Azizi and I have gone back and forth on the "race" issue before - simply stated, I don't believe that there is such a thing as different races, and I find the identification of individuals of primarily European origin as "white", as though there was some purity associated with the color and with them, as abhorrent. I think that the "one drop rule" is especially sickening. At the same time, I appreciate that the life experiences of individuals with ancestry derived from African slaves has been different from those of us in the US with different backgrounds. If she (and others) prefer to call this social/ethnic group a different race, so be it. I accept that this is the majority opinion, but I reserve the right to disagree.

As for Mudcat being difficult for people of color? Perhaps so. There are people here whose backs go up immediately when the subject of the English in Ireland is raised and others who tend to go ballistic in the political threads. Azizi (I have gathered from other threads about other topics) strongly identifies with the socio-ethnic group commonly referred to as "African-American", and that is her choice and certainly her privilege. (I don't want to use the term "Afro-centric", because that has several meanings, and I really don't know if any of them truly refer to her.) At the same time, I think she needs to accept that discussions here cover a very wide range of topics, and references to race are not directed to her and she does not have to address them unless she wants to. She is not the designated Mudcat spokesperson for African-Americans!

Azizi may or may not be the only Black person here. Leechong may be the only Chinese national and Liz the Squeak may be the only tax collector. Joe Offer may be the only retired snoop and I may be the only retired Army officer. So what? We are all individuals and we are all here because, for one reason or another, we enjoy the Mudcat community and find it has something to offer to us.