Throughout the course of the past few months, and after this past weekend in particular, it's been nearly impossible for me to wrap my brain around and address all that has occurred within the political spectrum of this country. And to be honest with you, I’m pissed off, mortified, and disgusted to say the least.

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I have had many ranging conversations with friends and family that view politics, and the role that politics play in everyday life, in different ways. An individual can maintain the similar ideals of their peers, but the tie to that individual’s beliefs are deeply rooted in the experience, upbringing, and exposure of that person to culturally relevant ideals. In addition to this idea, it’s important that understanding need not always come from direct exposure of a situation rather it come from compassionate and empathetic thought which grows within a constant, meditative state of mind.

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We live in a country that has a long history of oppression and it’s hard at times for people who have not experienced oppression to wrap their minds around the fact that racism impacts people of color daily. I have never experienced these racially oppressive attitudes, mindsets, or situations because I am white. I am a white woman who, regardless of all of the hard and truly shitty times that I have endured, has never experienced what it was like to be discriminated against because of the color of my skin. I have overheard and engaged in many conversations with people where discussing race relations creates friction within the conversation, and sometimes, even the relationship.

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One talking point with which I think white people pivot is that they believe as though they should feel shame for the color of their skin, but the fact is that regardless of any desire, not one person controls how we come into this world. It doesn’t matter if you are white or not, apologizing for your skin color, where you were born, or the social class in which you were born is not ever something that anyone should feel necessary, and that is a point that needs to be reached and understood.

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However, to get to that point, it’s pertinent to understand that there are a lot of people—and I am talking about people of color and minority groups—that live through waves of oppression relative to their core existence due to systemic ideologies like racism, sexism, ableism; the list can, and does, go on and on.

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Regardless of your own reality, which is valid and unique to your experiences and your growth, there are millions of people in this world, and in the US specifically, that have to constantly fight a living, screaming battle because of their race.

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As a white woman, I do not have to do this; I do not constantly fight a battle because of my race. I do not have to fear for my life because I am white. We, in reference to white people, do not have to do that. We do not have to be scared to walk down the street with a hoodie on with the fear that we will be shot in cold blood; we do not live with the fear that we will not have as great of a chance at a job based off of, not credentials­­, but the color of our skin or the spelling of our name. Being white does not come along with the inherently malicious and discriminatory nature that is so real to so many marginalized men, women, and children. I understand marginalization to an extent because I am a woman who experiences sexism more often than I should, but I could never claim to be able to personally relate to the experiences of people of color and minorities, because, other than being a woman, I do not and have not experienced racial prejudice.

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What ensued over the weekend was heinous and absolutely despicable. What happened in Charlottesville would have never happened in Ferguson. Never. Not one rallying member was shot and killed, not one person a victim of police brutality, and not one person had to worry about storming through the streets with fire ablaze. Of course people were pepper-sprayed, and injuries and the death of Heather Heyer occurred as she lost her very life defending her fellow humans against such disgusting displays of violence. This weekend, domestic terrorist groups were running rampant amongst the streets of Charlottesville reinforcing their propaganda fueled by anger, hatred, and an unbelievable agenda.

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This rally wasn’t in collective solidarity to speak out on the injustice of an unarmed, 12 year-old black kid being shot and losing his life while walking home— this was a Nazi and KKK rally. This was not simply exercising freedom of speech. There was violent behavior and these are violent groups that have formulated every aspect of their collective thought out of hatred. This came from people who feel that certain individuals have no place in this society or this world—and for what grounded reason? Hate doesn’t require reason; hate says that people aren’t worth a fight because of their race; hate says that people don’t matter when they’re a minority.

The history of the birth of this country is strongly rooted in power that was had by white men and white people in general. The backbone of our country lies within the black community and continues to thrive within communities on the margins that are consistently rejected. I watched a Vice interview today (I’ll link below) where Eddie Huang interviewed a White Nationalist who said that he is scared that one day, white people in America will be a minority. If that doesn’t hit the nail on the head, I really don’t know what does. White people feel a sense of entitlement and role-reversal when minorities start speaking up for the rights that they should have always had. Black people built this nation up under the hands of those who had the money, who had the power, and they are still fighting a battle for their right to simply exist.

