Thompson, I agree with what you wrote that "there are times when you slam face-first into a totally unexpected racism", though the word "racism" is probably too strong in most instances. Maybe it's an insider/outsider thing with the person who is different being on the outside and trying to explain herself or himself or her or his culture to those who think they understand, or don't understand, but who are interested in understanding, and/or people who don't understand and couldn't care less about understanding...It's all of that and more. What is most difficult for me is when I'm reading a thread that isn't about race and these [what I consider to be]misunderstandings occur. At least on "race/racism" threads you know that you are going to have to try to explain yourself. But it's sometimes like trying to explain things in one language to people who don't speak your language...

And the other point I was trying to make is that if there were other Black people or other people of color who participated in these threads I wouldn't have to do all the talking and explaining...

But I chose to start this thread and I chose to post on other threads about race and racism and I chosen to post on most other Mudcat threads when the topic of race came up. No one forced me to do so. I did so because I wanted to and because I needed to address the issue/s. And I must say that it has been a relief for me to know that there are Mudcat members and guests who do understand and there are Mudcat members and guests who do who want to understand more, just as I do want to understand more about myself, my culture, and other people's cultures.

When I started this thread, I wasn't sure if anyone else would post to it. I thought that it might be me venting and others would think, okay there she goes again. Glad she got that out of her system {again}. But instead, other people did post and here we are...I'm not interested in repeating myself on this thread. I've said what I wanted to say and I've read what others have said and I've listed some archived threads on this subject. And as far as I'm concerned, at this point in time, my time on Mudcat and off of Mudcat can be better spent on other threads-or not.