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I am a twenty-seven year old caucasian male. Therefore I am labeled a sexist and a racist. Simply because of my gender and the color of my skin. Most people don't know me, or who I am, or what I've experienced in my life. Most people find it easier to label me solely based on my appearance.
The truth of the matter is that I am an individual much like everyone else. Personally I place skin color in the same category as eye and hair color. As for gender I find it similar to a person's height or shoe size. They're traits that an individual is born with and have no control over. They have no impact on a person's character. The reactions to those characteristics do however, Which I find to be the major problem. When a person judges someone based on the color of their skin or based on their gender, I find that to be ignorant and disrespectful. A person should be judged based on their actions whether they be physical or verbal.
There have been many issues where a person has been judged because of their skin color or their gender. Due to these events many people have taken to protests, and rightfully so. The issue with these protests isn’t the intention or the goal, it is more so in the phrasing. “Black Rights” or “Women's Rights” are phrases that quite frankly segregate people rather than congregate them. You might as well say “White Rights” or “Men’s Rights” and “forget the rest of you”.
To be quite frank, I don’t believe in “White Rights”, I don’t believe in “Men’s Rights” I don’t believe in “Black Rights”, I don’t believe in “Women's Rights”, I don’t believe in “Hispanic Rights”, I don’t believe in “Asian Rights”, what I believe in is a thing called “Equal Human Rights”. We are all living breathing human beings and in that regard, we should all be treated equally. We are a larger and much more influential force to be reckoned with when we band together and put aside our physical differences.
The second issue of this would be the stereotyping, if one person of a certain skin color, gender, or occupation does something, then all of them do the same thing or share the same characteristic. This is clearly not true. The stereotype of every African American “is a criminal” or “is in a gang” clearly isn’t true. The stereotype of every woman “belongs in the kitchen” or “is a dainty flower” clearly isn’t true. The stereotype of every police officer “is a racist” or “is a corrupt government official” clearly isn’t true. I have been grouped into the stereotype of a “White Oppressor” and a “ Privileged White Man”, which again is not true.
Growing up I had no concept of "race" or “gender”, anyone willing to play with me was my friend. I had to bike to my first job which was at McDonalds. I remember closing the shop around midnight, biking home, showering, and heading back to open at four in the morning. I attended High School where I assure you there were many different ethnicities. I made friends with lots of different people and I didn’t care what color their skin was or what gender they were. I currently work at a minimum wage job that sells toys and board games. I deal with all sorts of kids of every skin color and gender. I love teaching them how to juggle or how to use a yo-yo. I love it so much that I realized that I wanted to become a school gym teacher. So much that I have decided to join the U.S air force to help pay for college because I couldn't afford it any other way. Now I have to ask, does that sound like a “White Oppressor” or a “Privileged White Man”?
The truth of the matter is that we are all different. We have all had different lives and have made different life choices. Again since we are all different individuals, I feel like we should all be judged individually by our actions whether they be physical or verbal. We shouldn’t have to all suffer because of the choices a single person has made.
I would like to end this thought by quoting a speech made fifty-seven years ago.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream!
Martin Luther King Jr.
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that's nice but you are basically saying that "I don't see color" and that isn't the issue. In fact, it ignore the atrocities that have occurred to black, in this country and other imperialist nations that have been ignored for centuries and continues as a legacy in the USA. So, the point of this current movement is to push for the equitable treatment of people of color which have been denied for so long. The issue is not that you are a nice guy who happens to be white. The issue is that whites as a whole have benefitted from the harm, enslavement, impoverishment and oppression of people of color. and to say that there is no difference is to deny your benefitting off of this. Old news bud.
ReplyTHIS COMMENT!! Yes to every single one of these!! I have a couple of pointers to add to this too: OP, I get that you might be frustrated because it SEEMS like in this day and age people are saying things against white men, but they really aren’t. It’s not specifically YOU that is the problem, but you have to realize that in the system we live in, you benefit from it more than any other minority.
You seem to me like the person who would prefer saying “All Lives Matter” to “Black Lives Matter”, but you have to realize that all “Black Lives Matter” is saying is “focus on the issue at hand.” It’s not saying in any way that you don’t matter.
I would also suggest watching the movie “The Hate U Give.” It’s aimed at teenagers but is still super powerful, and the messages in it will really help you see what people mean when they say “Black Lives Matter.” One quote I remember in particular was when Star’s friend said “I don’t see color,” to which Starr replies, “If you don’t see color, you don’t see me.” Consider that quote for a moment. For you, it’s easy to say “I don’t see color.” That’s a privilege. For others, skin color means identity and community. If you don’t see skin color, you don’t see the pattern of systemic racism. You have to realize that the system is still flawed. Black people, Hispanic people, LGBT+ people—all groups who aren’t straight white men—still have less privilege in society. And dealing with the whole system being against you is MUCH harder than the discomfort that recognizing racism causes you.
ReplyI see what you're saying about how we should have equality for all that specifying a certain group creates segregation. I for one am a female brown Muslim and I totally agree with you. The only problem is that in this current state of the world people aren't good enough to be able to think about that. People aren't good enough to not divide people into groups based on gender, ethnicity, etc. The reason people have these campaigns aren't to separate people but because certain people don't get the rights everyone should get. I totally agree with you but the world isn't ready for these statements. If only everyone in the world was as good as you.
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