Dear Outraged White Men,
You are not oppressed. If history has taught us anything, it is that you have all of the rights. For instance, you do not have to worry when you walk down the street after dark that you might be attacked and raped. You do not have to worry that if a cop stops you that you might be murdered for having a taillight out because of the color of your skin. Your healthcare is not being micromanaged by congress, a majority of whose sex is opposite your own. When elections come around you do not have to worry that you might not be able to vote because it is hard for you to obtain a state issued ID.
If anything, the current administration is pandering to you. It is telling you that people who do not look exactly like you, who do not believe in the same religion as you, and who have differing political ideas than you are oppressing you. This is not true, because you have all the power. Your vote comes easy and yet you take it for granted. In some cases you don’t even use it. You believe the rhetoric rather than look for the facts yourself. You lack empathy for those who are not the same as you. If America had taken that stance in World War 2, we would be speaking German right now and live under an oppressive fascist regime. Because we were able to empathize with those who were suffering in WW2, we overcame that enemy. We accomplished this by working together and agreeing what was happening was wrong. We agreed that humans should not be treated the way the Jewish people were treated during WW2 not because of their political beliefs, but because they are our fellow human beings.
Well, here we are again in 2017. Despite everything we have seen and the many things that we have overcome, we have to have this discussion again. You, dear privileged white male, are not the oppressed. The women who make 77 cents to every dollar you earn are. The black man or woman who walks out his or her door everyday hoping he or she won’t be shot to death is the oppressed. The gay, bi, lesbian, and transgender individuals who walk out their doors everyday wondering if they are going to be harassed, targeted, or murdered are the oppressed. If you do not have to worry about these things day in and day out then you are not being oppressed. You may feel threatened. It’s hard to understand someone different than yourself, but I assure you that if you make the effort to learn about someone else, you will find it a rewarding experience. It may even make you a better person, and that is something we could all stand to be right now.
