That's wild... you're right. The two statements did not evoke the same sort of reaction in me at all - it played out just as you said it would.

I was just having a similar discussion with a friend of mine last night... Being aware of your own cultural programming helps bolster defense against its influence, but it doesn't extract it completely. It's still there, you're just more conscious of it when it rears its head.

But you're probably not always conscious of it, and it requires an act of will to increase your awareness. I noticed that upon engaging in prolonged study of American slavery; I found that I became more keenly aware of race. I was more likely to note people's races and view them in a historical context. This yielded a great degree of understanding regarding modern racial cultures, but it also had the unfortunate consequence of bringing race to the fore.

My study itself was a program that I was running, and it was interacting with other previously-installed programs. The net result was that I was able to shed many of the concepts regarding race that had been imposed upon me during my upbringing, but they were replaced with my new historical context. The latter was certainly healthier, but not optimal, as it was the study of a depraved time in human history. Attention on the depraved - even if wholly aware of its inappropriateness - still leaves depraved residue in the mind.

Subsequently, I had to clean this up so I could have the benefit of the historical perspective, without the corresponding toxicity. When the toxic thoughts would enter my mind, I would quickly shift my attention to the opposite pole of that idea. When the valid understanding born of my study came to my mind, I would support that with my continued attention.

I explored this topic in my article Unraveling the Mystery of Human Nature, which concluded by highlighting the necessity for vigilance regarding our thoughts and attention. This may very well be the most important topic of all, as it's the determinate factor in who we ultimately become in this world. You've done an excellent job demonstrating how this is so.