Blake, let me thank you for your response to my comments. I will also attempt to tread lightly.

It seems that what you are arguing for is similar to what Patrick Moynihan proposed in a policy memo to then President Richard Nixon in early January, 1970.

Moynihan’s memo to Nixon argued that “In quantitative terms … the American Negro is making extraordinary progress.” Now, he added, “we may need a period in which Negro progress continues and racial rhetoric fades.” This period would be characterized by “benign neglect” as the White House turned its attention to other matters and reacted less to race-related issues.

The problem with Moynihan's proposal is that it didn't work. 57 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed, black and brown Americans continue to live in less desirable neighborhoods, earn lower wages for comparable work, graduate less frequently from college and occupy fewer executive suites than their white colleagues. And the subtle, daily acts of being treated differently, which can sap much of the joy from life, do not cease if we simply ignore them. How do we address any of these issues without identifying and naming them?

Finally, you asked, "Isn't treating someone differently--irrespective of the treatment type (good or bad) because of their skin colour the very definition of racism?" Well, no, as a matter of fact, it isn't. All of the definitions that I am familiar with allude to the fact that racism assigns inherent superiority to at least one racial group, and inferiority to one or more other groups--and that the structures of society serve to maintain these distinctions, intentionally or otherwise. Racial bias is real and it imposes a heavier burden on some people than it does on others--it will not go away because we choose to close our eyes and not look at it.