It's Labor Day, a national observance in the United States that used to mean something, probably back in the 50's, but not anymore. Well, that's not exactly true. Labor Day is actually overflowing with meaning, it's just that most of it is arbitrary. Judging by the name, archeologists have suggested that Labor Day used to be a solemn day of thanks for the contribution of workers throughout America. Since most of us are actually at work today, it's safe to say that meaning has been lost to time. Later additions to the meaning of Labor Day have been family get-togethers involving things we call American food, as well as conveniently-timed Presidential speeches about the economy. Labor Day is also when the fashion community decided people should stop wearing white, because absolutely nothing in winter is white. No sir. In keeping with that moratorium on all things blanco, I've decided to explore a little network of dating sites focused on the needs of those who crave skin of a different color, starting with BlackWhiteRomance.com.

As the name suggests, BWR.com specializes in connecting white people with black romantic partners and vice-versa. The site is pretty smug about what it assumes is a socially progressive message, implying that most dating sites render it impossible for people to connect with those who don't occupy their particular region on the melanin spectrum. Promoting an interracial dating site is like selling an alarm clock that can only go off during the hours of 6:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. Sure, it's specific and may fit your needs perfectly, but it's nothing a traditional alarm clock can't do.

It's also fairly backward for the concept of "interracial" to even be relevant in a modern setting. The term "interracial" almost always serves to dehumanize somebody in the arrangement, whether it's in porn that asks a black man to serve as a taboo stand-in for not just all black men but the reductive cultural perception of black men, or an inherently racist discussion of how to classify the ethnicity of a child born to parents of different backgrounds. The Internet needs BWR.com like it needs a Woman's Guide to Cooking, Cleaning and Child Care.

But behind the unnecessary, socially backward message of BWR.com is, *sigh*, a scam. It's a pretty clumsy one, too. In order to even set up a proper profile on BWR.com, users need to upload an image of a government ID, passport, birth certificate and/or diploma. The site FAQ says "By this you can show others you are very real & serious about finding friends / matches". BWR.com is full of ESL text like this. They even note in their Scam Policy and Warning section that "We take Scam seriously". Apparently not seriously enough to hire a localizer. If that wasn't enough, they also shoehorned an affiliate marketing program into BWR.com care of their parent company, InterracialMatch.com. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's an entire scam system surrounding interracial dating sites, but this still seems especially unsettling.

Amount of Time Likely to be Wasted: Depends on how much you like slapdash ESL text. The site is full of it. Otherwise, you'll click away after two minutes or so.

Likelihood to Result in Arrest in Real Life: High. It's a bald-faced identity theft scam with an affiliate marketing element. I'm surprised it doesn't implode under the weight of its own obviousness.

MCDR: Are you racist? No? Good, keep it up.

Internet Depth by Preposition: In leaning toward Of. As with all scams, BWR.com aims for a goal outside the Internet. Though this particular scam is especially Internet-y.