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An Open Letter to American Non-Minorities About 2017

Dear all American non-minorities,

2016 was a painful year. It was a year of shootings and hate crimes and the election of an (alleged) rapist. It was a year of lashing back, of #BlackLivesMatter and #NoDAPL. The people of the United States have time and again proven that we are willing to fight back, regardless of the consequences, if we believe the rights of others have been infringed. However, these battles are about to become a hell of a lot harder.

As President-elect Trump places his tiny hands on the American steering wheel, there will need to be more protests. Over the next four years, there will be sit-ins and riots and petitions and marches. The time has come for the values of freedom and justice to apply to and protect all human beings. Others will disagree, and we will need to push back against them.

Minorities cannot be left to fight on their own.

I’m speaking to my fellow white Americans, my fellow cisgender Americans. I’m speaking to straight Americans and male Americans and older Americans. When Trump tries to remove trans conversion hormones from American government health care, you need to fight back. When police become more militarized in inner-city neighborhoods, you need to fight back. When the DREAM Act is thrown out, fight back. When Standing Rock’s victory falls under a shadow of doubt, fight back.

Fight back to protect immigrants and refugees and hate-crime victims. Fight back to protect women with unwanted pregnancies. Fight back to protect members of the LGBT+ community.

Standing back and using hashtags isn’t enough anymore. Minorities already know why they need to fight, and they’re willing to risk their lives to do so.

You need to be prepared to protect the bodies of those who are hated for their skin color or religion. They may hurt minorities, but your privilege can protect you. It will protect you at #BlackLivesMatter protests, where the police aren’t afraid to use rubber bullets and pepper spray to subdue African-Americans. It will protect you when a Muslim woman is harassed for wearing a hijab, and you step between her and her attacker. It will protect you when you fight back against the use of slurs that have never applied to you. Use it. Be strong, because other people can’t afford not to be.

This is your call to action. You can’t fight a battle from your basement; at the end of the day, you can’t even fight a battle from your laptop. You have to look the enemy in their eye (sometimes literally) and tell them:

This is not the way my country is run. To get to the rights and safety of others, you’ll have to go through me.

You want a wall, President Trump? We’ll give you a wall.

 

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