Modern Problems: Gender and Race Discrimination
Stumbled Upon This Today
The entire motivation for this post was my girlfriend bringing my attention to one of her friends she thought was a, "moderate feminist," but it turns out that she actually supports racism and sexism. This is radical, not moderate, and needs to be explored deeper lest we choose to scrutinize any further without proper knowledge. The post that inspired my article went like this, verbatim:
Random Female: "you ever meet a man and it's so obvious that no one in his life has ever told him to shut the f&%$ up"
Random Male: "I've met a white guy before yes"
The caption for this post: "ETA: To anyone who is on my friend list (or isn’t but enjoys this tweet) please ignore the trolls. And register one person to vote for every troll who appears in the comments. #f&%$thegop"
This post rang to the tune of 20.4k hearts on Twitter.
My girlfriend's sarcastic response: "More women than men, but yes, I can agree with the unsubtle racism and sexism in this post my fellow female!" accompanied by an Anchorman gif.
A Low and Illogical Blow
Now I'll be the first to admit it, I'm the type who believes that "institutional" racism and sexism are no longer a thing. I believe classism is most definitely institutional, because we live in a capitalist market and that just comes with the territory even if it is unpalatable for most, but racism and sexism are unarguably on the individual scale. Perhaps my, "white male privilege," a term now used by radicals to unfairly invalidate entire swathes of the population, is blinding me to the institutional racism and sexism that is occurring; but that doesn't hold true in objective reality.
As a white male, I have been discriminated against on numerous occasions, whether it be people in a position of power or individuals I meet at random, it has occurred--dare I say-- frequently. I know, shocking right, because the same people who invalidate me with my gender and race also widely believe my gender and race can't be unfairly discriminated against; and yet here I am, providing evidence to the contrary where others cannot observe reality for themselves..
I've witnessed more literal discrimination, racist and sexist, from those who claim to fight against it in the last twenty-five years than I have from any of the known radical groups in the world.
— Kyler J FakMy Experience
As it concerns experiencing racism and sexism indirectly I think I've already offered enough proof to you as it concerns my claims, but I'll go a bit further. I'm confident when I say that this type of conversation, the type to be racist and sexist, between those who claim to be against it is rampant in the online communities in which we so regularly imbibe. Safety is one of my top concerns for my child and his exploration of the world, but with so much rampant racism and sexism targeted at him, I'm scared for his future.
Personally, I've been profiled by the police for being, "White and wearing a beanie," and that was a scary experience. I was literally walking to school, just got off the bus, and the cop did a burnout up the other side of the road, and came back and pulled in front of me to keep me from going to school. "We had reports in the area of a white guy in a beanie committing a home invasion," he and his partner informed me of after they had me remove my shirt to show them defining marks. With the contents of my backpack strewn all about the pavement, I put my shirt back on and got in trouble when I arrived at school late, and the cops never showed up to explain like I'd asked them to do.
This is what many would label as racist if I were of any other skin color, but I disagree. The cops were doing their job, albeit insensitively and tactlessly, but it was their job to do it, not racism.
Another small example of what could be construed as racism and sexism would be a day I had shown up to work with a little eyeliner on, because my girlfriend and I partied the night before and got all costumed up for it. An African American, female coworker took it upon herself to refer to me as a, "really strange zebra with black stripes," and also had the audacity to say makeup is strictly for females. I made sure to try to get an apology but she outright refused and continued to harass me over my gender and appearance, so I reported it. To the tune of, "Well, you're a dude," is the response I got from the higher-ups and was silenced completely.
As a "straight white male" I often feel I'm not allowed to have a voice in matters concerning my own race and sex. It is debilitating to me to think others are willing to take away my rights, where I would fight for theirs to the bitter end.
— Kyler J FalkThis has to have been one of the most egregious experiences of my life:
One day my buddy and I were standing outside Walmart discussing our ancestry. Me as an Italian Jew, and him as a Spanish Jew we loved discussing our rich and historic cultures. We had been discussing how our people had been slaves throughout history, of course saying the word, "Jew," multiple times over again to refer to our people. Well, someone overheard us discussing our ancestry and decided to report us for it.
Promptly, a higher-up contacted us and told us both we were to never discuss our ancestry again on Walmart grounds. We both fought this rule immediately, it was completely discriminatory, unfair, and illegal but they upheld the decision and threatened us with termination if we continued. Thus, we never discussed our ancestry again, and were silenced by racism.
Solving the Problem
Every time you make a post on social media about someone else's race, gender, or any personal aspect outside of their control, make sure your "humor" is in fact not racist, sexist, or otherwise completely ignorant and discriminatory. We have an institutional issue of classism in the world, and especially here in America where we all share the same freedoms and rights. Racism and sexism aren't an institutional issue, they are an issue with individuals and an entire race or gender doesn't deserve to be devalued because of your ignorant perceptions.
Take the time out of your day to show some sympathy, some compassion, or at least some basic self-awareness because it will go a long way in helping whatever cause it is you support. When you breed hate, when you breed prejudice, all it does is create the same problems you wish to see eliminated. It takes a team to solve the world's issues, and we can't solve anything if our issues are our teammates!
Be mindful, be loving, be understanding, be accepting and we can change the world for the better!