I read the OP as saying that "white privilege", discrimination based on skin colour, and related issues are relevant in North America and Canada but not relevant in Europe
I completely didn't read it like that. I read it as being "discrimination based an ethnicity on top of based on skin color", meaning just because someone would have white privilege in the US does not mean that's the case in Europe. A lot of people that would just be called 'white' in the US are actually quite obviously treated as 'non-white/native' in European countries. Examples being Polish people, Italians, Russians, other Eastern Europeans, depending on which country in Europe you are in. Thus "my Russian and Ukrainian friends can often benefit from white privilege right up until they open their mouths or sign their names" does not necessarily apply in Europe.
And yes, discrimination based on race as identified by skin color is certainly a problem over here as well, and I hope no-one denies that. However, certainly the worst racism especially in Germany is against people from Turkey and the the area I am from against Italians. Whether people from these countries have a different skin color is certainly debatable as quite a few have very light skin. But they still look 'different' to a lot of people and ou will find people much more likely to respond well to someone from Asia or Africa than from the country next door, Poland or Italy.
Re: here via metafandom
I completely didn't read it like that. I read it as being "discrimination based an ethnicity on top of based on skin color", meaning just because someone would have white privilege in the US does not mean that's the case in Europe. A lot of people that would just be called 'white' in the US are actually quite obviously treated as 'non-white/native' in European countries. Examples being Polish people, Italians, Russians, other Eastern Europeans, depending on which country in Europe you are in. Thus "my Russian and Ukrainian friends can often benefit from white privilege right up until they open their mouths or sign their names" does not necessarily apply in Europe.
And yes, discrimination based on race as identified by skin color is certainly a problem over here as well, and I hope no-one denies that. However, certainly the worst racism especially in Germany is against people from Turkey and the the area I am from against Italians. Whether people from these countries have a different skin color is certainly debatable as quite a few have very light skin. But they still look 'different' to a lot of people and ou will find people much more likely to respond well to someone from Asia or Africa than from the country next door, Poland or Italy.