I am not one of those that claim to have known Hrant Dink, the recently assassinated Armenian editor of the newspaper Agos. I will not recite some personal experience we had together.

At the risk of appearing to be one of the numerous parasites attempting to capitalize in some grotesque way from the death of a truly brave man, I wish to comment on what has become a mantra for those wishing to memorialize Hrant - "We are All Hrant Dink, We are All Armenians".

This call to action is meant to make a life, ended too soon and in a senseless way, somehow less senseless. It is to shout out that while one voice has been silenced 1000's will rise to take his place. "We understand Hrant's pain and we are showing solidarity with his cause."

I understand the sentiment, but the reality is that such sentiments are shallow and fleeting. It is a sad commentary on society, yet within a week Hrant's murder will pass silently into historical forgetfulness.

The truth is that very few of us understand the humiliation, fear and frustration of being deemed inferior. In a very real sense, we feel uncomfortable at being reminded of class divisions - not everyone enjoys the same liberties we take for granted.

Hrant was killed for being an "uppity Negro", an Armenian who believed he had rights in Turkey because it was the country of his birth. One hundred years ago, the Ku Kux Klan used intimidation and lynching to put those "uppity Negroes" in their place just as the ruling elite of the Ottoman Empire put those "uppity Armenians" in theirs. And now Hrant Dink has been put in his place.

The government of Turkey, most notably its secular military component, has long advocated a climate conducive to viewing the lives of Armenians as worthless. Ermeni is a derogatory word to the likes of Ogun Samast and Yasin Hayal, the killers of Hrant. Well-meaning Turks cannot fully comprehend the humiliation and intimidation that exists.

When I was in high school, I was assigned to read the book "Black Like Me" about journalist John Giffin's experiences in the American South. Griffin had a doctor artificially darken his skin so as to expose himself to the experiences of an African American. Griffin's account of the racism and degrading living conditions is jarring.

No matter how sympathetic we may be to the plight of some group of people, we cannot appreciate their suffering from the comfort of the privileged.

As much as I support the movement for reparations to African Americans and Native Americans, I cannot truly be like them. There is a difference. The best that the well meaning advantaged can do is break down the barriers that create "others" and to atone for the decades of criminal treatment. Article 301 of Turkey's penal code is just one example, but there are others ranging from restrictions on the transfer of property to racist propaganda that demonizes Armenians to outright killings.

Those of us born, raised and living in the Diaspora cannot possibly understand the breath of the life Hrant Dink lived as an Armenian in Turkey. He was a rare breed to stand for rights he believed Armenians deserved - while the more natural tendency is to remain silent hoping to avoid any undo attention or leave the country altogether.

At the same time, Hrant could not possibly understand the depth of frustration of growing up in the Diaspora. This is not meant to be a criticism; it is only to state something so obvious that it should not need stating.

We are not all Hrant Dink - we did not share his life experiences or perspective deriving from those experiences. There has been no honest and investigative "Armenian Like Me."