You like Colby and you don't want him to be a racist, because you don't believe that you are a racist. It is classic cognitive dissonance. You don't need to be "DUMB" to experience cognitive dissonance. LOL
You are like a Muslim using the "context" argument to explain why his idol, Prophet Muhammad, would have sex with a 9 year old girl. If you like the prophet, but you don't believe you are a pedophile, then you will engage in all sorts of mental gymnastics to reconcile the 2 irreconcilable facts. LOL
Another example is Christians trying to explain why a good god will allow slavery, and even give his chosen people instructions on how to acquire, treat and release slaves. LOL
It is cognitive dissonance.