I didn't mention it in my earlier post, but one of the few times I was interrupted that night, was when one of my sisters asked me about the (scary) Tea Party.
I sort of chuckled at her wrinkled brow, and told her that I'd never felt more welcomed and at home in any group I'd ever been a part of. She and my other siblings seemed genuinely amazed that I had survived comingling with 'those people'.
The race card is difficult to defend against. I've never felt I had the right to line my friends up against a wall so liberals could check for a politically correct balance. That would really be exploiting my friends, not the reason for having friends at all.
One of my cousins is happily married to a black man, they have a gorgeous little daughter. I'm not going to throw their Facebook page at people screaming "racist" at me, they are family, my relatives, not molotov cocktails.