Dealing with daily Racism/When is it racism and when is it not?

African Americans unfortunately have the baggage of slavery and oppression in America and through out the world. We have been looked down on and despised by nearly every other race on this planet. This is a heavy burden to bare. Due to the oppression we suffer in America many Blacks stuck in a poverty cycle have resorted to crime. This is yet another stigma that Blacks now suffer as a whole which is the "every Black is a thief" syndrome. Due to this syndrome many Blacks are viewed suspiciously by others. Many of us (especially the males) are followed by security or staff when shopping. When many of us try to gain employment we are looked over by White employers even when we are qualified. A continuous barrage of such discrimination has made many of African Americans quite sensitive. I'll admit there have been times when I felt i was being treated in a discriminatory way only to find out it was a miss understanding. However I stress all most daily I am hit with some form of discrimination. When ever I enter a store or when ever I drive my car. Today I went to a hardware store to get some keys copied. As I spoke with the female clerk her male co-worker came into the area fixing the surrounding items on the shelves. I left and came back to pick up my order. As i entered a white patron was being rang up and the male staff person was no where to be seen. When it was my turn to pick up my package he pops up gain fixing items on the shelf making his presence known. Was this racism..hell Im not even gonna say but what ever it was it was rude. Other races cant imagine going through ones life being treated in this fashion. It gives reason to why many Blacks have that "attitude". It like a defence mechanism. Its basically saying "I know you don't like me so im going to treat you rudely off bat before you get a chance to insult me with some racist,bias or discriminatory action". As African Americans we need to learn to deal with situations like this in a far more constructive manner. For Whites and others you must realise this society has a ling way to go before things are actually "equal"