i am an ethnic majority in my home state and have had many prominent leaders and influencers of my same race/ethnicity, so even though i am not white, i understand and feel "white" guilt to some degree. and i would argue that this guilt is not simply perpetuating the status quo, thus harming minority groups, as defined at the top of this module, but also: failing to challenge the status quo, failing to see that it's created inequities, failing to see how i benefited and continue to benefit from my privilege, and not feeling like i was ever less-than because of my race while my neighbors did and still do. i feel guilty for buying into biases rather than question them. i feel guilty for not knowing what to do to make things better.
I am also an ethnic majority in my country & it makes me feel the guilt as well although I am not white. Sometimes that fails me to see that I may be benefited, too.
i am between the Aware and Active phases of the ally continuum. I enrolled in this course to increase my knowledge so that I would feel more confident in my actions in pursuing an anti-racist life stance. but also i feel like i'm more bold now in sharing what i've learned and actively seeking diversity than i was just a few weeks ago.
i took comfort in hearing It’s ok to be imperfect, because this means i have room grow. i've been feeling guilty for not knowing better, for not seeing how racism played a part in almost everything around me, and for not feeling comfortable enough to speak against it. but i can now forgive myself and instead appreciate my ability to see these imperfections and to be driven to do something about it, rather than dismiss it and play naive.