I've never been openly discriminated beause of my racial background, though it may have happened silently. Being trans I have learned that people don't really want to discriminate, most of the time they just don't know better. Not a single person, if they meet me prior to finding out that I am trans, has anything negative to say about me because of it. On the contrary! Most people will express gratitude for showing them by example how wrong they were in their prejudice.
If people can recognize themselves in you then they are less likely to want to attack you and more likely to want to understand you, but they need a chance to see how similar you are before showing them how different. They need a real chance.
When you go into an interaction thinking you are going to get hurt, you can predispose yourself to it.
Very well said. Thank you for sharing your own personal experience.