and probably caries over to their "if you'd only take care of yourself you'd get better" 'tude, too. *sighs*

Yep, that's exactly where it comes from.

If you're born white, with money and education, you're already well ahead of the game.... but the moment you acknowledge that, you have to also acknowledge that some people aren't, and then your own mythology is at risk.

Exactly, and they are NOT willing to do that. In fact, the very idea of it scares the hell out of them, and is why any kind of government assistance aimed at helping the poor and the disenfranchised is seen as "minorities wanting special privileges they didn't earn."