Okay, White 'Murrica....

[Davka]

Which means he was assuming you were bigoted because you were white plus supporting a perceived injustice.

No, he said nothing about a "perceived injustice".

Come on, you're smarter than this. The perceived injustice was that you let the other guy go first. Which he most definitely did reference.

Which you clearly know full well, because you yourself referenced it right after denying that it existed:

And I wonder what's more unjust, having to wait a couple of minutes to pump one's gas because another car was in front of yours, or having your character slurred because of your ethnicity?

Does it really matter?

All I'm pointing out here is that his assumption was not based only on the fact that you are white.

I don't think hate crime statistics tell us anything about how racist an area is. The highest percentage of White Supremacists is in Idaho, but they didn't even make the list.

And that's a fair point. But I think it's also fair to regard that information as one metric on the intensity of the bigotry at hand. And it certainly points out that bigotry is not a regional affair in America.

No, it certainly isn't. I have found, however, that people in the south (especially the deep South) are far more likely to voice racist opinions. maybe they're just more honest. Or maybe it's more socially-acceptable in the South.

That doesn't mean there aren't just as many racists elsewhere, it just means that Southern culture is more tolerant of racist speech.

People will judge you by your appearance. By choosing your appearance carefully, you can - to some extent - control how people judge you.

"Appearance" is more than clothing, too. House, car, neighborhood - they all factor in.

Well, judging someone as probably racist because he drives a pickup truck and wears cowboy boots doesn't seem to make much more sense than judging someone as probably criminal because he drives a dropped 67 Impala and cops a sag with his jeans, now does it?

It makes exactly the same amount of sense.

We are pattern-seeking animals by nature. And the way we choose to present ourselves in public says something about us. Looking like a typical Southern or Western bigot doesn't mean that's what you are, but it does mean that you identify with at least some characteristics of that group, and that you clearly don't mind being identified with them.

Looking like a "gangsta" doesn't mean you're a criminal, but it does mean that you identify with at least some characteristics of that group, and that you clearly don't mind being identified with them.

We can complain about stereotyping all we want, but that won't make it go away. So choose your stereotype carefully, because you will be judged by it.