Hi Mark, I totally agree with you.

As I say in my 4th paragraph (starting with "That said..."), I think the author, Rick Riordan, has artistic license to portray or cast the character however he thinks makes sense for the story. And therefore, I think the objections to casting Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase are, at best stubborn, and quite possibly an expression of racial tribalism.

But Rick Riordan's statement (at least as it's quoted in the article) would imply that the Django casting was also racist / racial tribalism - which I don't agree with.

Basically, Rick Riordan's quote isn't as nuanced as I think it should be. And I think neglecting nuance is a big part of why so many conversations about race or other tough subjects rarely get anywhere.