History Main / WhiteGuilt

It may result from PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad or EverythingIsRacist, or be a self-inflicted form of it. It can overlap with InnocentBigot when the character is accused of bigotry and doesn't quite understand why, or BoomerangBigot when the "guilty" party lets their guilt lead them to treat members of their own group unfairly. It can also overlap with WhiteMansBurden if the character attempts to help the poor underprivileged minority, and can also overlap with OpinionOverride if said minority [[UnwantedAssistance doesn't want or even need their help in the first place]]. Expect to hear cries of "SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX!" Some characters may even seek out a TokenBlackFriend for this exact purpose, which would defeat the purpose.

* Justified with Hob Gadling in ''Comicbook/TheSandman''. In one issue he expresses tremendous guilt over slavery to his black girlfriend, who thinks he's being a knee-jerk politically correct white guy. What she doesn't know is that he's [[TheAgeless over six hundred years old]] and spent much of the eighteenth century as one of the original European slave traders, so he has good reason to feel remorse.

[[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment As there is a fine line between a normal level of sensitivity to those of other backgrounds and this trope]], please limit real-life examples to those in which the person ''self-identifies'' as experiencing White Guilt. And while the trope name refers to race, this trope can apply to any situation where there is one group which may hold a position of privilege over another.

* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' episode ''The Raiders Minimization'' Sheldon tells Amy "I heard they were illegally squatting on Native American land. Personally, I think what we did to the Native Americans was wrong," hinting that he may experience some amount of this... insofar as [[AmbiguousDisorder Sheldon is capable]] of feeling guilt about anything.

* Creator/StephenKing has admitted in interviews that his tendency to overuse the MagicalNegro trope is likely due to his own White Guilt. Yes, even though he grew up in Maine - a state that abolished slavery very early and historically has barely had an African-American population against which to discriminate (even in 2015 the black population only just passes 1%).

-->'''Louis:''' We're gonna pay hard for this shit, you gotta know that. We're not gonna just fall from #1 to 2, they're gonna hold us down and fuck us in the ass forever, and we totally deserve it. But, for now, ''WHEEEEEEE''!

* In one episode of ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'', while Malcolm and Tamara are browsing some movies to get the Critic into a Christmas mood, Malcolm mentions that he loves those "inspirational movie about black men trying to succeed in a racist world" because the Critic always feels guilty at the end and takes him out for dinner.

* ''DragonAgeInquisition'': [[AgentPeacock Dorian Pavus]] is ''very'' aware of how much he (as a high-ranking human mage in TheMagocracy) benefited from Tevinter's conquer and enslavement of [[EnslavedElves elves]], and expresses guilt about it on multiple occasions -- particularly to an Elven PC and elven companion Solas. The first time an Elven PC talks to him after being recruited, Dorian expresses awkward guilt over what Tevinter did to the elves and sheepishly asks if it will be a problem. Some of his party banter with Solas also involves trying to apologize for how Tevinter destroyed Elvhenan. If brought to [[spoiler:The Temple of Mythal]], Dorian laments how many elvhen wonders Tevinter plundered and destroyed. If offered [[spoiler:the chance to drink from the Well]], he's tempted but pointedly refuses to be another Tevinter mage who stole more elvhen wonders.

* The entire point of ''Film/TheHelp'', where Skeeter, a SouthernBelle in TheSixties who doesn't quite fit in, decides to write a book from the perspective of the serving black maids. The potential controversy of the (well-meaning) movie was explored by critics of pop culture around the time it was released.

--->'''Titus:''' But we had this country to build and we needed some help! We could've used the Indians to help us... [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide but we killed them]]. ''({{Facepalm}} and extended {{Beat}})'' [[HereWeGoAgain To the Indian people]]. I also love whiskey - and [[CryingIndian hate trash on the freeway]].

->''"If you ever need to make a white person feel indebted to you, wait for them to mention a book, film, or television show that features a character who is the same race as you, then say “the representation of <insert race> was offensive and if you can’t see that, well, you need to do some soul searching.” After they return from their hastily booked trip to land of your ancestors, they will be desperate to make it up to you. At this point, it is acceptable to ask them to help you paint your house."''

It may result from PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad or EverythingIsRacist, or be a self-inflicted form of it. It can overlap with InnocentBigot when the character is accused of bigotry and doesn't quite understand why, or BoomerangBigot when the "guilty" party lets their guilt lead them to treat members of their own group unfairly. It can also overlap with WhiteMansBurden if the character attempts to help the poor underprivileged minority, and can also overlap with OpinionOverride if said minority [[UnwantedAssistance doesn't want or even need their help in the first place]]. Expect to hear cries of "SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX!" Some characters may even seek out a BlackBestFriend for this exact purpose, which would defeat the purpose.

* In ''Series/{{Community}}'', after Jeff and [[BlackBestFriend Troy]] find out their new friend Joshua was a blatant racist, Jeff offers to buy Troy frozen yogurt as his white guilt was driving him nuts.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E8Pangs Pangs]]", the Scoobies do a lot of hemming and hawwing about how to handle a Native American spirit bent on vengeance against the white man. On the one hand, he's hurting more-or-less-innocent people. On the OTHER hand, it's true that his people were horribly oppressed.... It takes an epic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Spike to goad them into decisive action. Spike's speech itself deconstructs this concept, since he rather bluntly (and politically incorrectly) points out that the spirit simply ''doesn't care'' about their white guilt -- it's pissed off and wants them all dead, and even if it was willing to talk there isn't actually a lot the Scoobies could say to defend themselves or make themselves better. [[JerkassHasAPoint Essentially, he points out that while the Scoobies might have reason to feel guilty for what their ancestors did, their embracing of this trope is just self-indulgent hand-wringing that's preventing them from taking any meaningful action to solve the problem]].

