Dear Meliah: Trump, White privilege and supremacists

Dear Meliah

                     Do you think that by 2020, the resentment for Trump and Co. will be strong enough to turn the tide against white supremacists and police violence? Or are we still going to be struggling to change minds and hearts to recognize white privilege?

- Anonymous

First off I want to say thank you for a political question! As of late it looks as if the paperwork for Trumps impeachment is being pushed forward. Aside from the undoing of many of Obama's policies, Trump has really helped the world see how America is full of dill holes. As far as the white supremacists, I feel like with enough unity we can push them back in hiding or in the deep woods of the South. He didn't make those people think the way they do, but he gave them enough "gasoline" to keep going with the same mentality of the fools that swear they discovered America. Sadly, many of them are lost causes. With the right leadership all the racist BS that has been going on can simmer down and die out.

The police violence got worse when Trump got in office. It was as if there was this secret meeting where they made sure all officers understood to shoot anyone that they felt wouldn't pass a brown paper bag test. With that said I haven't heard about too many more shootings happening but it's something that people of all backgrounds have come together to fight against.

Changing the minds and hearts of those who are blind to white privilege is going to be hard. It'd been hundreds of years, slavery in the physical sense ended a long time ago, and yet it's not hard to find someone that acts like an olden plantation owner. I've had talks with others about this and some people are too set in their ways. Hate is taught and unfortunately truly racist people make sure their children and grandchildren feel the same hate towards people of color that has been felt for centuries. What's crazy is they really don't know why, they just go by what they see on the news, in movies, and inaccurate history books.

I recall several weeks ago debating with an older white male on how he has privilege even if he doesn't realize it. His response was that he has had to work hard and struggled growing up. My response was that everyone has some type of struggle but the struggle of a black man/ woman in this world surpasses the simple struggles in life. He couldn't understand that he didn't face a lot of troubles in his life because he was white but felt that he was in a good spot because he "loved" black women. I explained that infatuation and love are two different things. To love someone is to understand them and his issue was that he did not understand black women because he did not understand himself. Some people are completely delusional about white privilege and think it's a suburban myth.

At this point I say we have to educate others in order for them to even consider change. They have to witness blacks in America being beaten and killed for no reason. A man/woman providing for his/her household can be fired from their job because a white coworker is uncomfortable with their brown skin. Most of the time they are guilty of being black/brown and nothing more. There are countless videos that have shown the brutality, the rape, the murder, and there is always an excuse. Who can argue that black men are more harshly convicted of crimes and then systematically beaten and enslaved in the prison system? Trump being elected took us so many steps back, but it has opened up the eyes of so many that have been blind. Electing Obama was a way of distracting the brown people in this country, we got comfortable, then Trump was elected and that white privilege was thrown in our faces. Look at what he has gotten away with and it took the entirety of the year for something to really be done! Things will change, slowly but surely, so many different protests (Colin Kapernick) have been forcing these white supremacists and delusional privileged folks to see that we shall not be moved!



Got a problem you want to talk about our just can't make up your mind? Email me at meliahqueen@gmail.com and you could be featured on Cocoa Butta!