As a straight white male, I used to agree with this, and I would actually be a little hurt and resentful about the idea that other people could say they felt good about themselves, but I wasn’t allowed to.

But then I started to notice times when I was treated better, given more things, and assumed to be smarter or more capable than people of other ethnicities who may have been standing next to me, equally talented, or participating in the same activities.

Then I started to notice how the lead characters in movies and television are still, very often, white men, and occasionally, white women. (There’s a funny article somewhere about how Will Smith is the one exception to this rule.) Black people, for example, are still most often in support roles to white heroes, even when/especially when they have “powerful magic” or “soul wisdom.”

Then I started working with people who are homeless and in poverty, while living in one of the whitest major cities in the US, and I noticed that that is not reflected in those in poverty. It is, however, still reflected in our media, government, and, quite often, local leaders.

More recently, I’ve started learning about things like ethnic psychological captivity, and how being in a culture that tells you that you are inherently not as good as those around you can create significant shame. In response, it may be a good and healthy thing to actively be proud of your culture and your identity.

You can also be proud of being white, or straight, or a male, or whatever other majority trait you may have if you want to, but, in a culture that already celebrates all of those things every day, you probably don’t need to.

Anyway, Louis CK talks about this a lot better:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4f9zR5yzY