On cultural appropriation, apathy, and the whole mess

I haven't spoken up on this whole mess for a few reasons:

1. I thought enough white people were speaking up, many of whom had more intelligent things to say than I would.
2. I was heartsick.
3. So much of what I had to say was "me, too!" And there's already a TON to read out there.

But then I read Tempest's and other's posts and they sorta broke my heart and so I feel I must speak up. But I will be very brief.

Two things I wish white people would keep in mind during these discussions/ arguments/ knock-down-drag-outs:

1. We are, especially in fandom, an overwhelming sea of whiteness. We are everywhere. We vastly outnumber POC. This is very, very important to keep in mind. Have you ever been in a situation where you were so outnumbered? Many white people haven't, at least not racially. In other ways, maybe? Do you remember what it felt like?
2. You are white, and pretending otherwise is pretty horrible. It's incredibly dismissive of the experience of POC. I don't care if your great-great grandma was Cherokee (why is it always Cherokee?). I don't care if you were a horribly outcast nerd or raised by wolves or use a wheelchair or were really poor. You were, in all of these cases, a WHITE poverty-stricken outcast nerd in a wheelchair who was raised by wolves. Acknowledge who you are. Do not deny.