When will we understand?

Race is such a hard concept to discuss for me. I'm constantly afraid that someone will take me wrong, as posted earlier. While talking to Becky, she said that being afraid to discuss it is a scapegoat. We are just walking around the issue, instead of stepping through it to understand how society has created this category and the implications on us today. I also came to the realization that some of my fears are based of society's stereotypes. Media influences the way we perceive things, and it certainly has impacted my life. Yet, I don't feel that I will stereotype a person of color into a category, for me it is the way anyone will portray themselves to the rest of the world. The way they dress, and act, is something much more important then the color of someone's skin. But once a minority steps outside their stereotype, we consider them to be "white washed." Even more, if a white kid dresses like a stereotyped gangster, we consider them to be a "wangster." Why do we do this? Its as if our society will never accept anyone the way they really are, and there will always be these high expectations that no one will be able to reach. These thoughts are so frustrating for me, and I wish I could just spend a few minutes not thinking.