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Beyond the few token black men and women that served as rhetorical tools to shape the idea through the skewed lens of the history of this country, this group of people was, and still is, left out of the equation. I mean, come on, there are people in their 60’s that lived through and attended segregated schools…Can you even believe that? That people had to be taught to read and write in separate institutions because of their skin color?... Their skin… SKIN.

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You can’t tell me that if you ever had that experience—the risk of an education because of the color of your skin among hundreds of other instances— that you wouldn’t feel like it would need addressed? I mean, this is history and those are the facts—it is absolutely inarguable.

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I am not saying that when you are white you don’t experience hardships, and poverty, and struggle because that would be an absolute falsehood. There are hardships that one endures that come along naturally as a human being—paying the rent on time, being flat broke at others, having enough food to eat, managing mental and physical health, losing a loved one, enduring a heartbreak, taking care of your kids, or experiencing abuse.  

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But there is a separate struggle that comes from the covert ideology that one race, class, or group takes precedence over another—this is a man-made problem.

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And to ever say that I have had to worry about anything violent or oppressive in regards to my whiteness would be a perverted lie. I could never begin to know truly what is felt at the heart of those oppressed, but I see the pain in the eyes of people that I love, and in the eyes of those in general who are constantly put out, and looked at differently, and turned away from situations based on such a disgusting point of view. Reverse racism is not a thing; that doesn’t happen.

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Based off of research published by the American Psychological Association that was done by Cybelle Fox, “We conceive of racism as a set of institutional conditions of group inequality and an ideology of racial domination, in which the latter is characterized by a set of beliefs holding that the subordinate racial group is biologically or culturally inferior to the dominant racial group. These beliefs, in turn, are deployed to prescribe and legitimize society's discriminatory treatment of the subordinate group and to justify their lower status.” (Fox)

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We as white people have never not been in charge in this country; we have never not had the upper hand in relation to people of color. We didn’t think twice when it came to pushing the indigenous peoples of this country out of their homes and territories, but we silence the Standing Rock Sioux when some of the only ties they have left to this land are in question and at the hands of those in power. Slavery in North America was the catalyst that would start a chain reaction of racism that continues to this day, but black people are told to be quiet when they silently take a knee? Or when they start a movement that validates that their Black Lives Matter… Not that their black lives matter more, not that their black lives are the most powerful, but that they matter.

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Black people just want to be able to live through a routine traffic stop. Refugees just want to be able to raise their families and not worry about the extreme uncertainty of warfare. The LGBTQ community wants to be able to live their lives without the constant scrutiny and discrimination of their character based off of their sexual preference, their gender identity, and their sexuality. This is all the same battle.

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And just because certain beliefs or ideals do not line up with yours does not make them wrong, and it does not make you wrong, either. It means that we all have a different take on this world and we are entitled to that. Period. If everyone believed the same, and looked the same, and did everything based off of the precursor of another, it would be a miserable place.

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When I sit down and take an honest and hard look in the mirror, I realize that this battle is far bigger than myself. I realize that people are losing their livelihoods, their families, and their own lives, because of hatred, a lack of compassion, and a system that fails them time and time and time again. White people, we need to be better, we need to do better, and we need to work tirelessly so that one day, we won't have to explain how being gay is okay, or how there was a group of individuals in the White House that ran their entire platform off of fear-mongering and hatred.

If feeling these ways makes me some hippie, liberal, wet-behind-the-ears college kid, then I say right on. I’m passionate about others, and I am passionate about the idea that others have the right to a safe, healthful, compassion-filled existence. It is my duty to stand alongside those who are oppressed at the frontline. It is my duty to not sit back when this turmoil hits and hate tries its best to spread. It is my duty to love each and every person I encounter regardless of religion, gender, race, or sexual orientation, and if they are facing a roadblock that is keeping from even the most basic of rights, it is my duty to do something about it.

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These issues are truly life and death, and if you don’t believe that, tell that to the Emmett Till’s, the Trayvon Martin’s, the Mesha Caldwell’s, and all of the lives that have been lost in this battle for equality.