Ed, I understood what you were saying right off the bat. We all want to know about each other and this medium does not allow us the pleasure of using most of our senses. We are interested in the lives and backgrounds of our neighbors in this virtual community.

As for those who point fingers and shout "RACISM!" we are doing the same thing in this thread that people have done in any group. We are locating ourselves. How many times have we sat in a group of "white" people and questioned each other about our ancestory? How many of us point proudly to the fact that we have Irish progentiors or German, French, English, Dutch or any of the other European nationalities. Why would it be any different for someone from a nation where the predominant skin color is different from our own? We need to be able to ask and tell without worrying about the taint of racism.

And, as Rana has pointed out, you cannot tell much from skin color. Read his post. He sounds as English as any other Englishman I've heard on the this site. His progenitors come from another continent but his upbringing is English and he is proud of it. Yet I would never have known about him if I hadn't seen this thread. He, and others like him, bring something special to folk music (and apparently to morris dancing as well).

I just want to see this as a place where I can talk to people and ask them about themselves without having others accuse me of being racist. We grow by learning from each other. There are a lot of different people out there and that means I have a lot of growing to do. Does anyone want to join me in growing and learning or are we going to sit silently and let the hatred grow instead? (Judging from the responses in this thread I may be too late in extending that invitation. A lot of you are growing and learning ahead of me.)

And yes, Ed, the title could have been worded better but I think the wording you've used has sparked a livelier debate than a carefully edited title might have. Good Job!