Rob's Soapbox - The Women I Hate Most

<p>I absolutely understand white men, especially those over aged 40, who are resistant to the idea that America is systemically racist.</p><p>Before I lose too many of you, let’s start with what that means; systemic, or institutional racism, is a form of bias that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, education, and political representation. In other words, the deck is stacked either in favor of one group of people or against another…or both simultaneously.</p><p>To suggest to white men that America is designed that way is, to some of them, an attack. They hear it as “you’ve had it easy,” even though that’s not what’s meant; rather the implication is not that white men have had it easy, just that they, as a group, haven’t had it as hard as any other group. Others hear less of an attack and more of an insult directed towards a country that they’ve had it pretty good in. Then there are those who think it’s just basic whining and others who simply can’t see something they’ve never had to experience. I don’t excuse their ignorance, but I understand it.</p><p>I’m not even going to bother to address patently racist white people who are simply hateful and ignorant and fall for the trap of buying into stereotypes that cast people of color as lazy, angry, and criminal and say idiotic things like “those people have just as much an opportunity in this country as I do.” ‘Merica! That’s beyond ignorant, repulsive and stupid and will get no oxygen from me.</p><p>You have to be more than intellectually dishonest to ignore the fact that the entire foundation of our country was designed and created by 40 white men. When you write the rules, you inherently, and sometimes intentionally, make sure that they favor you…it’s human nature.</p><p>I am a proud American who will argue that there is no greater nation on Earth and that the founders were some of the most brilliant and brave humans to