We come down to a very basic difference of thought between many of us here: Is there racism without intent to be so? Is it racism if it’s not in its most egregious and obvious form? In my opinion, yes, there is and yes it is. It’s the unintentional that is much more difficult to recognize and thus alter because ‘I didn’t mean it that way’ or ‘There are laws that protect against that’ or ‘I have black friends’ become standard, defensive, go-to lines for many of us, and all it is is a failure to examine further and to be really thoughtful of all we say and do, and just how and why it might be. And in many of those cases, I think it’s very obvious when others don’t think so. And, just so we’re clear here, I include myself when I say this. I am not innocent. I’ll agree that some see racism in many actions. And maybe it’s overdone, and maybe in some cases it’s not. But I do feel that in many more instances than not we allow our defensiveness to deny any possibility and all culpability and nothing changes. I know that I’m still a work in progress.