I think the world would be a lot better if everyone simply made their own decisions about other people based on their traits and their interactions.

Someone can be racist and nice; someone can be horrible and proclaim all the SJW credentials they like. Personalities and people are multi-faceted and painting binary simplicity over the top doesn't encourage a better world. Racist people can also be horrible, and SJW can be lovely - but it's much more complex than the arbitrary labels suggest.

As a gay friend of mine told me - he'd rather hang out in a friendly bar with people who use homophobic language than people who say all the right things but aren't really cool with him and just pretending.

Judge everyone as an individual. Empower people to be individual. Understand individuality. That's the only antidote to racism. If James was racist (and he probably was) then his interaction with you and your husband will have done far more than any evil looks and judgmental bullshit from Phyllis.

Great article, great story. Glad you got your car going again! :o)