Hi Frank,

You don't have to apologize. I just like to vocalize my feelings about the process of racial education. I think it can be filled with a lot of uncomfortableness and that is the real work- how hard it is to push through when we have to continue to learn and grow about racial equity. I know thats where I find the real work for me anyway, pushing past feelings that come from being corrected and remaining open to learning. I like to vocalize that these conversations are not also easy and model that its normal to feel attacked but the best conversations continue anyway because that's where the growth happens. I did want to address your second paragraph, and your article which I read. I think you bring up some interesting points, points that I read through my own narrow lens and bias. So bare with me- but I have a lot of thoughts about your approach. First, I do think it's important to note as I believe you bring up in your article- that Rwanda's tension arouse out of German and Belgium colonization. Also something I was thinking about was how America's pseudoscience was partially the backing for the scientific justification for the genocide of the Jews. Which leads me to my second thought about this which is that violent thoughts and ideas can spread so rapidly. I believe the root of what you are saying, and what I genuinely believe too, almost in a spiritual sense, is that when we separate ourselves from another human being on any level- theres something wrong about that. As we are all in many ways the same, the exact same. To create division of any kind between ourselves and another human being is a lie, that often leads to violence. I think it's interesting that the more "civilized" group(Europeans) and the "easily manipulated"(Rwandans)- show us a different reality. Is it not more civilized and beautiful to coexist in peace(As these people did before anyone invaded)? And is there not something truly evil in seeing a power structure and then using it in manipulation to create tensions and violence(As Germany/Belgium did)-boom. I think I just got that's what you are getting at with your piece. Arguably too, as you state maybe this heightens a political divide and tensions in a completely different way. However, I have a few different thoughts to this- I think this ideology- while true- we are all the same, dangles closely to overlooking the differences. It reminds me of the humanist vs. feminist argument. And the concept that to be able to name something(an idea I hold close) is to give it a way to work itself out and to understand it. It reminds me of blood, a lay person may call it "blood" but a doctor can analyze the white-to-red ratio, the type of blood- and in being able to name these things- doctors can recognize and treat them. So while I do agree that divisiveness is the exact problem we are trying to treat, I also think refusing to name it- is just as dangerous. So for example, I never even realized I held the view that wealthy black rappers were being "showy" with their wealth because as a culture we penalize and judge black wealth. If I wasn't even aware of the violent thought or that the thought was violent, I could never seek to change it. Awareness brings change. I think the issue is that even though there is no divisiveness in reality between humans, there are a million messages within the culture that tell us otherwise. I do think the extreme politicization of this issue is a HUGE problem that heeds the conversation. But I also see an issue in the fact that it became political at all. I also cannot help but see the entire world through the lens of racial conflict/power. This may be because I am an American and racial conflict made America what it is, but I also cannot divorce power in the conceptualization of human behavior. Which may even lead us to a further discussion around if human's actually have free will.... Also I liked what you said about not supporting all free speech- it's something I am not well researched in but considering jumping the fence on! The End. :)