Appropriation and White Guilt

As you may know (sorry/notsorry for my facebook rants), I just finished reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The book I read just before that was Dancing at Halftime. So, there has been a lot on my mind. Racial injustice always been something close to my heart, but in the past I was only familiar with White Americans causing trouble for Black Americans. I found the White Privilege Checklist (here, if you're unfamiliar) a while back and it really has given me a better prospective on what the issue truly is (at least in the United States, in my opinion).
I also recently learned what appropriation is. In grade school, we dressed up as Native American Indians and Pilgrims for a play. Does that count? We were learning what great friends the new explorers (Columbus, etc) and Indians were! What a happy life for them all. Why didn't we learn about the diseases brought over? Why didn't we learn about the massacres that started when the Indians didn't want to give up their land and move "out of the way"? How come none of us questioned what happened in the years in between the first lovely Thanksgiving, then suddenly we were enemies and those evil Indians were attacking poor settlers who just wanted to make lives for themselves away from the religious persecution of the Motherland?
Why? Because it's UGLY. The history of the United States of America is SO UGLY. I can't come up with one good thing that the US has actually done. I would LOVE for someone to prove me wrong. And don't give me "we abolished slavery!" that doesn't count, because we brought in slavery! None of this "we put a man on the moon!" because that is worthless (sorry NASA). We put a man on the moon because we were worried that Russia was gonna do it first. What else you got for me?
The stories in between the first explorers touching land and the age we now live in is depressing to read, disgusting to think about, and embarrassing to realize is a part of our history.
As a white American, I barely know my ancestry... I know that my paternal great-grandfather immigrated to the US from Switzerland, circa 1900. That's all I know. I've heard rumors that my paternal grandmother is also Swiss. I've heard rumors that "we have Indian blood" on my maternal side. I've also heard that we're related to Andrew Jackson (the Indian-killer). When it comes to heritage, most white Americans are so mixed up and unaware of our roots, we just don't think about them. So when we see others with strong connections to their ancestors, with such rich cultures, I honestly think we feel like something is missing. So, we grab on to what we like from them.
On one hand, I feel like this is a beautiful thing - it could encourage us to be open and accepting of all cultures and to see the beauty in each person's different background. It could encourage every culture to be open to one another. It could encourage cultures to spread and intermingle, instead of segregate. On the other hand, reality's hand, it encourages disrespectful images and usage of items for which they were not intended. While this is by no means the worst racial injustice that happens, it's still a blatant disrespect for others. The frustrating part for me is that, most of the time, people don't realize they're being offensive.
As a long-time resident of the Urbana-Champaign community, I'm well aware of the controversy of using people as mascots. The big argument with the Chief/no-Chief campaign here is that there is a long standing tradition of this symbol "honoring" Native Americans who once resided in this land. The problem with this is the simple fact that children are being educated that Indians are a people of the past. They see these symbols and think it's a cool homage to a great historical people (like Spartans and Vikings). Native Americans who are alive today want to be seen and recognized as REAL people, not just images of the past. I think we'd hear a lot of complaints if we had teams named the Geishas, because Asian Americans should also be seen as a real, current, people.
One of the pro-chief arguments is that people shouldn't worry about being so "p-c" and need to quit being so sensitive. This is something that also crossed my mind. I, and most of the people I spend time with, are not easily offended. We can talk about religions, races, politics, etc. without anyone getting upset. The more I think about it, the more I realize that we don't get offended because we have nothing to be offended about! We have never had any sort of oppression. There was NEVER a time in the US when White people walked down the street and were harassed by Black people for being in the wrong neighborhood. There was never a time when honky was actually meaningful and offensive. Nigger, on the other hand, had power to degrade people. Black people walked into restaurants and were harassed until they left - sometimes physically. White people can't complain about this stuff, because they have no plausibility. That's why we can't understand the desire to be recognized as real people: we've never not been recognized as real people. And before you talk about the problems the Irish faced, please remember that it was more White people who were giving them problems.
I don't get why White people are such assholes! Seriously, didn't the "founding fathers" come here to escape religious persecution? They wanted to be free from the oppression of their government in Europe (right?). So they came here and fought the Native Americans into suppression because, in the words of Nathan Meeker, a Christian missionary sent to "elevate and enlighten" them, "...the Indians could not comprehend the joys of work or the value of material goods." (from Bury My Heart) What?? You mean they were a bunch of non-Jesus-knowing communist hippies who actually enjoyed their day-to-day lives? Kill 'em all! Force them from nomadic lifestyles into working all day everyday. Oh, and introduce whiskey to them! So helpful. It's embarrassing! Thus the white guilt that seeps in deeper and deeper. The issue with white guilt, just like any other guilt, is that very little ever actually comes from it. If anyone has a suggestion for what to do with all of it, please let me know. 
I'd love to have a real discussion about this, so please post comments and thoughts about all of this! Especially some good things the US government has done. Also, maybe a suggestion for a light, hilarious read to counter these past two...