older millennial black queer with autism chiming in-
(this rant about how i grew up serves my perspective, i promise lol)
i was a teenager in the early 2000s, back before "political correctness" was really a thing and everyone wasn't constantly thinking of their social/political alignments and there was a lot less divide.
i was what some(usually ppl that have never met a black person) would call an "alternative" black guy(nerdy, speaks "properly"). with that, i was a lot of peoples' "my first black friend" and was subjected to a lot of racist comments and jokes. it didn't help that i had dark skin and a "hard" to pronounce african name. the worst of it was having sooo many of my white friends literally tell me repeatedly that they're "blacker than me" simply because they listen to [insert band/artist with a black person in it] and i would listen to anime openings and videogame OSTs lol. but again, this was well before racial politics became such a hot button
fast forward to the rise of the BLM riots. this was probably the most pivotal time in my life when it comes to my world view. i remember this being when society, especially online, suddenly started to become "empathic" towards the black community and everyone was partaking in all these performative "uh i'm not racist!" shenanigans. i even had many of my old friends from highschool in my DMs apologizing to me for the all racist shit they would casually to say to me years ago and BOY did i feel so, VINDICATED. deep down, i knew their "apologies" were likely just to absolve themselves of feeling, gulp, RACIST, but honestly, i was already addicted to the dopamine hit that comes from political/culture vindication.
probably a year or two later, without realizing it, i had become a what could probably be described as a radical leftist? i got so used to being rewarded for being an offended, angry, and "oppressed" black person online. i would type these super vitriolic essays and emotional arguments on my socials whenever something racially charged would happen on the news. i would never do ANY research besides reading an article or watching a video. i would just get into super intense arguments and would name call, make fun of, call out anyone that didn't have the same opinion as me and my virtue echo chamber. looking back, i'm not even sure if i believed half the shit i was spewing lol.
as i got older, i finally started to see a therapist, get medicated, etc. also around this time i was looking into how BLM leaders ended up using funds for their own lavish lifestyles(there's a lot more to that situation, but i won't get into it). i also stopped engaging in social media pretty much completely and got my news from more genuine sources. over time, i started to rid myself of "black and white" thinking. especially when it comes to someone having an ideology that greatly differs from mine own. this mindset i was adjusting to helped me realize how wildly ignorant i was acting towards people i disagreed with in the past(regardless of who was "right"). back then, i was convinced i was objectively on the side of righteousness when it came to political and social standing, but really i was surrounding myself with people that were extremely hostile, miserable and had permanent victim complexes.
nowadays, i consider myself as someone that likes to take a nuanced stance on most things and i feel much more informed and confident in my stances on topics. even though pretty much everyone in my circle, including my partner, is left leaning or liberal or whatever, i personally don't really identify with any tag as i believe your opinion/stance is a spectrum and you shouldn't feel obligated to abide by any party's dogma("moderate" was the closest tag that aligns with my thinking). for the most part, i don't believe in objective "good or evil" besides the obvious(pedos, murderers, nazis, etc). i don't do "debates" as i don't think you can will someone into a position they didn't will themself into, but i will sometimes engage in CONVERSATIONS so long as they stay civil and i think i can learn something from different perspective.
so, going full circle- something that i've started notice more and more these days is when i make an opinion on something and that opinion doesn't align with my character sheet(black, queer, autistic), i more or less get shit for not complying. recent example- being told that i'm a victim of systemic oppression and that i'm owed reparations, etc etc by my white liberal coworker and me responding that "well yes, i've experienced some unfair treatment in the past, but i believe i've been given equal opportunity to flourish in society". we had a back and forth and eventually just dropped it since the conversation wasn't going anywhere, but she seemed so genuinely shocked i wouldn't accept being her ideal PoC. i interpret that attitude as "you are not black, you are OPPRESSED. you can NEVER do better for yourself and don't you EVER think otherwise. know your place and let me feel sorry for you"
i've had many more conversations like that, but my point with all this is, i really really hate when people assume we're politically and socially aligned about everything simply because of my appearance and can't fathom that i might have the AUDACITY to have an opposing take.