Perhaps part of the problem is that 'contributing to the discussion' is far too often associated with sharing one's own problems

I can see that. A lot of people whom I've had issue with on the topic of race usually used the topic as a springboard for personal issues which may or may not be related to race. I try to stay impartial, even though I have a personal stake in it, when talking about inequality, because I know my opinion won't be held in as high a regard unless the person I'm talking with knows me and what my childhood was like.

So, if I were to say "the Hispanic community in my hometown (approx. 80% of the population IIRC) is somewhat exclusionary, especially if you have a different religion and don't speak Spanish," people would likely think I was making a racist remark or me saying "poor me I didn't have friends as a kid." It's a generalization, of course. I have close friends who deviated from that norm by being friendly, but by and large it's rung true. I was raised in a very liberal household and have never had any concept of race being "different." My mom's brothers are not white (both of different races), so despite being 100% white by blood, I am (by virtue of my family background and the town in which I was raised) "not like other white people," as a friend once put it.

Stereotyping does go both ways. I was raised poor to lower middle-class. However, many of my peers would avoid me because being white meant I was rich or snobby in their eyes. It's a shame I can't voice this observation in mixed company. I've made the mistake before and been called prejudiced. It's insulting being called a racist, more so than being called "pinche gringa." I can't change that I'm blonde and light-skinned, but I've never been a racist.