The observation comes centuries too late. The
United States has a history of
slavery and of the
genocide or forced
assimilation of indigenous peoples. Various parts of the world have had outbreaks of violent
anti-semitism over the centuries. The
Sudan is
still killing people over
race (of course, it's also a
holy war). Conversely, the
Ibero-American world covers the entire spectrum of the
melanin (and
phenotype) rainbow, as does, increasingly,
the Old World.
Race is very real, politically and economically; the echoes of past "race is real" mindsets still reverberate here and now. While "race is a myth" is true and cute and all that, to make the mistake of using those four words to deliberately ignore the present realities worldwide (such as war and caste) shaped by race and racism is nearly as toxic as racism itself. And who can talk such a person down from dreaming in Technicolor?