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Fun with Photoshop

Last update: October 30, 2008 - 3:54 PM

Another proud moment in the state of political discourse in the state of Minnesota. KARE 11 News broke the story that the Republican National Campaign Committee, on behalf of Third District Republican candidate Erik Paulsen, manipulated photos of Democratic candidate Ashwin Madia, an Indian-American, to make him look darker.

Why would any party do this? According to Clay Steinman of Macalester College, a professor who teaches advertising, the answer is simply. "There's a lot of scientific data that shows that even if we think that we're not racist," Steinman said, "People of all races, when confronted with images that are darker and different, have a kind of visceral, negative response. ... As he put it, "It can contribute to people's fears; it can make people feel like this person is not like me."

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Opinion Exchange is produced by the Editorial Department, which is dedicated to hosting the discussion on a range of issues of interest to Star Tribune readers online and in print. In its new format, it's our hope that Opinion Exhange will create a more dynamic dialogue between Star Tribune readers and the Editorial Board. Many individual posts will be written and signed by members of the Editorial Board and will reflect their own opinions. Daily editorials will continue to represent the institutional voice of the newspaper and be researched and written by the Editorial Department, which is independent of the newsroom.

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