Posted On: August 17, 2007, 2:26 pm CDT

Posted By: Lynn

I'm white, but I look very ethnic. Dark skin, very dark brown eyes and brown/black hair.

All 4 of my grandparents were immigrants; one each from Ireland, Germany, Norway and Wales. All 4, as far as they knew, were caucasian.

My dad, like me, looks to most people like he's Cuban or half-black.

No one was switched at birth. We were both just the recipients of every recessive gene in our family apparently.

Here's the kicker, I went to a 99% white school and I know racism is alive and well today because those kids were BRUTAL. For one thing, they couldn't figure out what I was, so I got all the slurs. Mexican slurs, Black slurs, Native American slurs.

My teachers didn't seem to treat me any differently, thankfully. But my classmates really broke my spirit at times.

I have to wonder where they learned those terms and I wonder if they're still using those words as adults today. I think there's better than a good chance that many of them did not outgrow their ignorance.

While I don't feel like racism is as bad as it was in the 60's and earlier, for some of you to suggest it is no longer a threat is off base.

Statistics continue to show that females still earn less on average than men and that the same goes for minorities. What accounts for that? Perhaps racism isn't to blame for 100% of it, but I think there's indeed probability that racism is part of it.

This student who is suing may sincerely feel she's been wronged. I think she's probably been ill-advised by a greedy attorney and she will regret her decision to sue.

Having a 'nappy head' or being a 'ho' isn't specific only to black people, but there certainly, in my opinion, seems to be a racial tone in Imus' comment.