It's just that when we deal it we usually have to deal with it in our own countries (and there they usually pale in numbers compared to other types of immigrants we have more issues with). The idea is more that all countries have their very own horrible debts to certain people and sometimes we aren't even very good about paying or even acknowledging those.

Oh, I agree completely. Also, I was struck by your listing examples side by side. It really shows the complexity of discussions of history and cleavages between peoples. We really do have to be specific when using terms like "debt" and "racism," or one person's point will call up strong associations of something completely unintended for another, and they'll be talking at cross purposes. Your list also both universalizes the need for discussion of problems and points out the diversity of those problems. (For Americans, it pulls our attention back from the overwhelming black/white issues and lets us know that a. other countries have issues too, even if they don't fit our expected mold and b. issues with countries that we've exploited might also be worth considering.)

Looking back up at my comment, I realize I neglected to say "many _American_ white people." Talk about one's country's history and associations unconsciously dominating one's way of speaking! I was responding specifically to a common way of looking at things among white Americans that I had noticed in a few above comments. I don't feel at all qualified to assess a collective debt, and I think doing so without looking at specific countries' histories and current situations is dangerous.