You're right. Stupid comment. It's the kind of comment that his generation can make without knowing it's wrong. I'm in my late 30s and I could even make this mistake. We are constantly reminded in the media how different whites and blacks are. When we are faced with the reality that we are the same it is easy to be suprised. Since I am also white(ish), I also realize that I have no right to say anything about the differences or similarities that I see. That would be racism.

Are people really the same, or is just that the differences are insignificant? There are physical, historical, and cultural differences between different groups of people. None of them really make a person better or worse, but they DO make them different. What I'm saying is the differences between people are important, but one type is not better than any other.

The guy's comment, however, implies that one group is inferior to another and is inappropriate.

I withdraw my previous commment. I had read the quote elsewhere and not in it's entirety.

It just could have been worded totally different to get the point across he says he was trying to... I mean, honestly, Harlem maybe wasn't the best part of New York a while back, but it's not like it's the depths of hell today. I just really think his comment was foolish regardless of his intentions.