Color deaf

One of my close friends is a different color.  While he was born in the United States, both of his parents are from Mexico.  As we were eating lunch outside, there was a protest gathering across the street to denounce the way black people have been treated by law enforcement.  Discussion of the protest led to a discussion of how he had been treated by law enforcement and by others over the course of his life.  When visiting his family in Mexico, he was pulled over by the local police.  He was yanked from the car, beaten and robbed by the policeman.  Horrific.  He then told me stories of how he was ostracized in US schools by other Hispanics, because he wasn't born in Mexico and chose not to participate in some of the less productive activities that they were engaged in.  His stories reinforced that I have lived a sheltered, white life.  I want to hear.  I want to listen.  But while my true desire is to have compassion for all people,  I will probably never fully understand the pain that others have had to deal with because of the color of their skin.