Ha ha... so highly codified and opaque I was living in a confused state most of the time !!! Indeed because of that very all pervasive notion that only uneducated lower classes are racist, I could not even entertain the idea of this subtle undermining and refusal to acknowledge my strengths should they suspect I might outshine them... as a form of racism.

So it created a kind of isolation as when you tell a joke but no-one in your circle seems to get it...