Carol, I agree with you that individuals can and do form bonds with people who are of different racial, ethnic, and/or national backgrounds then themselves. I know this from my own experiences on this forum and elsewhere.

But the fact that members in online communities can & do bond with each other regardless of their race, ethnicity, etc does not negate the fact that race/ethnicity and nationality has been documented to impact health conditions. And it does not negate the fact that a person's racial/ethnic identity or (a person's religious identity, and sexual orientation etc) can impact the availability of services he or she receives and the quality of services that he or she receives in the off-line world.

**

I'm not sure if you are a proponent of the "color blind" position regarding race/ethnicity. I prefer to view "color" or race/ethnicity as a neutral descriptor, and also as a descriptor that sometimes adds context and information if not validity to what people (on the Internet or elsewhere) are saying.