>I agree with all you have written above, especially that racism alone
>cannot be the centerpiece of an explanation to the massacre, just as I
>think that one cannot hope to explain the massacre fully without dealing
>with race. Having said that, I find it somewhat problematic that you
>consider racism only a preexisting channel through which separate and prior
>grievances were expressed.
Why? We're born into a racialized society; it's part of the landscape for us. That doesn't mean we don't pick up on it, give it life, and make it anew all the time.
Doug