Mary Douglas just keeps popping up

In my geography class this afternoon we watched a 40-min video titled "Orientalism" featuring a lengthy interview with Edward Said. Near the end, he talked about the notion of national purity and the instinct to abstract notions of "racial infection". I couldn't help but raise my hand at the end of the film and point out that Said's mandate can't possibly succeed in a world where the same notions of purity and contagion are accepted parts of our body-discourse. Good fun--thought I'd share it.
Michael