I faced quite a bit of flack for my last article
regarding Black Lives Matter, so I thought I’d further explain my
positioning on the subject. I’d also like to give y’all a trigger
warning. This article talks about upsetting things like race, so if you
are easily upset by controversial statistics or uncomfortable truth, feel free to click off.
As a middle-class white male.
A phrase I continue to hear in the online and real world discussion is that “white people need to do something,” as if we are somehow born with an inherent authority over our government and police force. In reality, there are socioeconomic and value-based issues that are the source of the problem, not skin color.
You say we should acknowledge that whites benefit from a system our generation had nothing to do with?
Alright, I acknowledge that. There’s more truth to that for some than others; but now that I’ve acknowledged it, now what? Should I quit my job, drop out of college and sell all my worldly possessions to make things fair and equitable? What is it that you think white people should do? What do you think we have the power to do?
Acknowledgment of a concept isn’t really doing anything, other than giving thought to a concept. So what do you expect us to do with this acknowledgment?
Because I’m white, you say I should acknowledge that “my ancestors” were oppressors.
The cartoon above contrasts Florence Nightingale, the British pioneer of modern nursing and noted statistician, with “Bridget McBruiser” an Irish woman depicted with ape-like features. This was commonplace in America.
I hate to break it to you, but my ancestors were immigrants of this country. My family lineage did not consist of slave owners or traders; in fact, a large portion of my ancestors were Irish.
Did you know that the Irish of this country came over in “coffin ships” where oftentimes a third of them died along the way from disease and horrible conditions? Did you know that many of them came over as indentured servants, who were unable to pay their own way so they went into servitude for others when they got here? Did you know, following the end of slavery, Irish and African Americans were forced to compete for the same low-wage, low-status jobs? Did you know that many employers over the course of the 19th and 20th century would have signs saying “No Irish Need Apply?" That they were called paddy wagons, drunkards, and a slew of other words I’d rather not list?
Indeed, Irish Americans have attained their “whiteness” over the course of the 20th century, with equal opportunity employer laws and the like. And I may certainly have a “disadvantage” because my ancestors weren’t able to amass wealth like some of the more favored ethnicities, but I am not going to ask for reparations. No one alive today had anything to do with what happened in the past, and I refuse to see myself as a victim. I grew up with teasing for my ginger hair, but I’m glad because it gave me thicker skin. Sure! I buy a disproportionate amount of sun screen – or better yet hide from the sun – but I am proud of my uniqueness so I don’t get upset by it.
What do you really stand for?
Is the picture above not reminiscent to the recent “safe zones” we are seeing on college campuses throughout America?
I can only address things DeRay McKesson has said since he appears to be the spokesperson: the BLM movement seems to advocate for racial equality, by way of disregarding race as a factor in the overall personality, dealings, and behaviors of every individual; yet everything I’ve seen that comes from this movement has included blanket statements about white people, that have at most, only been slightly accurate. And many would utter that I am “racist” for even considering to address the BLM movement in a way that is even remotely critical. That is simply fascism. How can you discredit any opinion that you disagree with and say it’s racism? You fight for civil rights, yet you call for the removal of free speech that hurts your feelings. You call to decriminalize crimes such as trespassing, marijuana possession (okay I agree here), loitering, public disturbance, consuming alcohol on streets because these laws are “used by cops to target minorities," but do you not realize these laws are in place to protect other people’s rights? Here’s a crazy solution: don’t break the law.
The color of your skin doesn’t disqualify you from being treated fairly, just like the color of my skin doesn’t qualify me as your scapegoat. Yet, I continue to hear that a white person can’t possibly imagine what the life of a black person is like, because we’re not black, while at the same time saying what it’s like to be white: what white people think, feel, believe as if we’re all the same and you could even know without being white yourselves.
This movement seems to be fighting fire with fire. There’s a racist system? Well let’s be racist right back at ‘em! The police are disrupting law and order? Well let’s disrupt law and order as well!
In conclusion...
I will leave you all with a statistic. According to The Brookings Institute there are three things that ensure upward mobility into the middle class: finish high school, get a full-time job and wait until age 21 to get married and have children. “American adults who followed these three simple rules, only about 2 percent are in poverty and nearly 75 percent have joined the middle class (defined as earning around $55,000 or more per year),” Ron Haskins wrote in the report. Perhaps if we instilled these values in future generations, we could see an end to poverty.
So instead of making blanket assumptions, let me ask you a few questions: If racist oppression is keeping blacks down and not allowing them to make money, why are there so many successful black people in America? If Black Lives Matter cares about black lives so much, why don't they address the black on black murder rate compared to the cop on black murder rate? There's an astronomical difference. Why do you say racism is a problem in law enforcement when there's no evidence? For every black person killed by police, there's more white people killed by police - and no blacks are not killed a disproportionate amount more when you consider that they have police encounters and break the law a disproportionately higher amount. Now this isn't to say that black people are bad. It simply means there isn't a malevolent racist boogey-man hiding behind every corner ready to ruin your life because you're black, and that there are three very simple actions you can take to end poverty.
