A White World

It is very disheartening to think that, in 2017, white supremacy still exists. In recent days, there was a white supremacist march in Charlottesville (VA, America) which was met with counter protests. Violence broke out and three people have died in total with more injured. It is 2017 and people are still dying because of racism. This is one event which has made the news but there are likely many more white supremacist campaigns going on all the time and we are not aware of it. Some people will argue that they are exercising their right to free speech but, I believe, there is a line.

As mentioned in one of my previous posts, free speech is fine until it becomes hate speech and starts inciting violent, offensive, or discriminatory values. The saddest part is that this hatred is arising over something people cannot control - skin colour, the amount of pigment in someone's skin. This hatred is based on ignorant stereotypes and years of oppression on the "other" which have been engrained into people's minds. To hate someone based on their race is incomprehensible, like hating and inciting violence on all people with blue eyes.

To think you are better and worth more than anyone else is wrong. To believe that someone of a different race, gender, sexuality etc. is lesser than you is unforgivable. We are all human beings of this Earth. We are one united human race and we all have the same right to be here. We are the product of millions of years of evolution, yet the behaviour of some humans today is barbaric. We need to stick together and be united as one otherwise fear and hatred will win.

How can people confidently feel superior to someone else based on their skin colour? Perhaps because POC (People of Colour) are lawfully seen as equal in now, white supremacists are feeling challenged and insecure in their white privilege. When white privilege is something you have taken advantage of and relied on for your whole life, then equality for non-white people will feel like discrimination against you. But it is not. It is just time for people from all backgrounds to have an equal and fair chance at success in life. We talk about how far progress has come and how non-white people are equal in society, but the fact that I am writing this post right now and that a white supremacist march took place a couple of days ago would indicate otherwise. Just because progress has happened and is happening for POC, it does not mean that the problem of race inequality is fixed. We need to keep campaigning and resisting any hatred until everyone is 100% equal and until people can understand the ridiculousness of racism.

People marching in Charlottesville saying "White Lives Matter" and "Heil Trump" whilst holding confederate flags and flags with Nazi symbolism on them are evidence that history is repeating itself almost 100 years on. Hatred is rising again and it wants to win, but we cannot let it. I am not going to talk about Trump in this post because this is not about him, this is about humanity and society. We cannot let one man's views dictate and give rise to the spread of hatred and fear.

The truth of the matter is that racism and white supremacy is still alive and thriving right now - and it is very scary because their power seems to be rising. Ignorance breeds ignorance and fear breeds fear. We need to put an end to racism and we need to do it fast. Just because racism is not seen as big a thing as it was in the past does not mean that we should stop talking about it. Once we stop talking about it, it rises again and begins to spread. Our social media society has the potential to combat racism effectively because we are able to connect to people all around the world. However, racist attacks and marches probably occur more often than we think and we are simply not aware of them.

My fear is that this behaviour becomes more apparent in Scotland and the UK. I know it is already present and with the likes of Brexit, there has been an increase in racially motivated hate crimes. The political climate in the UK has created a lot of tension and I am hearing more and more about racism around me and it really scares me. How can we be going back on ourselves after years of progress? Is this a sign that it was not real progress all along? Were people just becoming tolerant? We cannot say that society has progressed when people are still parading Nazi symbolism and when people are still being attacked, segregated, or disadvantaged due to the colour of their skin. For white people to feel threatened from race equality is another heinous act in that they feel the need to protest it. White supremacy needs to end, it is time to be equal. If we stopped thinking about race as a barrier then the world could be a more peaceful place to live and more opportunities and experiences will open up for people. Just because the law has stated race equality, it doesn't mean that the people in society believe in equality too.

We need to never give up. We need to spread messages of love, peace, and equality. We cannot let hatred and fear win.

"Equality cannot be reached if fought in a divisive way" - Lady Gaga

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