Everyone wants to "fit in" somewhere, as is a fairly obvious concept. I think that is the only "color blind" element we have inherently, often times only one-sided. It just depends on where you are set down, or who you end up being around for certain important/influencing parts of your life. While some portion of "fitters in" are pure opportunists, it is the stronger element of "fitting in" that pulls people in this way.

If you are brought up in one community, and you are the only one not from the homogenous group, and there are no outside influences, let's say, especially before the internet, or consistent extended family contacts, "fitting in" would be extremely beneficial, at least in the short term. It is not just a racial thing, fitting in is huge in just about every environment.

Because skin-color is only skin deep, it does not have power over the "fitting in" element that is much deeper in the psyche. The individual can never really know how much their efforts are working, so constantly digging in deeper is more likely.

I do not mean we should feel sorry for those who went too far in "fitting in", but that the reality is, the psyche is a much stronger influence than skin color, although the connection can be indistinguishable some times as well.

Sadly, they are not very changeable because like a good portion of humans, any challenges to our current position is met with deeper digging in. It is a vicious cycle if not recognized, and even if recognized, it is hard to know when you are foolling yourself, or actually have that open mind you think you have. We are all Jekyll and Hyde in some things.