Unapologetically……White.

So recently, while I was perusing the interwebz of Wonderland I came across a piece by a friend of mine.  And it really appealed to me.  I will not use his name as he has not given me permission, nor will I use his words, I will attempt to summarize what he said.  This is the jist of it, minus the typical swearing.

I am done apologizing for the actions of people I never knew.  I will not.  If this offends you, get the fuck over yourself.  White men are not the inventors of slavery, colonialism, capitalism, war, racism, sexism, etc.  I will not, nor do I feel guilt about the actions of men who lived centuries before me.  I am not them.  Again, if this offends you, get the fuck over it.  I am an educated, respectful, thoughtful, caring, and successful white man.  I have busted my ass for everything I have.  I have made shitty choices and good ones.  Just like everyone else.  Knowing this, if you need to point the blame for your shortcomings….look in the damn mirror.

I tire of the relentless onslaught of media stating “white privilege this, white privilege that.”  Guess what.  I grew up in a damn trailer park.  I busted my ass to have what I have.  I was never given anything, aside from the morals and ethics that have gotten me this far.  I am accountable for my actions and I always will be.  Maybe you should try it sometime.

I will not be held accountable for you poor parenting or decision-making skills.  Why are your kids disrespectful little shits?  Because you taught them that.  Own that shit and make a change.

I am not above doing manual labor.  I do it regularly and I surely do not receive some incentive pay for doing it.  I have no white privilege.  I bust my ass day in and day out for my family and receive no handouts.  White privilege is a myth to me.  I see people collecting food stamps that eat better than me, and I serve this country 24/7.

There is no association to protect my interests or my culture.  The only group that provides me incentive is a group of people who long ago shirked the concept of race privilege and decided to bear the burden of an entire nation.  My brothers and sisters in arms know what real struggle looks like.  Most of us have seen what true hatred, war, and desperation look like.  The so-called “struggle” in America is not what most call a struggle.  It is a first world problem that could be solved by discipline and motivation.  Not just from one side, but both.  Just be glad your struggle happened in this great nation.

In closing, if you want to point fingers and blame people, blame yourself.  There are many opportunities to succeed in this country.  In fact, minority groups, like the NAACP, afford more to the minorities than were afforded to me.  If you failed to utilize them, that is not my fault.  I DO NOT CARE.  I will not pity you if you lack the discipline to better yourself for your family and future generations.  I sacrificed a lot to be where I am and I will not apologize for where I am when you did not have the drive to push yourself and keep up.  I know that most of those reading this are thinking, “oh I am doing pretty damn good”.  But we all know that person who blames everyone else.  It’s never their fault.  Maybe someone should let them in on the secret.  And just so we are clear, I do not care if you are black, white, yellow, pink, green, or neon mauve, you are American in my eyes and you can be a story of success any time you decide to not accept complacency.