Re Browne: It sounds like in her case, she's got an actual negative motive and/or track record going, which is obviously a different story.

In the general case, i'm down with, as i said, encouraging people to be aware of the social ramifications of a claim, and/or the possibilities that subconscious suggestion can play a part in filling in "gaps" when trying to reconstruct information. After those things have been carefully considered, though, i wouldn't want someone biasing what they truly believe to be fact just to avoid a racial issue -- in some ways, that's more racist than just being honest, i think.