kiya

I liked what the article said on that account. I am less racist than I used to be; but I had that almost-instinctive fear of _the other_, where _the other_ was anyone not looking like me. Wasn't a problem with 'members of my tribe' - anybody I knew personally - but was a problem with strangers. As a kid, if, on the tube, I had the choice between sitting opposite a black person and sitting opposite a white person, I would have chosen the white person. (Unless, of course, the white person was obviously agressive/drunk/batshit crazy.)

I don't have that anymore. I'm much less likely to register colour, to the point of not really registering their skin colour. I remember having watched Jonathan Dimbleby on TV for quite some time before someone referred to 'the black presenter' and I did a double-take and went 'he is black?'. I'd filed him under 'knowledgeable, good journalist', not skin colour.

And I can really reccommend a trip to a country where you stick out like a sore thumb. Travelling in Japan was an eye-opener in that regard. You can't hide if you're the only one. And it is really REALLY hurtful if you're on a crowded train and nobody sits down beside you, or people jump up and take another seat as soon as one gets free.