Reply #142: but you don't know that those whites are racist

[hfojvt]

you assume they are because you think you notice a topic change in the conversation (which of course could never happen by accident or for innocent reasons (so the black guy sitting down makes you think about OJ, that does not mean you are changing the conversation just to annoy somebody else. Maybe sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. Certainly it cannot be strange to talk about the election these days.))

You assume those people are racist, not because you suddenly notice the n-word creeping into a conversation, but because it is two or more white people talking about something that may involve some black people. That does not convince me beyond a reasonable doubt.

But, it's also something that can happen to white people, as Bob Seger sang "Most times, you can't hear them talk, other times you can. Oh the same old cliches - is that a woman or a man? And you always seem outnumbered, you don't dare make a stand."

In fact the earlier line is "Well, you walk into a restaurant, hungry from the road. You can feel the eyes upon you, as you're shaking off the cold. You pretend it doesn't bother you, but you just want to explode."