I don't think people are nearly as overtly racist or focused on race as they used to be. In fact, I have never, ever had to deal with a racial issue with someone my age.

I'd be really interested in reading a study about this (or hell, even conducting one). I've had a few, including racial encounters where I've been mistaken as a Native American. Walking around with long hair, whiskey and no shirt probably fed into one of those instances, I'll admit. It's also a strange thing to have white guys speculating about the size of one's cock, fairly openly. If I knew for sure that women in general were thinking about my dick (even in an uncomplimentary way) as much as some racist guys (white and black) I've met, I'd be a bit more confident than I already am. You might even say I'd be cocky.

I should have made it clearer what piqued my interest in this write-up: the writer mentions that she thinks that racism is still very present in the US and in the psyches of millenials, but that it isn't as overt, as you mentioned.

my ultimate view is to try and not think of race at all.

I've been there before and now race is something that bothers me again. Maybe it's because I lived outside the country for a long while. Asia is a pretty racist region too, but if people consider someone accomplished or sometimes, attractive, suddenly race melts away. Sometimes not.

Last year, a girl came up to me at a party and started stroking my chest, shortly after introducing herself. "I love Asian guys . . . they're always in such great shape!" Now, I like things to fall into place without too much hassle and I like compliments, but that one made me feel weird. Plus, I felt pretty out of shape, since I hadn't been to the gym in a while.

Societal issues are not as straightforward as equations, of course, but I often wonder about "solutions" to things like ingrained racism. In the past, I've jokingly said that the only way I see of overcoming it is by doing my part to create a future full of mixed-race children. Now, I sometimes think that my joke might be a more viable "solution" than laws. An American "ethnicity" might be an asset to the country, at least in terms of creating a real sense of unity. That feels weird to say, but I guess I'm still figuring this all out for myself.