David, I have to confess that while I've seen the essay, I have never succeeded in reading it through. I get too angry and too bewildered.
Since the essay has been around for so many years, and it remains famous, I have to ask, were there no answers?
My first thought in answer is that people in oppressed classes are human first and the love of musical speech is basic, ancient, and human. (And as I remember Steele's book, I think that's his answer.) Does the opposition ever refute that specifically, or are we all simply talking past each other?
I'll bet there's a bibliography somewhere. Can anyone guide us further?
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