Eddie - thank you for your comment. You're right - it's unrealistic for a collective of individual efforts to force change. I don't know that there is any solution to force change, other than to help it die out. I believe our kids are stellar at true equality and will instill those values in our grandchildren. I'm heartened by it.

I believe the argument about groups being disproportionately affected at times drives home an important message. Other times, it's tossed around without regard.

Pride and hard work are not enough for some people, regardless of race. It's so much driven by circumstance. Kids with mentors and good healthcare and a quiet room to study in are at an advantage over those who don't have role models, access to medicine, and an opportunity like others have to thrive. I wish I had a solution for this.

It's unfortunate that the bootstraps doctrine is so closely tied to white supremacy. That pluck is universal, and at times when we have nothing else but bootstraps, inspirational. I know not all bootstraps - or the conditions in which the bootstraps reside - are equal.

Greed is a condition of mankind that has pervaded our history. I find hope that future generations will help us usher this out.

It's often not anyone's fault to be poor, or not have a living wage. Again, I wish I had solutions. Often, the only thing I can think of is bootstraps, and there are plenty of men and women of color who have lifted an entire generation by theirs.

Although AOC and I do not stand on common ground on many political stances, I do appreciate her advocacy for the economically oppressed. There's a way out of this that might be unforeseen at the moment. Maybe women like her can help us find it. Again, I think it points more to greed than a desire to oppress, but for those disadvantaged, that hardly matters.

For every Anthony Munoz and proprietor of business in the Hispanic community, there are so many others who have achieved and will never see a headline for it. And you're correct - so many who aren't able to work, who suffer from mental and physical ailments that they're unable to confront for various reasons.

I'd like to be the one who came up with the solutions, or helped someone that did. In the meantime, I believe pride does have it's place - in who we are, how we treat others, and how we can help.

Thank you again for your observations!