Hmm not sure this is accurate.

> so you get Irish towns and Polish towns and Italian places

My italian ancestors settled where they did because (a) the polish wouldn't sell them the land they originally wanted near but not in the italian neighborhood, so they had to find an italian to sell them some and (b) they wanted to live somewhere that had italian grocery stores, and italian churches (this is very important 100 years ago) and other italian cultural points.

> They become more diverse over time but they're not white for any reason except genetic happenstance.

Redlining. Segregation. The history of america is "genetic" segregation.

> If you don't have specific friends and family you're relocating for, then I'd say it's probably better to minimize the impact of any sort of decisions based on race or ethnic diversity

I think the opposite is true. If you don't care where you're going, why not go somewhere that can feel like you're a bit at home when you're homesick?

I see what you're saying. It is very admirable when people engage in these communities, cross boundaries and educate others. It's also a lot of work. Even if we take your premise that most of the country is fine, there's a lot of work to be done in encountering innocent ignorance. Some of the more hurtful, frustrating experiences have come from innocent ignorance. Just because people "don't care about race", doesn't mean they're always great at interacting with other races. Some people are willing to either put in the work or ignore these unpleasantries and survive. Others are not. They may not relish being obligated to act as a representative for a race or a culture in their community. They may not like having to ignore or brush off remarks that are not so great, even if they're meant in good faith

Roxane Gay has a good bit in one of her essays about how she struggled to help the black and LGBT organizations in colleges. She felt obligated as one of the few black queer professors, but that obligation in of itself really wore her down. Being a minority can be an extra job and some people do not want that responsibility.

>the distribution happened because of communities and families emigrating en masse, so you get Irish towns and Polish towns and Italian places

why dont we see as many british or french neighborhoods?

>but they're not white for any reason except genetic happenstance

:hmm: i dont agree that one could accurately describe the evolution of racial diversity in american communities as "not white for any reason except genetic happenstance"