Who else but Gates knows her father best? Miccio's comments about Gates' choice of words to describe her father's supposed "white privilege" are out of line.

Whether or not her father is unaware, ignorant, or cognizant of his attitudes toward other ethnic groups, the only true person to have a glimmer of who he is is Gates and no one else.

Moreover, since you have asked for specific numbers, statistics, etc., related to racism in the United States, I'll try to oblige: The U.S. Department of Justice had to send 317 federal observers to 18 different counties nationwide during our Nov. 7 election because certain ethnic groups were not being allowed to vote and were harassed when they tried to vote.

Federal observers since 1996 have received complaints and observed, firsthand, ethnic intimidation of voters in various elections. The states include New Jersey, Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico, Utah, New York, California and Michigan. The ethnic groups harassed include Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans. This is our world of race and privilege.