Of course! Neither did any of the other passengers! But she was the only person who walked away from that annoying encounter thinking it was personal. This, again, is the issue. The only person who suffers from her telling herslef this false narrative about the world is her (and her daughter).

As for why I felt there was a need to explicitly say that we're allowed to make mistakes, it's because you very explicitly claimed that we aren't:

"We're not allowed to make mistakes, be vulnerable...be human, period."

This is exactly what I'm talking about. This kind of hyperbole has become so automatic, so subconscious, that it just slips out, even when you know it’s not true. It's impossible to argue that having this narrative in your head doesn't affect you and your experience of the world.

And yes, I'm familiar with that Baldwin quote. And it obviously is true. I think it would be more or less impossible for a black person to come of age in 1940/50s America without being enraged. But it's not 1940/50s America anymore. And it's worth noting that Baldwin freed himself from that rage by moving to 1940/50s Paris.

America is very far from racially perfect today, but do you really think the Europe of 80 years ago was better?