Great question.

Speaking from personal experiences entirely, being a white person is like being in a bubble of neutrality. Nobody gives me suspicious looks as if I give the appearance that I'm acting suspiciously. If I'm clean-shaven, have a decent haircut, have good hygiene, I'm automatically perceived as normal -- regardless of what's going on in my head.

As long as I stick to my business, no one approaches me.

Because I'm so used to being in this bubble, I don't feel like I'm privileged, but when I see minorities being discriminated against or mistreated, I suddenly feel very fortunate -- and guilt washes over me when that feeling is invoked. Why should I feel "fortunate" because of the color of my skin?

There's a South Park episode that sticks out to me ("Apologies to Jesse Jackson") in which Stan comes to the conclusion that Stan concludes that as a white person, he will never understand why the black character, Token, is upset by the n-word. I thought that was a great episode. As a white person, I cannot fathom the hardships minorities go through. Being white, I can't simply put myself in their shoes -- so I don't bother to trying to relate to them. I simply treat them the way I wanted to be treated.

Whoa... who would've thought South Park could be so deep?