You are more worldly then most people that are born/raised/ and have never left America. Most Americans have no clue what the rest of the world is really like. America comes across as a very racist country because people yell about it the loudest here. Almost all cultures, in some way, discriminate against others not like themselves. And you are right that there is a reason why so many people, of all nationalities, want to come here and even risk their lives trying to do so. In a perfect world everyone would be judged by only their actions. And many do look past skin color differences but we hear most loudly about those who do not. And discrimination has never been only about dark colored skinned people. Just read true history of this country. Irish people where the first slaves that were brought over long before Africans. Why don't we hear about that? First is was the Irish that were "beneath" others, then it was the Italians, then the Chinese. Egyptians enslaved their own people. It goes on and on. This is one of the worst parts of human nature. You would think that humans would have evolved by now. The best thing that anyone can do is to act like you want to be treated. If you want to be treated with respect and dignity, then act with respect and dignity and be above the racist. FYI, I am in no way saying that the OP was acting in any way wrong. This is just a general statement learned from being raised by immigrants to this country that have dealt with discrimination.