It's a wide world

"I don't have a problem with immigrants... but so many of them are illegal and breaking the law... that's who I have a problem with." "They're rapists." "They're taking our jobs." "They're just all on welfare using our resources." "They're ruining our economy." There are so many bullshit excuses to validate hatred. So many "reasons" ignorant people defend their racism. Even worse... there are some people who are outright racist and don't even feel shame at how hateful they are to a group of people whos skin is darker than theirs. So many people who's fear of the unknown allows them belittle anyone different from them, rather than trying to understand new things, or different ways of life, we just allow ourselves to fill with hatred and anger.

Let's break down some of the reasons.

"Illegal and breaking the law." I break the law every day. The speed limit on my short drive to work is 40 miles per hour. Generally I'm driving 42-45 miles per hour. Sure it's a small law... will I hurt someone? Probably not... but if I get into an accident was it because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time because I was speeding to get to work? Well now I broke the law and someone else suffered the consequences. One night I was driving around with a friend. I was speeding... I got pulled over. He ran my license... but also noticed my friend is hispanic, and asked to see her ID. She was a passenger, buckled in, and minding her own business. He spent about a half hour questioning her. Again, I was driving, I was speeding, I get a warning... and he questioned her for so much longer than he did me, I was the one who broke the law... and I was ignored. That's the moment that my white privilege hit me. I got away with breaking a law, she was doing absolutely nothing wrong and he was looking for any reason at all to find fault with her. So don't tell me that people of color are not being seeked out. White citizens are getting away with breaking the law every single day.

"They're rapists." Yes yes every single one is a rapist. White people don't rape. Looking at you Harvey Weinstein, Brock Turner, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and so many more. Yes I know, a lot of men are convicted and serve time (not you Brock, my DUI punishment was more severe than your punishment for RAPE), but so many get away with it, or are barely even punished. I'm not saying that there's never been an immigrant rapist, I'm just saying if you're going to punish an entire group of people for the crimes of a few, hot damn white people should be in a hell of a lot more trouble. I'm talking about equality, even when it comes to crimes and punishment.

"They're taking our jobs." I work in a restaurant, we have some mexican and guatemalan workers. We also have white and black workers. We're hiring. You want a job? Come in and apply. You can work and want hours? Come in and apply. Who gets to work the most hours? Whoever is working hardest and deserves the hours. Who is making the most money? Whoever is working the hardest and deserves the pay. Jobs are available, I don't see a single white person who can't get a job because a mexican has it. Did you maybe not get the job because you have a shitty work ethic and can't pass a drug test to save your life? Probably. You didn't get the job not because it was filled by someone of a different ethnicity, you didn't get the job because you didn't earn it. Want a job making shit money picking rock in a field? Go for it. Want a job cleaning houses? Go for it. They're getting jobs because they're willing to work and do jobs that need to get done. If you want to take those jobs too? GO FOR IT! A lot of immigrants can't get a higher education here so they can't get jobs requiring degrees. They have fewer opportunities than citizens do, so if a citizen complains about them... the immigrant isn't the problem, the lazy citizen is.

"They're on welfare using our resources." You can't get on welfare, or can't get government help if you don't have legal papers. If you don't have proper documentation you can't even get a drivers license. I know a few people who ARE in the system. I also know that they lying about their income, working for cash so they don't have to pay taxes on it, and also can't prove any income then, so then they can go on welfare while maxing out their credit cards remodelling their $200,000 home, buying new vehicles and recreational activities, like snowmobiles, four wheelers, and hunting. They're white citizens lying about their living so they can get extra money from the government. The cherry on top is that she has the balls to complain about immigrants working the system. Fuck you.

"They're ruining our economy." No. We did that. Capitalism did that. The rich get richer and the poor die. We did it. We fucked ourselves over and just don't want to take the responsibility.

I grew up in a small town with a large family. We are a white republican christian family that never really made it out of our hometown. Well, I'm a gay liberal who dated an immigrant, so I guess I broke out of the mold. I'm the only one in my family who didn't vote for trump, I'm the only one questioning how other people live so I can understand their struggles, and hopefully grow as a human and learn to be more loving and caring towards others, no matter what their situation is. I'm trying to break a cycle of fear. So many christians say they're being prosecuted, and I'm not saying that in some parts of the world they're not, I'm just saying that if you're claiming to worship a God of love while willingly separating families and putting them into concentration camps... excuse me... refugee camps... then maybe you're being WILDLY hypocritical and need to rethink your process.

If we could all just open our minds and our hearts to those of us that are different, we could see so many more wonderful things about the world. We could learn what love TRULY is. With an open heart and an open mind the world is a wonderfully colorful and beautiful place. We could learn about other people's life experiences and truly grow and truly move forward as a species. We could work together to bring together world peace. No one would be dying of starvation because no one cares to help. The world is truly so majestic, but some people can't see out of the tiny circle they've built for themselves. We know so little about the world around us, yet claim to love everyone. I've made so much progress in myself in how I view the world, and if everyone could just start asking their neighbors some questions and try to just understand, the fear would go away. The hatred would go away. We are just so afraid of things that are different than ourselves. We just need the bravery to accept each others differences, and celebrate them. Like the beatles said, all we need is love.