Recently one of my cousins posted a picture of a white male WWII veteran who'd been beaten by two black males on FB with a statement wondering why we aren't outraged by this. I was quick to respond as this is a topic that has been bugging me often since starting back to work 3 years ago that I'm seeing not just in the workplace but in society as a whole. No one is outraged over the WWII vet because the pic isn't circulating and the media isn't picking it up for one simple reason. We don't care about white males. Nor do employers. In the guise of diversity, 'we' only care if someone is a minority through race, religion or sexual orientation. The rest can bugger off. Lovely state of affairs isn't it? And this is from a someone who in the 90's was a white, jewish woman (total minority) hitting the glass ceiling... you'd think I'd be advocating for the equality that should exist - well, I am. Equality should exist. For all. I think we've gone way to far to the other side where reverse-discrimination prevails. I work at a place that is so determined to be anti-racism that they've actually become the complete opposite. There is a mentality at my work that the only way to get hired or a promoted is if you are not a white male. 2nd in line to be passed on is a white woman unless she has some form of 'minority' that can be tapped into such as religion or sexual orientation. Which employers shouldn't even know anyways. That said, an ordinary white woman still has a much better chance at being hired or promoted than a white man. It's not just where I work... I've talked to white male friends who have commented that there is no chance they would get a promotion even if they had seniority in years and better work performance. Minorities can make clubs and events that exclude those that are not of the same minority but we would definitely hear outrage if there was a club of white males that excluded those that were not the same. To be clear... I am not advocating a club for white males only I think that would be just as bogus as all the minority clubs currently circulating. I also want to be clear, since I have previous posts advocating equal rights, that I do see where an inequality exists (such as marriage previously in Minnesota) and completely, 100%, believe in equal rights for all regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation. Believing in equality is why I'm disparaged by the inequality that is starting to prevail in the name of equality. Equality means all are judged or treated the same based on their own accomplishments or actions, not on their race, religion or sexual orientation. Is there a prevalence of minorities being passed over or ignored? I can easily say that there used to be - but I'm not so sure about that any more. Being a plain, white female, I can't presume to truly know what barriers still exist in the workplace. But I do wonder.
Back to the picture though... why aren't we outraged? Why isn't this circulating? Firstly, this crime hasn't been classified as a hate crime. Neither was the story of a couple that were kidnapped and tortured. We aren't outraged by ordinary violence and mayhem. Something sensational has to happen around it. No one is picketing or speaking out. Crime happens multiple times daily. Another interesting statement about our society today... we've all desensitized ourselves to it. But... we are totally interested in what the latest celeb is doing. Really? Who cares about narcissistic media hounds. Really... you have to be somewhat narcissistic to want a life in the public eye. I believe that every politician and celebrity has a very narcissistic ego. They'd have to to purposely submit themselves to that life. And we should thank them for it as they provide us the entertainment we are looking for. But... I've wander off topic again. Back to the picture... we should be outraged. We should be outraged about the 'normality' of crimes, we should be outraged that people care more about a sensational story or reality TV show than the multiple crimes that occurred that day, we should be outraged by a society that is apathetic. We should be outraged whether the victim is white being perpetrated by black or a black by white; a man being beaten by a woman should get as much time in the public as a woman beaten by a man (and by this I do not mean in self-defense... there is domestic violence against men, just the same as women, that we never see - but that is a whole different rant). There should be an equal amount of media attention regardless of race, sex, religion or sexual orientation and we should have an equal amount of rage regardless of the victim or perpetrators. I'll say it again America... we should have an equal amount of rage over this!
