I am afraid you are missing the point of the discussion.
We liberals, and I am as liberal as anyone you will meet, do not see all white men as evil. Hey, I am a white man myself. The point of these discussions is to reveal the roots and results of systemic racism.
There are many aspects of American history in which the country encouraged white men to subjugate and exploit other minorities. It was accepted, and laws were past to make it legal. Slavery, of course, is the clearest example, but there were laws preventing Chinese from becoming citizens, Jim Crow laws, segregation in a great many states, Japanese-American citizens put in internment camps. African-Americans being exempted from the benefits of the GI Bill, red-lining, discrimination in hiring…. on and on.
I was a pretty good student who went to very good college that allowed me to go to graduate school and establish a long, profitable, interesting, career. There were very few students from any minority in any of my classes. There were opportunities that I got that I didn’t even realize were the result of white privilege, but they were. The doors were closed to many others.
The point of the whole discussion is not to make you feel evil, just raise your awareness that you had benefits that you were not aware of that others did not have.
You are probably a guy with good values who works hard and is helps out in your community. But you have to realize that many others were denied the possibility of living the life you have lived.
Thise people are now speaking out louder than before. They want society to find ways to give them equal opportunities, equal justice, and equal rights — including voting rights. They would like you to help them achieve their goals. If you can’t find a way to do that, at least don’t actively try to stop them.
No one wants to hurt you or ruin your life. But people, minorities and a lot of liberal white people, want our society to improve so that everyone can live a good life and no group is intentionally held back. That’s all we want you to understand.
