Dan, I certainly agree with the fact that racism today is a fraction of what it once was, and far less of a factor in peoples' lives than decision making... I'll also readily agree that there are plenty of people looking for handouts! I think, when discussing the topic of racism and its impact on America, it's important not to conflate those who are using it as an excuse and those who are trying to spread awareness, and while I'm not all about handouts, I AM all about awareness - not because of "white guilt" or any of that bullshit, but because there are still millions and millions of people dealing with the economic and cultural consequences of those many many decades of perhaps not slavery any more, but certainly segregation and rampant, legal (and illegal) discrimination. It's a lot easier for someone whose parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents own their land and have lived long stable lives to get their shit together and make good decisions than it is for someone who has zero chance of inheritance, an unstable family life, poor role-models, and whose traditional cultural values are shaped by a history of slavery and oppression. Sure, many non-black groups have overcome terrible adversity, but it took many generations for this to happen, more than have passed since the Civil Rights Amendment. I'm confident that in time the Black community in the US will recover as well, but I'm not about to say that things are perfectly equal, because they're just not.