But why is racism by American whites more common and more egregious?

Yes, you’re right that pretty much everyone is guilty of racism (here’s my own journey out of racism). Thing is, we have to be careful when saying that since there’s many, many white racists who take that fact and blow it up out of all proportion, using it to claim that racism by blacks in America is just as bad and just as prevalent as racism by whites.

After hearing that excuse in too many discussions with racists, I sat and thought about it a long time, and I think I’ve happened upon a better (and more easily-proven) explanation of why white racism is worse in America than that committed by any other ethnic group.

To put it simply, in any given nation there’s one and only one socioeconomically-dominant ethnic or religious group…and it’s that group that will commit the most (and the most egregious) prejudice. In China, it’s the Han against the non-Han. In Saudi Arabia, it’s the Sunni against the Shi’a. In Mexico, it’s those of Hispanic descent against Native Mexicans. And in America, it’s the whites (and particularly the WASPs) against those who aren’t. And the more the socioeconomically-dominant group feels (rightly or wrongly) that its dominance is being threatened by a “lesser” group, the more that dominant group will take steps to preserve its dominance.

This way, we’re able to show that yes, all races, ethnicities, and religions are capable of the same degree of prejudice…but at the same time, we’re able to show why it is that yes, whites in America do commit the most (and the most egregious) racism.