Trump Didn't Create Racism

The world is full of very minuscule disappointments. Some people are angry about musicians or homework. Some are disappointed in their children or themselves. However, I think everyone can agree that we are all disappointed in each other and the direction our country is going. I don't want to be that person who has something to say about politics daily. I hardly feel like talking to people for more than a few minutes, most days. That's the issue. The world is changing into a living, deadly inferno and we must sit here and watch while thinking that no one else is paying attention. The thing is, everyone is paying attention. We all just have our heads stuck so far up our own asses that we don’t know what’s happening to the right or left of us. That includes me. There are no exclusions.

The problem is this: the electoral college put a person in office that is so full of himself, so rich and clueless, that there is not a single doubt in my mind that he’s an American. This has divided the country and made our issues more obvious that ever. I want to point out that I said OBVIOUS. There is no other word to describe this hysteria. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been afraid of being murdered by police officers. This is nothing new. That’s a sad thing to say, but honestly, this is nothing that a large percentage of the world hasn’t dealt with for the better part of most lives. I’m 21 and one of my clearest childhood memories involves me being called a nigger by a middle-aged white man. I think I was 9. Other relevant memories include plenty of standard microaggressions and being told that dark skinned women weren’t attractive enough to date. These same people who tore me down and made me feel ugly in elementary and high school now wear their hair natural and pump their multicultural fists in the air standing side by side while light skinned women lead them in chants that tell the racists, “Black Lives Matter.”

I understand that people can grow and learn about themselves, but what has changed? The racists have always been racist. People of color continue to be shot, lynched, and hated for being born with more melanin than others. And yet, as a culture, we are so poisoned by the idea that above all, if we don’t at least appear as though we care, we might have to add more people to our blocked list on Twitter after having another heated debate in the replies of a Washington Post tweet that wasn’t meant to offend or anger anyone. No one wants to be called racist, so they search #blacklivesmatter on social media and read until they think they know what’s going on. If they aren’t people of color, we call them names like “whitesplainer” and if they are, we say they’re “fake woke.” Everyone is fake woke.

We walk through life with our eyes on our phones to make sure we record everything that happens, but we’re so wrapped up in that crap that we don’t remember to look at what we’re processing without a screen. Snapchat stories are only 24 hours. Facebook posts get archived. Twitters get deleted and recreated. Tumblr moves so fast that no one can keep up. Yet, I can remember being called a nigger at the age of 9 by some guy and don’t think I ever managed to see again, let alone friend or follow on the internet.

All I will continue to say is that I’ve not been to a protest where less than 100 of the people I saw weren’t live streaming, texting or tweeting. I think that experience is to address the issue at hand and if you want to check in at a pizza place later and let people know that you made it through alive with or without a riot occurring, that’s great. Then again, I sat in front of a computer to type this and let everyone know how stupid I think all of this is, so where’s my credibility? That’s kind of my point.