White and not proud

I am a white woman. I am such a white woman that I've spent entire afternoons sipping a latte and reading fashion magazines at a coffee shop. I am also super duper heterosexual and college educated. So despite my 12.5 percent Native American* blood, I am absolutely not a minority and have never experienced severe discrimination.

*This is a joke. I do not consider myself a special snowflake because my great-grandmother was Cherokee. 

I grew up in Arkansas and Texas, so I've seen many colorful reactions to the Black Lives Matter movement. I won't discuss that movement too much; honestly, I don't think I have enough authority on it to write about it and I'm not interested in perpetrating ignorance no matter how unintentional it might be.

I do want to discuss how many of my very white, very middle class friends have approached the issue. This issue literally hits close to home, with the KKK erecting billboards in support of "white pride" about 40 miles from where I work. Those billboards disgust me on a human level, and so does the support some of my friends give them.

I'm not saying these friends are publicly stating, "Man, I love the KKK. Racism is amazing." Instead, they share clickbait images that boil an incredibly complex issue down to ignorant rhetoric. Here is an example of one of those images:

Before I continue, I need note that I don't think anyone sharing images like this one is intentionally racist. They likely don't even share these things thinking it will come across that way. To them, racism is (please forgive the pun!) black and white. "If a black man can be proud of his skin color, why can't I be proud of mine?" the unintentional racist asks. "If an Asian man can be proud of his culture, why can't I celebrate mine?"

Well, it's just not about that. It just isn't. Marginalized groups emphasize cultural pride because it has not always been acceptable for them to be proud of who they are. These are people who have experienced discrimination and hatred simply for existing. 

My mother has told me that certain groups are racist toward white people, and I can see her point. But there's a difference between being called a "cracker" and being denied a job because of your skin color. As a white woman, here are some things I have never and will never experience:

• Being considered unintelligent because I am white
• Being followed in a store because I am white
• Having my resume thrown in the trash because my name sounds white
• Being stared at in a small-town grocery store because I am white
• Being judged by my vernacular because it sounds white

I am a white woman, and I am not proud of it. 

That's not to say I'm not proud of who I am. I am an intelligent person who surrounds herself with positive people. I do well at my job. I'm a good writer. I have empathy for others. I love my family and friends with unmatched fervor. Those are the things I pride myself in.

I have never had to prove myself because of my skin color, so I'm not proud of being white. This is normally an issue I stay away from; I try not to speak for others and I fear I'd be doing that if I wrote anything substantial about Black Lives Matter. When I said I don't know enough about the movement to speak on it, I meant that I am not black and I will not criticize something I don't understand. 

I do understand that this is a polarizing issue, and I hope you can understand where I'm coming from. While I know I'm nowhere near an authority on racism, I feel rather well-versed in starting conversations and hearing other perspectives.

This is only my perspective. What is yours?