I agree, on listening being the first thing. Which really makes it all the more...well, stumping...that anyone should object to people linking to blog entries about race issues. I'm getting the message here that only non-whites are morally allowed to take an interest.

I'm pretty much coming to this from the angle of somebody who grew up in a very homogenous society (all norwegian) where the closest thing we came to different cultures was the danish family a few doors down. Now I'm living in a neighborhood where white is increasingly in the minority, and my daughter has friends of just about every color and religion. I'm still learning my way around the heterogenous new world, and I find it helpful to see people writing about the world from the opposite perspective. Having different races/cultures/nationalities living together affects everybody, not just non-whites, and I suspect we all have something to learn from the other side.

And I suppose that's enough soap-box from me... I'll shut up now.