Here are my thoughts on race in America; someone must care what an educated, young white man has to say. It matters that I am a white man. I have benefited. Have all whites benefited to the same degree as myself? Do they all have fond memories of their childhood? Did their parents make a living wage or have the time to love and care for them? Of course not. When poor or struggling middle class whites hear that black lives matter, they take a heavy blow to the gut. “What about me?! My hands are cracked and bleeding from work, and I scrape by every month.”
I know in my heart that being a white male is a major advantage. But the losers in our economy come in all colors. Holding a less shitty hand in a game of capitalist playing cards does not cultivate a feeling of privilege. It is only the rich white male that is privileged. Women are not, blacks and other minorities are not, and most of white America is not. No doubt, the statistics show the black community is abused by the police, the criminal justice system, and nearly every institution in the United States. Vile racist attitudes are not undone in a few short decades. It takes generations and it takes love. It takes concrete action to change our criminal justice system and change our educational system. Mostly, it requires we re-write the rules of our economy.
I’ve had it pretty good in our current system, but I know it is unjust. Too many people left out. Too many are accustomed to pain. If the pain blinds us, we will yell at those who are different; surely the Mexicans who “took our jobs” or the blacks who “live on handouts” are to blame. We all know they are gangbangers anyway. Forget the facts. Forget the past and present horrors that I will never understand. Know that America can be made great again through race-baiting and fear.
Fuck that. I want love. I do not want “real America” back. From great heights, the masters of society watch as real America screams, hates and kills one another in the streets. Let us remember that poverty is the parent of revolution and crime! Let us realize that we are all the huddled masses. Let us take our power to the top!
