"As a broadcaster and public figure, this has been difficult to accept, much less admit. I’m not claiming Dexter’s citizens are racist. Heck, there could be a valid unrelated reason for the demographic anomaly. However, there’s no denying that I grew up in a place where literally EVERYONE was the same color. This means that for the first 18 years of my life, when most behavior was learned, I was in an environment that (by its nature) did not promote inclusion, acceptance, or understanding of anyone different. I even vividly remember the first time I saw a woman with a burka on campus and had to search the internet for an explanation. I was a high school graduate from a public school in the world’s biggest melting pot with no understanding of a custom from the world’s second largest religion. Let that sink in...
If I’ve still got your attention, you are white, and/or your first 18 years started similar to mine in small town America, here’s my point. It’s okay to admit it. We come from a background that did not promote equality. We’re not sure how it occurred, who’s to blame, or if we can ever truly overcome it. But shrugging it off and failing to recognize how the past has likely jaded our present makes us idiots. Claiming empathy makes us bigots."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-huffman/never-spoke-black-man-until-mizzou_b_8563260.html
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