And part of the reason they think this is because of the tremendous amount of guilt and shame (they will never admit to) that they’ve enclosed themselves in about this country’s past atrocities. Their identities are deeply wrapped up in being American, but it’s difficult to reconcile that identity with America’s actual past. After all, why would everyone be after them? What did they do to merit black people wanting revenge? No one ever asked them these questions.

They’re paranoid because on some level they know the past was pretty horrific to black and Indigenous people, that their ancestors were responsible for that, and someone needs to be punished for it, (people like this always have a punitive mindset) and they refuse to acknowledge or move past their feelings of shame and guilt.