Not at all. I am obviously a real person, with a real life and a real job. I have benefits and drawbacks which stem from my race, age, sex, sexuality etc. You can read about me in the ‘person behind the penguin’ story pinned to my profile.

The reason I am now a Penguin is simple, an over focus on the identity of a person when a discussion begins leads immediately down a cul-de-sac of bias and recrimination. People are primed to dismiss the views of certain groups and particularly their own out groups. That applies to all races, both sexes and arguably less so to sexuality and age (though it depends).

Online, you can request a base layer of respect by occupying this space. I think racism is perpetuated by an over focus on skin colour - I think that’s done by racists and (some) anti-racists alike…. Polarising the discourse, interacting in bad faith in the first instance and leading their readership down angry alleyways of confirmation bias.

What you have perceived as ‘whiteness’ may be exactly that. It may also not be. There’s no way to know - and that’s why I remain a Penguin. In return I’d ask you to consider the possibility I might be Asian, Black or Mixed-race and whether you’re using ‘whiteness’ as a weapon because it means ‘something I disagree with and don’t like’ rather than anything specific.