Helpless as my son, 13, was profiled, cuffed

[Victor_c3]

17. you're completely right

As a white person, I really didn't have any clue how much racism is around until I made some very strong friendships with some black people and immigrants. Even in parts of our country where I didn't think there was any racism (i.e. the military) and the northeast it is still there and it makes me sick. You just have to look a little beneath the surface and it's there - just like in the example cited in the OP.

I'm not going to even pretend that I get it on the same level as a person who has actually lived it.

Unfortunately, we as a society accept a little bit of background racism like you mentioned. Even me (someone who considers themselves to be open minded) I still find myself looking at a black teenager and thinking "hoodlum" or whatever at first glance. I have black neighbors and regardless of how much I try to treat them the same as my white neighbors, they are treated differently and there is something there that I just react to in my gut that I can't shake. It's a shame and I don't like it. All I can do is become as aware of the differences as I can and try to over come it. This is not the world I want my kids to grow up in.