This is a great discussion to have. Perhaps we could spare some empathy for people who are suddenly baffled by this new world in which white privilege just doesn’t go as far as it used to. However, my concern is that honoring fear in a noble and altruistic way could effectively put people of color in our traditional role of educating white people about race and making change palatable for them. I’d love to see an article where a white person tells another white person that it is their responsibility to show compassion and foster change. I don’t think your average Trump supporter is ready to sit down over a beer with me and gently talk through his sincere feelings about having a Black president, and frankly I don’t think that conversation would go well on my end either. But I do think that for self-professed allies to support people of color, allies need to be the ones reaching across their own divides. An overwhelming majority of people are not actually Nelson Mandela, and I’m not convinced this is a conversation people of color can or should direct.