My racial identity is that of being white; what that has meant for me my entire was never something I considered or reflected on until I was in my mid-40's and I attended the Social Justice Training Institute. There I was confronted with my whiteness and privilege; I took a hard look at what it meant to be white and learned to deal with the reality of privilege. Over the course of that week I began to hate my race, my lack of a culture, and by the end began to understand the work I needed to do in the world. I left have reflected on white privilege often, and try to do the work to challenge other white people into doing their work. In this module one of the things stated was that as white people we really don't have a culture. I had never thought of that before but it is so true. Yeah, I'm Irish-Italian, but in the US there is no white culture...it's almost mind boggling to think of that....
I understand. I too, am a White woman of privilege. Before a few years ago I had never considered the privileges my skin color affords me. It took a while of reading and talking to others that my eyes began to open to a different perspective. Like you, I think about my White privileges often and I look inward. Then I challenge my students to consider the dignity of each human being and whether or not their status in society affords them privileges not granted to others. And then how do others have greater privileges than each of them. White culture. I see it every 4th of July, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas. White people with flags marching in parades, in the ever-present of story of white supremacy extant in the myth of the first shared meal, in the White Santa/Kris Kringle, St. Nicholas. It is visible in White Nationalism and those who carry the Confederate Battle Flag. Our culture is seated in our identity as proud White Americans, giving fealty to the flag, motherhood, and apple pie. Like you, I am disgusted with how our White government treats people of color and how racism is institutionalized to the point that the only way to fix it is apparently to tear it apart and rebuild. The scholar part of me is ecstatic that within the next 100 years White people in the U.S. will no longer be the majority. No one race or ethnicity will be in the majority. The issue for me is: can we learn now and avoid apartheid later? My family is Irish - British - Dutch - German. Lots of Irish. We celebrate our Irishness even though we've been here 400+ years, since Jamestown. But we're socialized and normalized to think we are the very definition of what is "normal." I'm very glad that we were stationed in Hawaii and got to know Hawaiian people in a way most military families do not. San Francisco fascinated me with its vibrant mixes of peoples and cultures. And SoCal introduced me to Hispanic families and cultures, rich in heritage and delicious food. Today I teach in the heart of Cherokee Nation and am grateful to be as much a student as a teacher. People used to say "familiarity breeds contempt" but I find that familiarity breeds acceptance. Ok. I've rambled on your post. Peace.