* Lampshaded in the ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' episode "Dr. Mary''. Frasier hires an African-American call-screener and is unhappy with the way she is timid and quiet on the air, unlike the assertive Roz she is filling in for. He encourages her to speak up more on the air, but when she does so she takes over his show by calling herself "Dr. Mary". He is afraid to say anything because she is black and came from an underprivileged background, and imagines that any attempt to reclaim his show would be seen as trying to put her "in her place". Eventually she gets her own show at a rival station, and when she finds out that he refused to say anything because of his guilt she tells him "[[LampshadeHanging God bless your guilty white ass!]]"
* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': Liz Lemon has her fair share of this, as when she finds it difficult to break up with an annoying black boyfriend played by Creator/WayneBrady for fear of being thought racist. She also admits that she voted for Obama primarily out of White Guilt. She [[CharacterDevelopment mostly gets over it]] after a couple seasons of Tracy playing the EverythingIsRacist card a few times too often, although characters like his wife Angie can still throw her off-balance by playing off of this trait.

* ''Series/LastManStanding'': Vanessa, Kristin, and Ryan all have a bad case of this that always crops up when they interact with the Baxter's black neighbors Chuck and Carol Larabee. Most of the time their efforts to convince the couple they aren't racist, such as Vanessa telling them how much she loves black musicians and films, [[DiggingYourselfDeeper only make them appear more racist]].

* Creator/LouisCK has a standup bit where he extols how wonderful it is being a white male in a world that's basically run by (and for) white men. He admits that he's going to enjoy this while it lasts, because he figures karma is going to bite white men in the ass soon (and that they're going to deserve it when it does).

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In "Pangs", the Scoobies do a lot of hemming and hawwing about how to handle a Native American spirit bent on vengeance against the white man. On the one hand, he's hurting more-or-less-innocent people. On the OTHER hand, it's true that his people were horribly oppressed.... It takes an epic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Spike to goad them into decisive action. Spike's speech itself deconstructs this concept, since he rather bluntly (and politically incorrectly) points out that the spirit simply ''doesn't care'' about their white guilt -- it's pissed off and wants them all dead, and even if it was willing to talk there isn't actually a lot the Scoobies could say to defend themselves or make themselves better. [[JerkassHasAPoint Essentially, he points out that while the Scoobies might have reason to feel guilty for what their ancestors did, their embracing of this trope is just self-indulgent hand-wringing that's preventing them from taking any meaningful action to solve the problem]].

[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment As there is a fine line between a normal level of sensitivity to those of other backgrounds and this trope]], please limit real-life examples to those in which the person ''self-identifies'' as experiencing White Guilt. And while the trope name refers to race, this trope can apply to any situation where there is one group which may hold a position of privilege over another.

---->'''Titus''': I mean hell, we cleaned out all the Mexicans! (''{{Beat}} as he realizes [[DiggingYourselfDeeper what he'd just said]] before facepalming again'') [[BilingualBonus Pero los Mexicanos]]... muy... [[ElSpanishOh apologito]]?

---->'''Titus''': I mean hell, we cleaned out all the Mexicans! (''{{Beat}} as he realizes [[DiggingYourselfDeeper what he'd just said]] before facepalming again'') [[BilingualBonus Pero los Mexicanos]]...

-->'''Titus:''' But we had this country to build and we needed some help! We could've used the Indians to help us... [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide but we killed them]]. ''({{Facepalm}} and extended {{Beat}})'' [[HereWeGoAgain To the Indian people]]. I also love whiskey - and [[CryingIndian hate trash on the freeway]].

** Before that particular special ("Neverlution"), he appeared on Creator/ComedyCentral and [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/22dird/stand-up-christopher-titus--formal-apology issued a formal apology]] for slavery.
-->'''Titus:''' But we had this country to build and we needed some help! We could've used the Indians to help us... [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide but we killed them]]. ''({{Facepalm}} and extended {{Beat}})'' [[HereWeGoAgain To the Indian people]]. I also love whiskey - and [[CryingIndian hate trash on the freeway]]."

* Creator/DaveBarry's ''Claw Your Way To The Top'' (a business "help" book) has this scenario, where two women are equally qualified for a promotion, but one is black. Do you: a) give the promotion to the black woman to make up for centuries of slavery and racism; b), give the promotion to the white woman, otherwise people will think the promotion was only given out of PositiveDiscrimination? The book suggests opyion c): promote a man.

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* Shusui Naito from ''Fanfic/MegamiNoHanabira'', to the degree that [[DeathSeeker he intends to die to rectify the situation]]...after mass-distributing the Demon Summoning Program around the world so that less privileged people will have a chance to use it to slaughter the privileged in the mother of all race wars. The appalled reactions from the lesbian main characters at the idea are scoffed at and promptly ignored.

* In one episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', the Scoobies do a lot of hemming and hawwing about how to handle a Native American spirit bent on vengeance against the white man. On the one hand, he's hurting more-or-less-innocent people. On the OTHER hand, it's true that his people were horribly oppressed.... It takes an epic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Spike to goad them into decisive action. Spike's speech itself deconstructs this concept, since he rather bluntly (and politically incorrectly) points out that the spirit simply ''doesn't care'' about their white guilt -- it's pissed off and wants them all dead, and even if it was willing to talk there isn't actually a lot the Scoobies could say to defend themselves or make themselves better. Essentially, he points out that while the Scoobies might have reason to feel guilty, their embracing of this trope is just self-indulgent hand-wringing that's preventing them from taking any meaningful action to solve the problem.