Why, Racism?

I want to find whoever came up with these double standards and kick them where the sun doesn’t shine. There are double standards when it comes to men and women, the races, employment, and dare I say it, racism. Since Donald Trump became the president of the United States, more and more people are letting their racism and bigotry just hang out like laundry on the clothesline. We all knew racism existed but when African Americans were given more rights and were actually treated like human beings, those bigots and racists didn’t just disappear. That type of thing doesn’t just go away. It just gets buried and hidden so that it can’t be seen. When Trump was elected, he gave those people back their voices. Suddenly, it became okay to compare someone to the Planet of the Apes. Trump has, without a doubt, set this country back because he was so dead set on reversing and undoing everything that President Obama had done to make this country great. I will never understand how protecting and preserving health care coverage for Americans is a bad thing. But when you are used to people going without and having less, seeing them gaining access to a better quality of life will burn you up inside. Just as I suspect that it did for Trump and all of his supporters.

The controversy that is swirling around this country right now will never make sense to me. Double standard number one: some Americans are upset that football players are kneeling during the national anthem, which is clearly a sign of protest against police brutality, not the American flag or the individuals that serve this country. It is simply astonishing how people were concerned about kneeling during the anthem but they weren’t even a tenth as concerned about the senseless killings of unarmed Americans. From the countless innocent lives taken at the hands of police officers to the numerous school and public shootings, Americans are really good about not hiding where their priorities lie.

Double standard number two: when Roseanne Barr’s television show was canceled due to her racist tweet on Twitter, Trump supporters felt like ABC was overreacting. Once again, ignoring the real issue at hand. Trump supporters show their racism every single chance they get. For example, individuals were defending Roseanne’s right to free speech but blatantly ignored Colin Kaepernick’s right to the same free speech. Conservatives would rather defend a racist's right to be racist than a black man protesting racism. It is truly sad that racism is so American that when protesting happens, people assume that they are protesting America. If that isn’t a wake-up call, then I don’t know what is my friends.

Double standard number three: African Americans, or dare I say, Black people, have to work ten times harder than the average White person just to make a living. I was recently let go from my place of employment due to expressing that I was feeling overwhelmed due to the lack of teamwork. All White people have to do is cry and they have the whole world on their side. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t doing their jobs adequately or even efficiently. Their lack of hard work ethic is overlooked simply because there will always be a Black person or someone else there to pick up the slack. People of any ethnicity are held to a completely higher standard than those that do not look like us. We have to be four times as good to get half of what they have. As long as there is a fear of the repercussions for punishing White people or even holding them to a higher standard, they will always get away with having to do less. It will always be upsetting to know that because of how you look, you will be overlooked. It will be alright for you to be overwhelmed, physically and mentally exhausted, and frustrated but not them. They can’t be overwhelmed, not even in the slightest bit.

Double standard number four: African Americans are pressed about letting slavery go because it is in the past. It may have happened hundreds of years ago but that pain will forever live on. It is a proven fact that pain and trauma can be passed down through genetics. There is pain that has been felt and experienced by certain people that the others of this country will never know of. Another reason why we will never be able to let slavery go is because of the events that took place after slavery was abolished. African Americans were no longer slaves but they still weren’t treated as human beings. They were treated more like animals that were found in the wild. Certain individuals sacrificed a lot, including their lives, so that African Americans could have the same rights and access as Whites. This race of people has been oppressed for far too long and even in 2018, we still have to deal with racism. We have to deal with senseless police violence and brutality. White people can boldly call us niggas to our faces and publicly harass us with no repercussions. We need Obama back because at least he made America great again! Trump made America hate again!