I find myself somewhat sensitive to comments that betray ethnic prejudice in the person making the comment, and I never quite know how to respond.On the whole, people are pretty careful to avoid racial controversy when it comes to discussing black issues. As Attorney General Eric Holder recently put it, we realize “certain subjects are off limits” and are averse to commenting on such issues.The same cannot be said for prejudice related to sexual orientation, where one still commonly hears the word “gay” used in the pejorative. That said, there is an active community of people who are working to dispel that kind of prejudice.And it is often the case that comments about black issues and comments about GBLT issues spark rage. Instilled in our daily code is the idea that white people are not allowed to talk about affirmative action. Straight people cannot express an opinion on gay marriage.And because of that – because of the outrage over someone “not” in the group having opinions about people who “are” in the group, people avoid talking about the issues altogether.In our race to extinguish prejudice from the way we live our lives, we have also extinguished open discussion about these issues. Holder said essentially this on Wednesday. As it stands now, we cannot be frank about the way we discuss race and ethnicity and equality in this country – at least, not without passions running high. Holder posits – and he is correct – that we should be able to “confront racial issues freely and without fear.”Perhaps it is better not to get upset about every comment that plays on ethnic stereotypes. As co-presidents Andrew Poon and Betty Cao of the N.C. State Asian Student Association describe it, over-sensitivity does little to help people overcome prejudice. For them, it’s about “picking your battles.”But the idea of “picking our battles” implies that merely mentioning an inequitable situation – bringing a perceived racist remark or action into the light – will cause harm.Poon and Cao agree that when someone experiences any particularly egregious form of prejudice, then he/she should speak out about it. Which means that person must make a judgement call between being over-sensitive and confronting actual ignorance.Of course, this is an impossible distinction to make.Moreover, it is a distinction that we should not have to worry about making. Somewhere, we need to find a happy medium between “not tolerating discrimination” and “being able to talk about the issue.” So far, however,  we have only instilled in our culture that if somebody cries racism – whether or not it happened – one must express nothing short of rage.So often, however, rage displaces thought. And it assuredly acts to censor people from expressing thoughts, insights and new ideas in the realm of discrimination in the United States.I agree that students should be outraged about discrimination. But that behavior — the subtle ways society manipulates its social structure — is a much more nuanced issue which deserves more than a knee-jerk reaction.Progress will be when we can talk about our own proclivities to discriminate without fear of being lynched. Until then, at best, we will only be able to legislate against the symptoms of discrimination. At worst, we will move that kind of behavior from the workplace to the weekends — which hardly fixes anything.