I have to start off by saying that I didn't guess or even give a thought about your race. Second, based on your response and how I'm interpreting what you're saying, you're essentially telling me (along with anyone else who finds themselves in this situation) to keep my head down, keep quiet, and brush it off my shoulder. Is that correct? That must be easier for you to say, someone who is in a position to not have to experience racism the way that minorities experience it firsthand.

I understand your concerns in regards to avoiding confrontation to protect my safety, but letting these things slide just reinforces these scenarios to continue to play out. Sure, we can consider his mental health and the possible motive that he wanted to get a rise out of me, but it doesn't make my experience any less hurtful.

I think that you are also missing the bigger point in my article, which I won't go into depth explaining because I clearly didn't do my job conveying the message well enough if you missed it.

Again, I appreciate the time you took to write a response. Hopefully, we can meet somewhere in the middle and if not, that's fine too.