The "discrepancy" you are oh-so-desperately trying to invent is, if anything, the difference between a racist culture that has dominated a nation, and reactions

The "discrepancy" you are oh-so-desperately trying to invent is, if anything, the difference between a racist culture that has dominated a nation, and reactions to that racism. Hunter S Thompson's narrative IS compelling, because that racism was and is still rampant in the United States.