THE DESIRE TO BE SUBSUMED IN SOMETHING BIGGER AND MORE ROMANTIC than one’s quotidian self: “She’s one of those young Obama supporters who’ve adopted ‘Hussein’ as their middle name. . . . How did you become estranged from your own name, to regard it — as opposed to yourself — as vanilla, white, female, and American, and to think of that combination in a negative way?”

Our own lives are weak and meaningless. Only through identification with a great leader can they achieve substance and purpose.

UPDATE: From the comments: “Hilarious. The photo, and the entire story, are right out of ‘Stuff White People Like’. Don’t these kids realize that what they’re doing makes them appear even whiter?”