Oh, yes! Quite. I don’t feel guilty. Mom didn’t let us out of the house until his face was scrubbed clean. But over the past few weeks, I’ve wondered. I was in college already when that happened. Iowa wasn’t a place where one learned much about the history of racism, so it’s not surprising I’d never encountered the story of blackface.

But the story of what my cousin and I almost did is eerily similar to what at least one disgraced politician is said to have done. Right down to being a Michael Jackson fan. I’ve wondered if I should raise a thoughtful point about how even a person in their late teens might honestly have no idea how hurtful it could be to darken their skin to look like Michael Jackson.

But as I say … I haven’t had the guts. It’s a volatile topic.