jenk

In response to an observation of growing up in whitebread America - no racism but no other races, either

I grew up in a bit north of Seattle, what is now the city of Shoreline. When I was in school it was about 10% Asian, 1-2% black, and the rest white or mixed (and most of the mixes were white & Asian). The 2000 census reports it was 77% white, 13% Asian, and 2.8% black.

So. Yes, people of other races. But damned few, even in service positions. And those few I met at school were usually 2nd or 3rd-generation Americans being raised by smart, well-educated, frequently well-to-do (at least to my eyes) parents. Then I went to work at Microsoft Redmond, with its large Asian minority (new immigrants as well as nth-generation), almost everyone comes from one side of the IQ bell curve and most are being paid high-tech wages.

Results?

I expect people of other races to be as smart or smarter than I and to have as much or more money.
I do not equate "accent" with "ignorant".
I do not equate "brown skin" with "accent".
I did not pick up my mother's assumption that people of color are less educated or poor. This baffled her.
I did pick up some of mom's BS, largely her discomfort with being emotionally close to people who look different (black, Asian, Latino, noticably richer or poorer).
I am aware of racial differences. I wonder if I would be less aware if I had grown up in a more-mixed community.
I wonder if my ignorance leads me to racist assumptions.

FWIW, according to the 2000 census info, King County is 75.7% white, 10.8% Asian, and 5.4% black. The rest is mostly mixed, with some Pacific Islander & Native American thrown in. In Redmond it's 79% white, 13% Asian, and 1.5% black.