It's 2016 and there is one thing that seems to be everywhere, and that is struggle. Let me start out by saying that I am a white female that grew up in the middle class, in a nice neighborhood in Metro Detroit. I have privilege. From the moment I was born onto this earth, I was born with privilege that I could not control. As I grew up, I had friends that were all races, shapes, and sizes. Metro Detroit has a culture that is very unique. Some parts love to accept one another and feel the love. Others seem to still live in a time where race was discriminated against. It seems though as I got older, our society changed. All we hear about is the struggle different minority groups are facing, and as a feminist, and a female I was put into one of those categories. But, as a person of a light completion, I was brought into another group of people who could not complain about struggle because of our privilege.
I see hate messages posted in comments on message boards such a Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, and other social media. I see people bashing each other for not knowing the struggle, and continuing to ignore it. I will share with you one thing I know to be true of 2016:
Struggle is trendy.
No, it isn't just chokers, wedges, or the new Yeezy clothing line. It is being pushed into categories like it is the 1960's again, where we have to live in our race bubbles, without an opinion of our own or fear of being attacked. October is bullying awareness month, and I can say that I was bullied for a number of years. Was it about my skin, or my upbringing? No. Was it about my personality? No. It was because I was vulnerable. I went through school scared and wanting to go home for fear of my books getting glued together, my locker being duck taped shut, glue being put on my seat, or people saying they could see through my clothing. I wear glasses, which I was taunted for for years. I have an anxiety disorder. Going through struggle doesn't have to be about skin color, or where you come from. Struggle seems like a competition.
We live in a world where I feel as though I cannot express my problems without someone saying that I am white, so I do not know what struggle is. You are correct. I do not know what it is like to be in a minority group. I do not know what it is like to be poor and living on the streets. I do not know what it is like to be in a broken household, or to have an immediate family member be victim of a crime. I do not know. I do know that I am human. I do know that Black Lives Matter. I do know that the LGBTQ community should be accepted in society. I do know that hate crimes should not exist because hate is what is tearing this country apart. We are all human. We are all from this earth.
Yes, these views are not the views of everyone, but are coming from a white, female, liberal college student. I am aware of my privilege. I am aware that others have a harder life than me. I am aware that I can use my privlege to help the good of the earth.
Lets try diminish struggle from all walks of life together.
