This one is directed specifically to my fellow white American males, but relevant for all.
Enough is enough. We have reached a point of complacency in our attempt to achieve social equality. We have become accustomed to conversation where we openly and vigorously criticize movements which attempt to achieve such social equality. What do we gain from this? How dare we look our mothers, sisters, girlfriends and so on and say that the feminist movement is a joke? How dare we direct comments at the African-American community and Black Lives Matter Movement and imply that they are doing more harm than good with their peaceful protests? Why do we scrutinize two people of the same gender holding hands or getting married when in reality this affects us in no negative way?
What is there to lose from instilling more legislation that will allow women to receive the same pay as men? Is there a sense of shame in making advancements that would allow the African-American community to feel safe in their own neighborhoods? Why should we deny any one group equality because of their skin tone, gender or sexuality?
Myself, being a white American male, can only imagine what it is like to be part of these demographics. I have essentially been handed my life on a silver platter. Besides being gay, I have no worries in this world. If I hide my sexuality well enough in the workplace or during interviews, I won’t have to worry about my job security. As long as I don’t hold my partner's hand in public, I won’t have to worry about hateful glares from passersby. As long as I call my future husband “my roommate,” I won’t have to worry about getting denied services or a home, will I? Oh wait.
No -- you see, we as a free democratic nation should not allow any member of society to live in fear or hide who they are. There should be a law that restricts people from trying to empathize with demographics which they do not fall into. I will never understand what it means to be sexualized or dehumanized because I am not a woman. I will never understand the fear that the African-American community may feel when they are pulled over by a police officer, because, at first glance, I am nothing more than your average white American male.
These three demographics are only that, three demographics. There are countless other demographics in this country, all of which having their own social injustices. It aches me when I hear white, heterosexual, middle class men complaining about any one of these or other social movements. When in our history was the white male at a disadvantage? Even when we first came to this country we forced the Native Americans off of their land, killing thousands of them at the dream of conquering the new world. We as a nation were founded on those fleeing a tyrannical rule persecuting them for being different and wanting equality. Do you see the hypocrisy?
It is shameful that we live in a country where people don’t acknowledge the fact there is still a strong imbalance of power and equality. Despite my initial direction of this at the privileged white male, all people listen. Do not discriminate someone off of stereotypical presumptions that are fed down your throat by the media. Please, stop trying to empathize or criticize when you can’t even experience what those who you disagree with are going through. We can even being to fathom equality until we stop trying to demean and compare demographics to each other.
