I used to keep a running list of all the names people called me. Some of them were so far off as to beggar belief. My parents gave me and my sister unique first names and ultra-ordinary middle names so we could switch if we decided it was too much. Neither of us ever did. Instead, we learned to answer to everything short of "hey, you". A rose is a rose.

I wanted to share this with you so you know that everyone goes through this. As one previous commenter noted, it's a human condition.

I wish you'd used this post to create unity among people, emphasize what we have in common. I wish you hadn't used the word White and struck a divide between us. That's the one name I won't answer to.