Apparently, White ethnic pride/nationalism is criticized because, allegedly, it's wrong/stupid/etc. to take pride in things one did not build. In this case, such as inventions by Whites, and art forms originating from White culture, among others. I didn't personally invent classical music, but I'll play it, recommend it to others, and probably encourage my children to take part in it. By that logic, Black History Month shouldn't exist because Blacks living today shouldn't be taking credit for achievements of others such as jazz music, soul food, escaping slavery, trying to get an education, achievements of people like Booker T Washington, and Black firsts like Obama's presidency.    At the same time, there is an expectation that due to things like slavery and colonialism, that White people should feel collectively shamed. This is assuming a few things:    - Western Europe IS Europe. While the English and Spanish did their share of sailing and conquering in Asia and the Americas, which could be referred to as colonialism, there were many other countries and ethnic groups not participating in this. Did Latvians, Poles, or Finns have any significant colonial presence outside of Europe? No. Did a Russian farmer have African slaves? No. Yet they have to bear the same burden. But how would someone know?...      - All Whites are the same. This might be the same sort of error any uninformed person might make about a race: like one who can't tell an Iroquois from a Cherokee from a Chinook, or can't tell if someone is speaking Japanese or Chinese. The difference is there is an entire set of social theories based upon the premise that historical Europe IS bourgeois England, France, and Spain and all European people are yuppies who complain about first-world problems and have a Black friend whose hair they're obsessed with touching.    It completely ignores Whites whose ancestors were oppressed (ex. Eastern and Southern Europeans were employed in underpaid, unsafe labor - add a history of serfdom and Communism in and the Slavs were very unfortunate; Irish were considered uncivilized subhuman lunks for a time), Whites who are currently severely underprivileged (people in Appalachia who live isolated and in extreme poverty with no access to medical care or education), and Whites who currently don't benefit from the things often associated with White Privilege. For a White person from a working class or lower-middle class background, White Privilege isn't exactly paving their way with rose petals. They don't have the benefits ALLEGEDLY associated with being White, but they get all the setbacks like being 2nd in line for schools and jobs due to Affirmative Action, getting the least government assistance, a relative atmosphere of More at 11 apathy when they are victims of violence, acts of police brutality tend to be ignored, and hate crimes against them won't get acknowledged (be Black, punch a White person in the back of the head and say you're Polarbear Hunting OBVIOUSLY couldn't be a hate crime). On top of it all, they can't say anything about it, because the word RACIST can get their kids taken away, get them fired from work and possibly never get another job, or go to jail for an act of self-defense. Meanwhile, anyone can say extremely vile things about Whites which are vile to begin with, but instead of the person being punished and outcast from society if the statement were applied to a different race, they are applauded and paid a good wage by a University to teach this to students.      - Class has nothing to do with anything. Practically all atrocities blamed on the White Everyman were invented and carried out by the super-wealthy. In addition, the super-wealthy of other races were orchestrating the same things: slavery, conquering people, mass murders. That's what people do when they want something and have a lot of money and manpower to throw at it. Later on, the wealthy wanted to make even more money by enslaving/employing foreigners who wouldn't ask for a decent wage. Slavery is still the case in Africa and the Middle-East (keep in mind Whites were the first to ban slavery and declare it immoral) for the same reasons. In a progressive Middle-Eastern country such as Kuwait, manual labor is imported from surrounding countries and paid much less than what it would if Kuwaitis were forced to do it themselves. Indians, due to their cultural social structure, have members of their own race performing work for pennies a day while others live a lifestyle of 1st world standards. Let's not forget the Whites who are kidnapped and sold as sex slaves. Wealth reveals the potential for cruelty, not race.    (I should hashtag #NotAllWhites)    Explain how we can be collectively blamed using this flawed logic, but told that we shouldn't be proud of the culture of our peers and ancestors?    Also, if we can't be proud of our cultures nor appropriate others' cultures, what culture are we allowed to be proud of, or are we to be chased with a broom from one dark corner to another until our cultures are erased from the planet?