The Swamp logo

The Double Standard in America

White Privilege in America

By James HowellPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
Like
This is what America has came to.

Yes, believe it or not, there are double standards in America. We live with it everyday, yet we do nothing about it. We have cops killing unarmed African Americans, which we turn a blind eye to. We then have children murdering other children in school hallways. We get in an uproar then, but when it comes time to do something, we cling to our firearms for fear that some government official is going to walk in our house and take them out of our hands. When a person of Middle Eastern descent does something wrong, we automatically claim terrorism. When a white male does it, it's the cry of a troubled young man. Where do we find the happy medium?

Let's start with the murder of unarmed African Americans by police. This happens at an alarming rate, yet our only answer is that they should have obeyed orders. Then there are people like Philando Castille, who followed all orders and tried to be reasonable with the officer. He was murdered by the officer with his girlfriend and child in the car with him. What do we say then? Where is the outrage? We turn a blind eye to the issue at hand when we run out of excuses. We solve nothing with our silence, but rather continue to encourage this type of behavior. We let one person get away with something, it creates a domino effect. If you don't believe me, just go to a news story about police brutality protests on any news stations Facebook page. They are congested with hatred and bigotry.

Another good example of this is the March for Our Lives protest. We have children who want to go to school safely. The conservatives and the NRA are claiming that this is a left wing agenda made to take away our second amendment rights. So when a child is conceived, they want it born alive, no matter the circumstances. When it's children who want to go to school and leave without harm, it's an agenda. Do you see the hypocrisy in this? Does anyone on the right ever question this? Also, why are the people who are complaining either old, an NRA member, or believe that blue lives matter. (I am not saying they don't. I'm just saying that the lives of minorities should matter too.)

We tend to victim shame when it's a white male that commits a crime; however if it's a Muslim, we call them a terrorist. If it's a person of color, they should have followed the law. As long as it is a white male, it is “a troubled young man” or “a lovesick teen.” We say that these human beings should have befriended the culprit, and that they are to blame for not doing so. Essentially what they are saying is that if it is a killer white male, be nice to them. If they are African American, or Muslim, let god sort them out. You see this a lot on social media especially. “White lives matter.” “All lives matter.”

When we say these kinds of things, we are exposing our selfishness by trying to make it about us instead of understanding why they feel like they do. We as a race can be very self centered. We haven't experienced slavery, racism, and bigotry like minorities have. We haven't survived a school shooting like these kids have. We don't think what if that was us or our child. We only think about ourselves. We want to prevent the next tragedy, but we don't want to compromise to do so. We always have excuses, but never a reasonable solution. We call this white privilege. When we don't understand where someone else is coming from, we tend to use our own experience rather than theirs. We automatically assume they are wrong because we haven't had the same experience.

We as the human race can do better if we realize that we are all humans with human experiences. When we stop thinking about our own agenda and open up to other peoples experiences and try to see their side, we can make changes. We can't do that if we are attacking teens and people from other races. That only divides us further. This is why I have ideas instead of beliefs. Ideas can be changed to make things better or to fit a current situation. Beliefs are steadfast with no real room for improvement. So have ideas about what you believe, but always be willing to change those ideas for the betterment of society and civilization.

activism
Like

About the Creator

James Howell

Father, activist, man in black... He/Him

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.