I think the myth of American exceptionalism, which is so deeply ingrained, is why even people you otherwise trust or relate to will subtly invalidate your struggles and experiences. The attitude of "Well it could be worse" easily translates to "At least we don't live in X."

It's very hard to say "No, this is happening here, to me." Because it should be obvious, but also here, to them, is still so fantastical. Just awash with toxically positive propaganda.

People can understand on an intellectual level the nuances of systemic problems within the United States, but there is still this urge to defend and uphold that which perpetuates these problems even in the faces of those who are suffering from them.

A massive consequence of this is that so much of the burden of demonstrating why things need to be better falls on the people who are most demonstrably in need of things being better.

tl;dr: white supremacy bad