Hi Meg! Sorry, couldn't help myself. I want to start off by saying hello and I've friended you because we share friends and interests and you seem like a very nifty person.

It's hard to open up about something so personal in a public forum like this, and I applaud you. I must admit, reading this essay made me stop and check my own thoughts and actions. Because, like you, I'm your average white person who does what she can when she can to "help out" people of color; however, I also will get tense when walking at night by myself if I see a young black man with sagging pants and such.

The realization I've drawn having read this essay is that to some degree, we're all racist. Trying to tell ourselves that we're not doesn't do anything to fix the problem, but admitting it, whether internally or publicly, we can make changes to the way we think, the way we act, the way we react. It won't be an overnight process, but baby steps are better than nothing.

So, thank you for writing this and being so honest in such a public forum. I'm not sure if anyone else will walk away from reading this with the feelings I am, but I wanted to at least let you know that *I* did. :)