Thank you, Matthew.

I once wrote on Medium about how white privilege is not the same as white racism, out of a need to explain something I was not aware needed explaining.

As I’m sure you know, some writers on Medium (including some very gifted writers with very real experiences) were unwilling to acknowledge that, as a white man, I had not come from a racist background. One writer asked me several times to tell the "story of my change". And I came to realize that to some people, white privilege and racism were one and the same.

There was no story, and no change. Despite being raised in the south, my parents were not racist. My first exposure in public was to legal segregation at a small-town South Carolina movie theater about 1961, and it was so jarring as to be one of my most vivid early memories. (There was a racial assault involved.) After that, conscious racism was no more an option for me than white privilege was unavoidable as a major influence on nearly every aspect of my life. (Without experiencing privilege, how could I as fully understand was life was for those without?)

I don't write about race as much now because no matter what I say, some will be offended. (And I'm not a very good writer.) But my privilege is the reason I’m an activist for justice and equality: the advantages I experience due specifically to my white privilege have created a person who would unlikely be able to stand for one day what Black Americans have suffered for over 400 years. (My whiteness very likely kept me alive during three separate encounters with “good ol’ boy” southern law enforcement.) Thus, my respect for those without has largely made me who I am.

And so I'm grateful to you, Matthew. It seems to me that you and I share various privileges right down the line (including "full head of hair ponytail" privilege!) So, I thank you for expressing what I am mostly unable to..