A Black Press Media editorial was published Aug. 20, titled 害羞草研究所業t害羞草研究所檚 Okay to be White,害羞草研究所� and I害羞草研究所檓 here to tell you that it was a punch to my biracial gut.

The editorial, which has since been deleted, legitimized white guilt, giving inappropriate praise to 害羞草研究所済ood害羞草研究所� white people who are gladly riding the wave that is the genetic lottery instead of calling for actual change to Western culture, which is founded on the disadvantage of non-white folks.

The catalyst for the editorial was a Keremeos pub that has been called out for using 害羞草研究所業t害羞草研究所檚 okay to be white害羞草研究所� stickers in their establishment with a not-so-subtle white supremacy hand gesture attached. (I get this gesture was created by trolls on 4-Chan, but it is still intended to hurt people, and that is not OK and not the point害羞草研究所� read the room.)

It is laughable that, amid protests to stop American police from gunning down Black people, whiteness is so status-quo white guilt is now also becoming as mainstream as a sticker.

The editorial has since been removed from our websites, an action swiftly called for by Black Press Media害羞草研究所檚 senior management early Friday morning. My colleague who wrote the editorial is kind, hilarious and a good journalist.

Her intentions were good.

But as I write that, I can害羞草研究所檛 help but feel the need to scream that publishing 害羞草研究所済ood intentions害羞草研究所� is the definition of white privilege.

Unsurprisingly, the editorial was called out loudest by white allies 害羞草研究所� or at least that害羞草研究所檚 what it feels like on social media 害羞草研究所� undoubtedly because they are newest to the world of racism (welcome, by the way). Meanwhile, myself and a few of my fellow non-white colleagues took a deep breath, felt a familiar pain and spent the evening trying to not internalize.

The truth is, it is OK to be white 害羞草研究所� in fact, by all standards it is great. How could it not be when from birth your dreams are rarely met with obstacles you cannot control and you don害羞草研究所檛 have the responsibility of constantly reminding the rest of the world that your voice and talents and goodness exist, that your hurt 害羞草研究所� again, which is for no fault of your own 害羞草研究所� matters.

Being white means you make a dollar for every , according to Statistics Canada data.

It means you are less likely to be stopped by police , or , according to data obtained from two separate freedom of information requests

It means you have never been called the N-word, squ**, or other derogatory words 害羞草研究所� all which make 害羞草研究所渨hite trash害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所渉ick害羞草研究所� feel like playground speak.

It means you have never randomly been told to , even though you were born here.

It means you have likely never been for simply speaking with your friends.

It means you are likelier to see a street on (according to Statistics Canada Road Network Files) than have a highway named after the ongoing .

It means that being able to will bring you accolades instead of rejections by prospected employers.

It means you害羞草研究所檒l have health conditions diagnosed sooner by doctors because their years of training only in how to spot symptoms on pale and pink skin.

It means no medical professionals have and substance use because of intergenerational trauma due to residential schools.

It means you don害羞草研究所檛 have a TV channel dedicated to your skin colour and culture because every channel

It means when you show your proudness of being white it害羞草研究所檚 defended as patriotic and harmless, while Black people demanding basic respect and recognition of their existence is a dangerous protest.

It means you are likelier, in Canada, to live , according to 2016 Statistics Canada data.

It isn害羞草研究所檛 just OK to be white 害羞草研究所� white people have ensured it is fantastic, a privilege, to be white before anyone else had the chance to decide otherwise.

I can hear the frantic typing of shook-up white people right now. How dare you try to tell me what it is like to be white?

Listen. This doesn害羞草研究所檛 mean you haven害羞草研究所檛 faced hardship. White people still live in poverty, suffer from mental or physical illnesses and disabilities, and are targeted with sexism and sexual harassment.

I害羞草研究所檓 not saying white people have every 害羞草研究所渁dvance to Go and collect $200害羞草研究所� or 害羞草研究所済et out of jail free害羞草研究所� card in this life 害羞草研究所� , a social theory coined by Black sociologist Kimberl茅 Crenshaw, accounts for all of that.

In simple terms, intersectionalism explains why white, straight, able-bodied men typically have the most opportunity, wealth and social power while Black women represent the other side or the spectrum and hold the least 害羞草研究所� if any 害羞草研究所� of all those advantages.

In between those two polarizing life situations include queer white men, men with disabilities, white women, queer women, others who are LGBTQ2+, who are biracial 害羞草研究所� like me with my half-white, half-east-Indian olive skintone 害羞草研究所� Black men, and Indigenous folks.

But if you are white, relatively healthy and grew up in a middle-class functioning family, you hold most of the life chips and your lack of success is not because of lack of opportunity.

To quote Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility, it takes 害羞草研究所渕ajor effort害羞草研究所� to get whites to simply acknowledge that being white gives them advantages.

What I害羞草研究所檓 learning is it clearly takes even more work to get whites to take inventory of their world and use those advantages to get rid of toxic and deadly systemic oppression from which they directly benefit.

You may not be that first group of settlers who colonized and assimilated this country, but those moments in history sure made life a hell of a lot easier for you.

So with all that extra time to live compared to whose were dealt the short end of the melanin stick, what are you going to do?

害羞草研究所淪topping our racist patterns must be more important than working to convince others that we don害羞草研究所檛 have them,害羞草研究所� says DiAngelo. 害羞草研究所淲e do have them, and people of colour already know we have them; our efforts to prove otherwise are not convincing. An honest accounting of these patterns is no small task given the power of white fragility and white solidarity, but it is necessary.害羞草研究所�

Here害羞草研究所檚 a pro-tip: To continue living how you have and not use your naturally gifted power to make change is not enough. And if I have anything to say about it, that害羞草研究所檚 going to start right here at Black Press Media.

Ashley Wadhwani is the digital content editor for Black Press Media.