I was never compelled to say anything at all; however, it did cause me to think more subtly about racism and white supremacy in my life rather than simplifying it to a reactive good/bad:racist/not racist dichotomy. Perhaps this is all more subtle, complicated, and bonding than the fringe culture warriors would like us to believe.

As with many things, nuance is important. Sensitize people to larger issues is one thing, creating a cult they have to submit to is another.

You can tell people about factory farms without screaming "cow rapist". You can tell people about privilege without spiraling into some racist cult. But that would probably be class privilege, which is much better at predicting success than the color of your skin.

Based on the experiences that I - and my wife - have had in trainings of this type, I am somewhat skeptical that any such “cult” exists. There were moments of discomfort, but I was never coerced or made to feel negative about myself as a white man. I have always walked away from these events with a better sense of myself (for good and bad) which I view as a positive thing.

I’m not white, and the presence of the things we call white privilege and racism is blindingly obvious to anyone who grew up like me.

However, I have also routinely seen cult-like, and racist behavior in diversity training, and frankly in anti-racist activism.

I’m glad you didn’t experience these. I also think that the work can be done in a nuanced way that avoids the pitfalls.

Unfortunately I think this is becoming less and less common as a drive to scale delivery of these kinds of trainings causes the quality to drop.