This really is a strange board. Hard to get a read on what the posters will react to.
A few months ago, in this thread, a poster was concerned that someone in a new suburban development had a swimming pool that didn’t have a fence, and wanted to know who he needed to contact, perhaps the police? When, in over 20 replies, I suggested that he could contact the owner directly to find out about the fence, not only did NOBODY agree that talking to your neighbor will often yield better results than talking to the authorities, but several posters opined that confronting a someone over such an issue was dangerous and foolhardy.
In particular,
Which was followed by,
Now, I expect a boatload of dopers to respond with, “That’s not the same thing! Some kid could drown if there isn’t a fence.” That is exactly my point. The fastest and most efficient way to correct the situation is to talk to them directly, whether it is loud music or a fence around a pool. But, talking to someone in a quiet, suburban neighborhood is (apparently) much more dangerous than confronting someone in an apartment building?
I have not read the article, but apparently the woman in question is either a doctor or studying to become one. As quick as she is to jump to conclusions about racism, how do you think she might treat a patient whose skin is not the proper shade of brown? Or a patient, perhaps, she feels (rightly or wrongly) that harbors racist beliefs (or, even beliefs that aren’t specifically racist, but ones that she personally disagrees with)?