Transcipt:(also, this is SO MUCH EASIER TO DO)
White guys have it hard.
Well, not really. Not systemically. Not professionally. Not even culturally, really. But, some white guys FEEL like they have it hard. There is a common narrative I see among some(definitely not all) white, male friends of mine. It's that they feel that they are being poorly represented as all bad. That they can't speak on certain topics without being vilified. That they are victims of a rising tide of cultural bias against white men. Now, if I decided to give them the complete, contextual benefit of the doubt, I'd assume they are trying to say "Sometimes, on the extreme ends of these cultural conversations, we believe we are being excluded from giving our input. It stonewalls us from being able to understand other points of view through valuable interactions." That's not what's being said. But, for the sake of steel-manning their argument, let's roll with it. I WOULD like to address one clear problem I have with their outrage.
Where have you been?
If you're so adamant about being treated poorly, misrepresented or grouped in because you aren't the guy people are talking about............ where've you been? Delicious and hilarious irony aside, you seem pretty clear that there is a problem, it's just not you.
Does your voice only work when you are personally threatened?
You've been able to clearly recognize some of these issues, you're saying so yourself right now. Don't group you in with the problem, right?
To clarify, I'm not saying that we don't want white guys at the table. We do. I'm obviously ignoring extremist, because you can always find a crazy that fits your narrative. I don't believe ostracizing white guys is a way forward, corrections involve collaboration and we can't correct systemic problems without everyone having a seat at the table. The end goal is to have proper representation from everyone, it's needed to be such for people to actually empathize and grow together. That's the whole point of intersectional feminism. Sunlight burns ignorance and equality isn't equality without equality.
If you've been aware of the bullshit, sexist, racist, problematic, overgeneralizing assholes that you don't want to be grouped in with, where has your voice been this whole time?
I'm HARD on other black people, black men in particular. Overreactions, mischaracterizations, just flat out ignorance, all of these things cauterize people against future interactions and arguments. I talk on a regular basis about how we are all representative of each other and need to call out nonsense from our communities first. Is it grossly unfair at times? Yup. But if we want things to be better, we have to take the high road. People's biases aren't going to magically disappear on their own. Now, I'm not saying everyone has to be an activist, but realize, it's not that white guys can't speak up, there are plenty of white guys that do. Some of the people whose opinion I respect the most are white men. It's that if you only want to talk about equality when it affects you personally, don't be surprised if you're opinion is taken with a spoonful of salt.
You want your voice heard? Start being an ally. Given that you understand the problem, you want to be a part of the conversation, you should be the first to speak up. Do better, you have the least to lose.
Thank you for listening