Growing up in America as a white American, isn’t what makes me American. Being born in America makes you American. Sometimes you come here and after a time you attain a citizenship. This is the American way;
“Every American alive today is either an immigrant, or a descendant of an immigrant.” -JFK
Two things can not be true; one, I can not be racist if I do not hate a single person based off the color of their skin. I judge the person from the desires in their head.
“In the end we will remember not the words of our enemy, but the silence of our friends.” MLK
The separation of Americans based on the color of their skin, is something that is a false rhetoric from a media bias. Lt. Col. Grossman said, “Respect isn’t a granted birthright it is earned through blood and sacrifice.” Americans have fought everywhere in the world to spread freedom, to grant liberty wherever the hearts of mankind longs for it. That is what being human is about, caring for this world and sharing with each-other. But many people spend a lot of their time on wasted energy, like saying I am privileged because of my white skin. I grew up in a small country town and my family was poor, my mother was a drug addict and I never knew my father. I have a picture of him, that is it. If that makes me privileged I don’t understand. I grew up living with my grandparents for the most part, my grandfather took and FDA approved drug called fen-phen and it cost him his life at 63. It killed many Utahns, including my grandfathers sister. Loosing family to medication makes you see the flaw in the government funded healthcare system, the government wants to kill us. They poison us and make us fat and lazy, we sit around binge watching Netflix and barely making ends meat. Living pay check to pay check and struggling to get lasting jobs because of my stupid military service. I don’t regret it, maybe my choice of MOS. Thats the point, I joined the Marine Corps and at the very least that got me out of absolute poverty. My grandma told me I had to move out when I was 18, she is old fashioned. That is when I met my first wife, who I married twice. That is a different version of PTSD. In America we have an opportunity, no one gave me a hand out and nothing came easy. Sure racial injustices exist, however I am not the cause of them. I tell people not to be racist, and don’t associate with anyone who is. Probably dislike the police force and political structor of this country more than most.
So what is privilege? I would say that it is being able to say whatever I want and not be killed because of it, or imprisoned for years without due process.
Take the oppurtunity and honestly if you don’t like your state, or the people you surround yourself with, move, go to another state or try to find your way to another country. I wouldn’t mind having duel citizenship with Northern Ireland or Greece where my father is from. There are many different people of all beliefs and backgrounds everywhere. Bad, but mostly good exists every state or country I have been. Even Iraq, or Afghanistan. The point is I am 100% American, even if my father came here as a small boy from Greece. Same as everyone else who lives here.
“Our attitude towards immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal. We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as the talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances.”
