I'm about to go on a limb here and probably going to get bashed incessantly about this. But that's OK, because I think it's an important conversation to have. Apologies in advance for the rant/preach-like nature of this.
I don't know what the writer's motives were in writing this letter. Some of you seem to have more confidence than I do, so it might be an issue with me. What I do know, however, is the world view I've formed with my life experience. With regards to this situation, that world view comes down to a simple notion - there's a difference....a big difference....between being a racist and being racially insensitive (and I would broaden that out to be being a culturist (is that a word?) and culturally insensitive (happy to discuss how this world view of mine was formed if anyone's interested, but won't get into details now). A key component of that difference is how one - as a receiver or viewer of either a racist and/or racially insensitive situation - reacts to that situation.
- Racist = admonish
- Racially Insensitive = Educate. Don't admonish
- In both cases - hold the person accountable
Again, I don't know where the writer of this letter falls ultimately. That's because, in my opinion, there's enough doubt in how it's written to say it could be either (again, some of you seem to disagree with me on this). However, it seems in our cultural, political, and overall societal climate today, there's less room for a middle ground anymore (dare I say without inadvertently making it sound insensitive/racist because I'm not referring to only racism in this context - everything seems to be black and white. There's no grey area). Racially insensitive comments often fall in that grey area. As
@Hoppy2105 alluded to, there may just be misunderstanding of the notion of what the cultural relevance of what the writer is referring to and not overt racism.
So what do we do when things potentially fall into that grey area? This is where the crux of my argument falls. Without having a good deal of confidence that this is a racist and not a racially insensitive situation, in my opinion, we're better of as a society of giving people the benefit of the doubt. That means not admonishing the person, not labeling them racist or even implying what they said as racist. Instead, educate the person. Assume the person just didn't understand the implication and show them what that implication is. IMO, we, as a society that wants to eradicate racism completely, our chances of achieving that goal are much higher by presuming some level of innocence in grey areas because if you label the person guilty of actual racism, and you respond with the resulting admonishment, that will turn off that person and all those that may fall into his realm watching this occur from ever actually being educated. This, in turn, will further this divide that already seems to be growing. Nonetheless, in either case, you do hold the person accountable, you just do so in a different way.
Rant complete.