In our “progressive society”, the norm is for a group of rich white men to gather around to decide whether women should be allowed to receive basic reproductive health care, whether lower class students deserve a quality education and even whether the lives of Black Americans truly matter enough to start reforming our justice system. I’ve always wondered: why do voters support privileged candidates who talk about minority issues instead of minority candidates who actually have first-hand exposure to those issues?
It seems like it’s the norm for white men to be considered natural born leaders, while we colored folk are supposed to hope and pray that they find it in their hearts to see us as worthy of advocacy.
So, why the hell is this the norm? It all stems back to the archetype of the “white male savior”, that was created by European colonizers. They believed that it was the “white man’s burden” to rescue savage natives from themselves. So they completely white washed every ethnic religion through their white Jesus and utilized the images of the pasty founding fathers as models of great leadership to impose their superiority. The natives were brainwashed and brutalized into believing that they needed white male approval to survive. This ideology was passed on to their children and now “white men hold 65% of elected offices in the U.S. while they only make up 31% of the population.”
This ideology is furthered by our education systems. “Students of color make up more than 45% of PK-12th grade, while teachers of color only make up 17.5%” of the workforce. Quite frankly, white teachers cannot culturally connect with students of color. Many students of color are pushed out of their schools, as a result of teachers labeling them as too ghetto, rowdy, or inappropriate for the school environment.
“As a colored student moves up the rungs of academia they have to rely on these majority white male teachers to provide them with letters of recommendation, internships and leadership positions. So, they climb on the backs of their fellow minorities for some of that addictive white male approval.”
So, we have fewer students of color in leadership positions. Since white men have been told from a young age that they are our future leaders, they grow up to accomplish amazing feats. As a colored student moves up the rungs of academia they have to rely on these majority white male teachers to provide them with letters of recommendation, internships and leadership positions. So, they climb on the backs of their fellow minorities for some of that addictive white male approval, hence we have the idiotic Ben Carson.
You might be wondering why you should even care. Well, it was this ideology that got Trump elected. Trump’s whiteness and his male status compensated for his complete incompetence and the fact that he is a terrible excuse for a human being. Even after his sexual assault scandal, 53% of white women voted for him. Even after his blatant ignorance for black lives, 13% of black men voted for him. Even after his hateful attacks towards the latino community, 33% of Latino men and 26% of Latino women voted for him. This highlights the lengths to which minorities will go to feel a part of white society.
We minorities need to be the ones who empower one another. Starting at a young age, we need to empower young students of color to take on leadership roles. In those critical elementary school years too many minority children are convinced that their white peers are superior to them. Schools need to diversify their teacher workforce because the implicit biases of white teachers impede the progress of colored students. We need to elect diverse legislators. Representation matters and as of now, our congress is looking like a pack of tic tacs.
Most, not all, white men do not want to give up their privilege, so we cannot rely on their assistance. So, please encourage your fellow minorities, even a small gesture of affirmation can cultivate the drive in our youth. We do not need white men to save us. WE are the innovators, problem solvers, and visionaries of the future!
