It has come to my attention that I’m a privileged white woman. Someone please tell this to my life because it is clearly confused. I could have sworn when I woke up this morning that I was poor, unemployed, living in an impoverished and largely minority neighborhood, have a felony background, a history of drug abuse, an 18 year old car, no means of getting a higher education and absolutely no trust funds, stocks, bonds or gold coins. Oh, I do have a good credit score! Damn, I’m privileged. I can buy milk and pay interest.
When liberals dislike something they’ve read, their first inclination is to levy a personal attack on the author. I would be ignorant to expect anything better, as this is perfectly in line with the left’s M.O. when approaching anything remotely colored outside of their comfort zone. Identity politics rule, emotionally charged demands must be submitted to, feelings suppress facts, and appearance reigns over substance. If I say something they find objectionable it can be dismissed because I’m clearly an out of touch asshole. A privileged, out of touch asshole, whether that’s true or not. They work to suppress any opinion that isn’t perfectly in line with their own and any tactics, no matter how repugnant, may be used to do so. After all, they are our gods and must destroy us for our benefit. This is the very definition of an abusive relationship.
I’ve never claimed that racism doesn’t exist, though people have a habit of reading towards their own preconceived notions. I know racism exists because I’ve experienced it. I’ve been white at DSS. I dare you to try it. I’ve had Mexican men stalk me through Walmart, black people call me derogatory names when I walked down the street, stepped from my car and when I walked into my own home. I’ve been called white bitch more times than I can count. I’ve been dismissed as privileged and wealthy, threatened, passed in line, shoved, ignored by customer service, blatantly refused by customers, given the eye roll of death and sexually harassed. And guess what? My experiences don’t negate yours. They can exist together without conflict. Injustice exists, but it doesn’t own us. These events represent a small portion of life. They do not reflect most people or experiences. Surely, I’ve just broken some rule by saying that. But I wasn’t born guilty and I’m no social eunuch. If my experiences don’t fit with the accepted narrative, the narrative is flawed.
I’ve also been targeted outside of my race by police based on where I live, the car I drove or the clothes I wore. I was pulled over, harassed and accused of having committed breaking and entering, felony eluding and possession of narcotics simply because I drove down a particular street! Do I doubt for one minute this happens to other people, other races? Of course not. Racism and profiling will exist as long as people exist. Is this even up for debate? That said, I do not for one minute accept that there is a substantial population who seeks to destroy based on race—-not today, not in this country. To conflate the existence of racism with a racially motivated movement is derelict and dangerous. If you accept the notion that white supremacists are rampant in our community based on a few in the news, you must also accept that there is a rising movement of politicians sending penis photos to young girls. How about millions of men readying to murder their wives? Or clowns? There are untold number of creepy stalker clowns secretly determined to take control of our country by way of machetes and the lure of a balloon animal. Or what about BLM and Antifa, both equally dangerous? Are they also sweeping our communities? I’m sorry if you think so, that’s a terrible way to live.
It is vital that we look at these issues objectively. Often the perspectives provided to us by the media are wholly inaccurate or wildly over exaggerated. As I stated before, there are political players who use race to divide us. They organize and pay for protesters by contributing to third parties, use their bully pulpit to inflame underlying tensions and give a voice to extreme marginal groups to provoke an emotional response that is far greater than warranted. We are being manipulated so that those in power can remain in power. They need us to need them. They need us to feel victimized, marginalized and discarded so that they can be our saviors. Look at congress. They are the very last people I would ever want to save me. I wouldn’t trust them to boil macaroni, much less design my opinions.
Adolph Hitler’s name has been thrown around a lot in reference to the alt-right, President Trump, or frankly anything conservative. But if Hitler was a master of anything it was creating division between groups by placing blame at the feet of one, whilst inflaming the insecurities of another. While they hated each other, he ate desserts, took speed and killed millions of people. Who was the real danger? Our leaders and media use this same approach. When you were a child, did you play Mad Libs? You don’t like your ________. Well, _________ is to blame. You don’t like your life? Well, the Jews are to blame. You don’t like your community? White supremacists are to blame. You don’t like your campus? Antifa is to blame. You don’t like your police? BLM is to blame. You don’t like your job? Trump is to blame. Do you see how this works? While you fill in the blanks, the powerful line their pockets and set the stage for the next diversion. When you play the blame game, everyone loses but the one who designed it.
I shouldn’t have to justify my opinion. It’s my God given right to have one. I shouldn’t have to be a minority, know poverty intimately or live in a dangerous neighborhood to have a voice. Most of our leaders have experienced little of that, yet they get to decide policy every single day. If I was lily white, wealthy and had never stepped outside of my gated community, I should still be allowed to voice my opinion on any matter as I see fit without fear of retribution. Even if it was ignorant or cruel, it would still be my right. If people in our country really wanted to get to the truth, really wanted to learn about one another and where our values lie, they wouldn’t work so hard to suppress opinions. There are millions of people in this nation who have been shamed into silence by way of bullying. But me? I have nothing to lose. I have no social status, reputation or high profile job to protect. I can speak honestly, at least for today, and I will exercise that freedom so long as I have it. The climate has become so dangerous for the majority who lives outside of the accepted narrative that the only way to find the pulse is through an election. If you were surprised by the last election, look to silencing. Continue to suppress dialogue and you will continue to be surprised.
When I leave my home, I don’t feel that the world is conspiring against me. This isn’t because I’m white, this is because I do not live with the spirit of fear, but rather faith that for the most part, we are a loving and giving people, fashioned after our creator and capable of much good. I meet every person with the hope that they will return kindness and usually I am correct. My experiences with the left, racism and profiling are not representative of the whole. They don’t determine my choices, my judgement of others or the quality of my life. I keep the good, release the bad and look to myself when my life is lacking. I, above all others, bare responsibility for my life and there is no room for victimization. I am loved, as we all are, and no amount of media hype can ever convince me otherwise.
If you got all of the way through this piece, I commend your patience. Baking the perfect blog requires a variety of ingredients. I promise, my next post will have a dash less morose and a pound of melted bizarro.
The Reprobate's Guide to Pancakes 