Imagine someone saying pervasive police abuse of Black men is deemed to be racist by Black people instead of just saying it’s racist. It leaves room. It implies “hey, I might not deem it” but others do. If you can’t see why that word usage softens and leaves doubt, I’m not going to be able to say more on the topic. But that was my intent. It’s not policing. If you only want comments that provide atta boys, and aren’t open to hearing how things landed, I certainly don’t need to comment on any of your pieces going forward. Criticism isn’t policing. I don’t always like some of the comments on my pieces but if they aren’t nasty or hateful, I still reflect on them.