
The attempt by a group of straight men in Boston, Massachusetts, to organise a "Straight Pride" event caused the internet to cringe collectively in anguish earlier this week.
With many expressing their embarrassment at being straight as a result, one African-American Twitter user was inspired to ask white people about times they had felt humiliated by association after witnessing racial gaffes and insensitivities carried out by fellow caucasians.
John Cleese's recent claim that "London is no longer an English city" immediately springs to mind, as does this Islamophobic Taco Bell cashier. And Ben Shapiro. Pretty much anything he says makes me wince.
The majority of responses Deon received to the above tweet agreed that a Straight Pride event was one of the worst ideas ever conceived.
Several people made the fair but ultimately really rather dull point that race shouldn't be brought into any argument of this stripe as we are all human beings together at the end of the day.
Others admitted a general, everyday feeling of shame at the idiocies they encounter online and in going about their daily lives, some of which were extraordinary to hear.
@imnottayediggs @_jrichardnoel Witnessed two white males queuing at a supermarket self-service talk in a derogative… https://t.co/8JKIQwFVBx— Jay™ (@Jay™) 1559818011
@imnottayediggs Yes. It’s especially pointed for me because I grew up in a Latino community and it wasn’t until I w… https://t.co/wNx4KKTjc2— The Prime Lib (@The Prime Lib) 1559797572
@imnottayediggs I have literally felt the need to apologize for being white after some of the ridiculous examples o… https://t.co/zio8KrdBlL— 🌈Nix💙💕💛 (@🌈Nix💙💕💛) 1559787813
@edwardpoole1975 @imnottayediggs and Farage and Johnson— Sometimes Timothy (@Sometimes Timothy) 1559717737
Some even bravely admitted their own shame over far-right and racist views they once espoused but have since rejected.
@imnottayediggs pretty much constantly since... 2007? when Obama ran. and ashamed of myself for not seeing the world as it is until then.— Ketra Schmitt (@Ketra Schmitt) 1559831416
All in all, thanks to Brexit and Donald Trump, I think everyone can agree the world has a great deal to be embarrassed about right now.