Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'
This seems like such a hard problem to really solve, since so much of what we consider racism, or at least borderline racism, has a significant basis in fundamental human thinking.  I really feel for the guy, but it&#x27;s hard to know where to start.<p>I try really hard to ignore color, but I&#x27;m not immune to at least <i>noticing</i>.  Then I try hard not to double-take.  It&#x27;s completely expected to meet Indians at the workplace, but black people are so rare that it always feels like a surprise.  Maybe there&#x27;s a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem in play.<p>I recall that when I was in the military, I got so used to the racial make-up, which has a <i>lot</i> more representation from black people than my hometown, that it wouldn&#x27;t register at all.  Just another guy.  When it <i>really</i> hit home was after I&#x27;d been back in Oregon for a few months after I left the service, when I was walking across the college campus and noticed a small group of black students walking towards me.  I noticed them, and then I realized that I had just <i>noticed</i> them, as if they were noteworthy.  That was the moment I realized how white Oregon [mostly] is.  I didn&#x27;t feel negativity towards them, but I felt uncomfortable that it was something that even came to mind.<p>In any case, we have two black guys on our team.  Both really nice, but very different people.  One of them acts like he was raised locally in a wealthy family, he&#x27;s very laid back and doesn&#x27;t seem to feel out of place.  The other guy is a little older, and if you didn&#x27;t know better you&#x27;d think he was a little hostile.  No, he&#x27;s wary.  He acts like he&#x27;s faced judgement his entire life and he&#x27;s always waiting for the other shoe to drop.<p>Easy to be comfortable around the first guy, much harder around the second guy.  I want to act like it&#x27;s not even anything to be aware of, but that in itself seems pretty dishonest.  People are different, and that&#x27;s totally okay.  Good in fact, since they bring their own unique perspective to the daily problems we are asked to solve.