"...but some of my best friends are black"

bradhicks points out how the events of hurricane Katrina demonstrate how deeply ingrained racialism is in US society. Read it.

And in UK society.

And in me.

Being aware of a problem, acknowledging it openly, is the first step in dealing with it; it's not the last step. Also, while I'm at it, what's your first reaction to the word "Muslim" as contrasted to, say, "Christian"? How about "woman" and "man"?