Time For A Serious Conversation About Racism – Stan Collins
I know I’m going to ruffle some feathers with this one, but I think it is important to shine some light on what has undoubtedly been a very popular and controversial topic over the past year. With the rise of groups like Black Lives Matter and increased talk about neo-nazi and white supremacists, the issue of race has seemingly become a big problem in America.
We all know the story that the mainstream media and other smaller “news” organizations have been telling us. Cops have been killing black people, Nazis are everywhere and are spreading hate, the Alt-right is racist, Trump is racist, the KKK is stronger than ever, and of course, Black Lives Matter and other social justice warrior groups have arrived to rid America of all of these evils. The natural conclusion of this narrative is that anyone who doesn’t support the SJW groups is also racist and should be regarded as a bad person.
On the surface, this story seems plausible and the premise that racism is bad is one that almost everyone can get behind. Needless to say, there is more to the story than that, and I’m going to assume the vast majority of people who take these stories to heart simply haven’t been presented with the other perspective. I can’t express how important it is that the other side of the story is told because we as a country are more divided than I’ve seen in my lifetime, and I’m not sure that there are many legitimate reasons for this so let’s have a serious conversation about racism.
Now, I’m not going to sit here and say that racism doesn’t exist. There likely will always be some form of racism and I don’t think many would disagree with that. However, the extent to which racism has become a problem in America is definitely overstated. There was a time when black people did have legitimate cause to fear groups like the KKK and when there was indeed oppression occurring. That time has long passed. We now live in an age where, not only does every legal citizen in America have the same opportunity to achieve success, but a black man just served two terms as president. Everyone has to go to school by law, and anyone who actually studies and gets good grades can then get scholarships and grants to go to college. To take that a step further, black people don’t actually have to get as good of grades as their white peers to get into college because colleges are forced to accept a certain amount of minorities over whites.
On the issue of racist groups like the KKK, I’d just like to ask, when was the last time you heard a story of the KKK lynching a black person or even calling for the execution of black people on mass? You probably haven’t heard those stories because that isn’t a thing anymore. Sure there will be random cases of a racist white guy killing a black person from time to time, but if we compare that to Black Lives Matter, we actually saw “protests” where large groups of people called for the killing of cops. Soon after, police officers around the country began getting killed in the name of Black Lives Matter. Now I’m not saying that the KKK is good and that Black Lives Matter is bad; but what I am saying is that they are both racist organizations that, regardless of their intentions, have become groups that are fueled by hate. Black Lives Matter is a black supremacist group that is clearly racist against white people and, unlike the KKK, they are growing and actually have a voice and massive funding to carry out their agenda. If you are unfamiliar with the ideas of the leaders of Black Lives Matter, you should probably look into it. Here is one of many examples of the extremely racist things that organizers of the group believe and preach.
The word ‘racism’ has become one of the most overused words of the past year and it has now lost all of its meaning. Instead of using the word to describe people who believe their race is superior to others, it has now become a term to call anyone who disagrees with you. Everyone fears being called a racist so much that the world now has the power to control what people say and feel. Ironically, the organizations that I hear using the word most often are ones that are overtly racist against white people (MTV News, Buzzfeed, HuffPost, etc.). It begs the question, is any of this really about fighting racism? Or is it really just a result of many people adopting the victim mentality and banding together in an attempt to gain power?
I, like most of the people who will read this, can say that I am firmly against racism. The difference is, that I’m against racism towards all races, including white people. White people didn’t start slavery. They did, however, end it in this country; and to my knowledge, no American alive today has ever owned slaves. Furthermore, I don’t know anyone that condones slavery so I’m not certain that can still be considered a valid point.
To conclude this longer-than-intended rant-style post, there is a lot of talk about the problem of racism in this country. I’m convinced that this has been done purposely to divide us. If you currently have the worldview that we are in an increasingly racist country and that oppression and inequality are major issues that we should be addressing, I would challenge you to look into the topic a bit more. Take a look at the stats and opinions of those you disagree with. You just might find that you’re actually living in the most accepting and equal country on the planet.
As always, I welcome any criticism and debate. I’m sure there will be some varying opinions on this but you won’t hurt my feelings.
-Stan Collins
