Let’s call this what it is. Let’s silence the dog whistles.
Let’s take a deep breath and stand back to look at the events of this past
weekend. Let’s call it what it is: White Supremacy. Let’s go over what it’s
not. It’s not the “alt-right” movement,
it’s not the protest of an oppressed people, it’s not a display of patriotism
by “real” Americans. Let’s call it what it is: White Supremacy. Let’s stop
dancing around our discomfort with the term. Let’s stop pretending that we live
in an equal society. Let’s stop pretending that racism doesn’t exist. Let’s
face this ugliness like adults and call it what it is: White Supremacy. The
idealistic dreams on which our country was founded have not been realized.
Let’s call it what it is.
White Supremacy, noun. the belief that white people are
superior to those of all other races, especially the black race, and should
therefore dominate society.
White Supremacy shows its face when a legitimately elected
black man has his citizenship questioned in a smear campaign. White Supremacy is when police officers shoot
an unarmed black child in a park. White Supremacy is when a person of color is
automatically labeled a terrorist or a thug. White Supremacy is when a white
college student rapes a classmate and gets a reduced sentence. White Supremacy is society seeing people of
color as dangerous or untrustworthy based on nothing more than melanin. White Supremacy is in the heart of every American, every
institution, every state, city, and town. Despite our founding fathers’ lofty
goals, our country’s wealth and power are built on the foundation of White
Supremacy. White Supremacy is us. It’s the legacy our forbearers built for us
and the future we are building for our children.
So let’s call it what it is and figure out how to eradicate
it. Because a United States that embraces White Supremacy will never be truly
united.
Amie Acton
Alfred Station, NY
