> Playing nice seemed to not work for White people because they are systemically discriminated against in almost every Western and non-Western country.

I'm white and not discriminated against in my Western-adjacent country (Czech Republic) and think most of Europe is the same.

I see race-based politics as primarily a US thing: both the militant "diversity advocates" and the white supremacists. From my point of view over the ocean they are quite similar: putting importance of skin colour over other things.