My mother just got back from a three week trip to China. As she was recounting her trip to me, she said “I didn’t even see any Chinese people there. I think because I have Chinese grandchildren and I just don’t see them as different.” [My two girls were born in China] I can’t even begin to tell you how offensive I find this! While I certainly am not consciously thinking “race race race” in my daily dealings with my children, I also don’t deny it. They ARE Chinese. And no one would ever look at them and not see it! My mother scares me in that she is not willing to even acknowledge this in her own family.
On a related note, we were visiting at a family who I know casually today. K is friends with their daughter, and B and I were just hanging out for a few. I said something to B and the dad misheard me and thought I had spoken in Chinese. He said he was very impressed that I had learned Chinese. We got that cleared up (sadly, I only know a few words), but he then asked me, in all seriousness, if B was “born knowing Chinese.” To which I replied, “were you born knowing English?”
And I just have to mention my 13-0 Patriots who showed a tremendous effort against the Steelers today. I’m still on an emotional high!
Niceties and Nasties from New England 
It’s so odd that people are all trying to be so politically correct that they think that not recognizing differences at all correlates to not being prejudiced. Mary Margaret has some speech issues, and I had a grocery clerk ask me once if the child was speaking a foreign language. Nope. She looked as if she didn’t believe me.