I'm sadly not in the least bit surprised by the comments here, actually accusing the author of being the racist, professional victim, all of that horse-shit. I

I'm sadly not in the least bit surprised by the comments here, actually accusing the author of being the racist, professional victim, all of that horse-shit. I am a white man, but the author's points really hit home for me, not because I've myself been treated this way, but because I have had to tolerate conduct like this for pretty much my entire life, just not directed at me. I can't tell you the number of times I've come to the defense of minority views over the years, and I've basically given up on it because the racists just turn their anger on me: "Hey, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but you're not black." (laughs all around...) "You know you're white, right?" "Slavery ended a long time ago, blacks have nobody to blame but themselves by now" (roughly paraphrased) "I've got plenty of black friends. They agree with me on [fucked up view]." I'm a human being and I've seen black Americans treated more like shit than anybody else, by far, throughout my life. Usually it's the side-swiping stuff the author talks about, but sometimes it's right in my face, usually when discussing politics and social issues with my peers. Ultimately, I end up doing what most everybody else does in my situation: I withdraw. I don't debate anymore. I don't grin, but I bear it. I help people where I can, silently. I know I really only make technical posts on this website, but shit, sometimes you've gotta vent.