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[itslakishaa]

On Saturday, August 12, 2017, what began as a rally for the rights of a visible majority to be heard resulted in disgraceful, anti-American display of animalistic hatred. White supremacists rallied together in Charlottesville, Virginia protesting their rights to be heard… and a whole lot of other things – resulting in a head-to-head party riot; left wing vs right wing. Countless video footage of the protest attack were posted online and the videos are very graphic.

The protest quickly escalated when a car driving at least 40 km down a crowded street, ran over everyone in its way, only to back up and do it again, leaving numerous injured and 1 dead.

Someone had lost their life yesterday because of someone else’s act of hatred.

Now, all day, I did not have my phone on me so coming home around 5 pm, my phone went off with alerts from all of the News blogs I follow. I first saw the footage on Instagram and was totally confused. I had no idea what was going on or why people were rallying, cursing at each other in front of a College campus in an otherwise quiet town.

But what I really wanted to understand, was why these people were protesting in the first place. I found this thread on Twitter.

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So this was still one sided, so that did not help. I was still questioning what was going on and why people were protesting in the first place. I wanted to hear both sides before drawing any conclusions. So of course, I went where any information hungry millennial who wants to get down to the bottom of things would go.  I went to YouTube.

I found this video of the actual white supremacists who were protesting.

It is the right of every citizen to participate in peaceful protesting for their voices to be heard. Every citizen has the right to stand up for what they believe in and speak out against unjust actions towards them.

Activist David Duke spoke out on Periscope in the aftermath saying that their intentions were to conduct a peaceful protest. He said that they never to harm anyone, or hurt anyone. They had a permit to be present at the park in Charlottesville, and military personnel and local authorities prevented them from conducting their public meeting. To the point where they were cornered with plexiglass shields, kicked and sprayed with pepper spray.

I’m sure everyone can admit that these alleged actions taken by authorities were uncalled for. In really, the actions taken by all sides in Charlottesville yesterday were wrong.

David Duke paints a very grave picture where one particular group of people have been singled out and prevented from exercising their rights. According to Duke, they are the victims of unprecedented prejudice and systemic racism on all levels.

However, let’s just make one thing clear. These are White Supremacists. For those of you who don’t know, white supremacy is the erroneous belief that the white race is superior to all other races in many ways.

White Supremacy is a historical belief that inspired the enslavement, mutilation, disenfranchisement of black people. The belief that inspired the Nazis to eradicate an entire race of people during the Holocaust. The belief that inspired the laws of Jim Crow and the KKK to further prevent black people from utilizing their American right to vote.

The belief that inspired drawing new lines on the map to mark US territory out of their own volition, by claiming someone else’s land and calling it Arizona, New Mexico, California, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada, then calling the very people who lived there illegal immigrants on their own land.

The belief that threatened to chase an entire group of people out of the country they call home, the country they were born in, and separate a happy law abiding family; simply because they wear Hijabs and call themselves muslims, by association.

White Supremacy is the reason “white” has been and still is seen as the standard. Standard of beauty, standard check box on a survey, standard staring role in a movie, the standard President.

You want to talk about unjust? You want to talk about unfair? You want to talk about racism? Okay, lets talk.

Had the rally yesterday been a Black Lives Matter peaceful protest, the occurrences would have turned out much differently. Countless black people would be dead and these people, that means you too Mr. Duke, wouldn’t so much as give it a second look. People would go on about their day and tell us to shut up with our protesting because “All Lives Matter.”

Now, by no means am I stomping on the problems that exist in the white community. I feel for you. Your entire life, the world has told you that you are best. You are the standard. You are the essence of perfection. And so you believed it. You never saw the things minorities lived through, fought for and triumphed.

You did not have to claw your way through Harlem to make it through the concrete jungle, finally rub shoulders with coveted middle class crowd only to find you make 70% less then your counterparts for the same job. Only to find that you cannot speak out against harassment in the workplace. You never learned to internalize your problems and put on a brave face just to not be called an “angry black woman”  only to be told by the next 100 men you pass on the street to “smile.” Only to be kicked out of the workforce because your afro, braids and dreadlocks are deemed “unfit for the professional work environment.”

You didn’t, so I understand. All of a sudden, people that you really never knew existed (I mean they were always there but you never cared to really acknowledge) are speaking up for the wrongs they’ve faced.

You have problems two. To society, mental issues are still not seen as an actual issue. The media tells you to come forward with your problems and when you open up and you let people know that you’re depressed, they call you a wuss and tell you to get over it because its not a “real problem”.

All of a sudden, you aren’t allowed to complain, you’re not invited to the coveted minority in-crowd, not allowed to speak up on certain issues because you are not included. (I mean, when Beyonce makes a public statement about the racial profiling of black young men during a Superbowl half time show and you’re told to sit down because it isn’t about you, that is a major blow).

All of a sudden, everything that your great grandfather (whom you’ve never met) did to the great grandfathers of people who don’t look like you (whom you’ve also never met) is now on your shoulders. And it seems you can do nothing right, and can’t speak out because you are quote-un-quote privileged, it’s hard to cope when your whole world is turned upside down.

The truth is, we need you in the conversation just as much as everyone else. But we also need you to understand that no one thinks they’re better than you. We know we are equal and we want to be treated as such.

#BlackLivesMatter does not mean that black people think we are the only ones that matter in the world, it means that for centuries our lives have never mattered in the eyes of the rest of the world. Centuries later, its 2017 and we are still being shot to death and nothing is being done about it. We want to let you know that our lives matter, too.

Gay Pride doesn’t mean that society wants to kill off all white cisgendered males. It just means that years ago, people were literally burned alive because they loved someone beyond the normal gender binary. And today, they can finally legally get married and move on with their lives like everyone else. And they are proud of that; that they don’t have to hide who they truly are out of fear of being ostracized. You have always been able to get married. They just want to, too.

Anti-Muslim ban does not mean that muslims want to claim America for themselves. It means that American citizens don’t want to be kicked out of their home. They love their country and don’t want to be judged and kicked out simply because they resemble widely broadcasted terrorists who share their religion.

Being Mexican does not make you an undocumented, illegal immigrant that is prone to crime and lives off welfare getting by on the backs of the working class. It actually means that you are among some of the hardest working Americans who are willing to do the jobs no one wants to do because you want to provide for your family the best way you know how. And you’re proud of where you come from… and are tired of being called Spanish.

And lastly, being a Feminist does not mean you hate all men. It means that for years women have not been seen as equal, not had the right to vote, have been passed over for promotions even when they are more qualified than their male counterparts and the moment they try to negotiate for higher wages, they find themselves out of a job. Now there are always extremists in every group, but just like you fine folk, they don’t want to be judged for the actions of a few who share a common denominator. They want to be seen as equal; equal opportunity, equal pay for equal work.

I get it, you’re tired of being judged for the acts that you did not commit, years ago. But when you’re marching down the street with torches and Nazi flags not caring about who you offend, that’s a problem. And that’s not okay.

Hate can only bring hate. If we ever hope to solve the problems we face in our community, for all parties, we have to communicate with each other. Stop undermining each other. Stop telling each other to shut up and stay quiet. We have to start listening to each other, speaking up for one another and learning about each other.

We were not born to hate, hate is learned. The same way we learned to hate is the same way we can teach ourselves to love.

    From the POV of Privalege: Equality Looks Like Discrimination On Saturday, August 12, 2017, what began as a rally for the rights of a visible majority to be heard resulted in disgraceful, anti-American display of animalistic hatred.

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