On an email forum I belong to, when people complain about the content of some messages as being Off Topic, someone inevitably points out the existence of the "Delete" button. Although the forum exists because we all agree what we are going to talk about, this Delete button logic makes sense. What's the big deal?
I want to ask some questions, keep in mind what you think and we'll pick back up in a minute.
Is it wrong for us to allow harm to come to another when we have the power to stop it?
Is it wrong for someone to be denied a job that they are qualified for based on race?
Is it wrong for someone to not receive social assistance based on race and/or sex?
Here's a tricky one: If I run a stop light and someone else runs a stop sign, are we both wrong?
OK, be honest with yourself now...
There was a response to an article recently where the responder said, "Isn't it worth getting rid of all guns in this country if even one life is saved?" Who can say no to that? How about the woman who shot an intruder in her home from her bed then wrestled with him for control of the gun while he died? What is her life worth? You see, I don't think the vast majority of people in this country see anything but horror in a mass shooting. But, every innocent life taken by an armed intruder deserves the same horror, even if the armed intruder only had a knife!
Today I read a comment about the young man who raped a girl then got a jail sentence of six months for the crime. The person commenting pointed out that there are many black men serving time for non-violent crimes then made the conclusion that there is white privilege and racism in the court systems. (She is white by the way.) The problem with her juxtaposition of facts is that intentionally or not, she was implying that both the young white man and all the black men are in the positions they are in because of race. Remember the question about a stop sign and stop light above? Is it unjust that a young man of any race is only sentenced for six months after raping a woman? Yes. Of course it is.
But...
The judge only discussed the man's athletic career, not his race. Did it matter? I don't know and neither does anyone else except the judge or anyone he confided in. Undoubtedly, somewhere in our prison system are a whole host of black men serving unjust sentences because of their race. But, if we were to look at the above at face value, we would think that all black men jailed for non-violent crimes should be immediately released. She probably wasn't trying to make that conclusion, but it's as reasonable a leap as the ones that she made.
The other article I read today was about a girl that just graduated from high school. She posted a very typical brag about her graduating status, GPA, legs, and even the fact that she is undocumented. She didn't brag about overcoming struggles that come from her race. She bragged about being undocumented. Understandably, her post created a firestorm. One defender said in essence, "Leave her alone there are more important things to worry about in this country. This is a more and more common thing to find on the internet. "What you are discussing is unimportant because something else is more important." I can only find two ways to respond to that. The first is that none of us is forced to participate in any discussion. The other is, "How incredibly arrogant!"
Let's go back to the top. Yes it is wrong for us to allow innocents to be harmed whether they are in a school or in their own bed. It is obviously wrong for anyone to be denied anything because of race. What I want to point out is that I, a white man, have been denied a job AND assistance because I am white. That doesn't change right or wrong.
And THAT is the point. Right is right, wrong is wrong. If we could start seeing that, then we would agree much more. If we could start seeing that, the walls would crumble and fall under their own weight with no new material brought in to support them. If we could start seeing that we would understand that we all have a right to our own concerns.