slate anymore. I don't listen to Day to Day anymore. And I LIKED them. They both are funny and light and interesting and smart. But every time I hear "Slate", I think William Saletan. I think eradicate Blacks. I think I want to puke. And that makes me sad.

Anyways, that's all.
Thanks