This. I am 3rd generation Irish immigrant, but I don't have any Irish flag tattoos, or profess my love for Ireland, or even party on St. Patrick's Day. My belief is that that day is for people to pretend to be Irish.
I grew up in a community where I was the minority by a lot. 10:1 ratio of Blacks to Whites a lot. My parents put me in private school because I kept getting beat up in public school. They then moved out of that area because they did not want me to attend the public high school and could not afford private high school. The area we moved into was completely reversed with a 10:1 White to Black ratio.
Because I grew up in both areas, I had friends from different races. But thinking back on it, I had more white friends then black friends.
My father worked 60 hour weeks and was rarely home, but his hard work afforded us the ability to be middle class. But I went to school with the upper class. I did not have a license before I was 18, and I got a hand me down $2,000 car. Other kids in school drove Mercedes or BMWs that were new or hand me downs. I didn't wear designer clothes because my mother refused to pay for it, and without a car, I did not have a real job until I was 18. I was an outcast at my school because of my social status.
After being told that I would have to pay for college, I opted not to go and instead entered the work force doing manual labor as a mechanic. For the last 10 years, I have worked 2-3 jobs at a time to make sure I could afford the things I want. I even went back to school and earned my 4yr degree, so I have $40,000 in debt to pay back.
Yet, I feel that this has a lot to do with our youth. My co-workers are from China, Kenya, and India, yet there is no feeling of one of us being better than the other, or being hired because of our race. We were hired because of our abilities.
All of this, and yet I get called privileged and a racist. I have even gotten into arguments over it because my black friends say they are more likely to get shot by the cops. Yet, I don't have a record, and they do... for running from the cops. I just choose not to do activities that would get me in trouble with the law.
Some of the excerpts of the conversation about racism:
"you are racist. I'm saying it now. You are completely ignorant of what racism is, and the fact that racism is more than the white-washed definition you find on Dictionary.com. You are most likely also sexist, and do not believe that there is institutionalized sexism in this country which prohibits women from earning as much or advancing in their careers as men do. The entire conversation about the way people should dress and act to prove they are not a criminal is racist. That you believe something like clothing denotes whether or not someone is a criminal, well, I can just hear you now explaining that a woman was raped because she left her home at night in a miniskirt. You, sir, are the problem. Instead of listening, and attempting to understand ANYTHING about an experience you are not part of, you immediately become defensive- of YOUR OWN PRIVILEGE in this society. You are privileged beyond anyone else in this society (USA) because you were born a white male. Stop talking and filtering everything through your picket fence white collar experience and start listening to what others, who have the experience of being an actual minority in this society (newsflash, growing up in one of the FEW places in which you might find more black people than white does NOT make you a minority) have to say."
"calling you out as a racist is not name calling, it's just the truth. Sit, down, shut your mouth, and learn. Have you ONCE during this string taken the time to reread what you have wrote, in the context of how others have responded to it? Have you even questioned any of your motives for writing what you have written, or even simply participating in this discussion? Have you at any point asked yourself WHY people are angry? People are angry because we live in a society in which political and economic systems maintain the oppression of people of color and women. We are angry. And we have every right to be angry. And not one of us will be bullied by your white agenda into feeling guilty or wrong for being angry. I'm angry as hell. I am angry that I can't leave my house at night without looking every which way and over my shoulder, and I can tell you, I am looking for people like you, not my black neighbors. I am looking out for privileged white males who have NOTHING to fear from our justice system. Who more often than not walk away from rape and murder without more than a slap on the wrist. I am afraid of a system in which my innocuous actions will be blamed for violence against my person. In which what I wear will become the reason someone rapes me. Guess what- my skirt doesn't control a person's actions against me. Guess what- black skin doesn't control actions against black people, nor do baggy pants or hoodies. Sit down, shut your mouth and learn. Or sit down and shut your mouth. You are not contributing to the betterment of society with your racist agenda."
"Also, minorities can't be "the racist ones" because we lack the social influence to gain from racism."
""Don't act that way if you don't want to be perceived that way" has always come across as society's "please act more white.""
TL;DR: That is what it is like to be white. You cannot hold an honest conversation about racism in this country without everyone telling you that you don't have a say because you are a white male and therefore born privileged.