Telling Minorities That They’re Oppressed Is Only Hurting Their Chances Of Success

A few years ago, if you had asked me anything pertaining to politics, I wouldn't have the slightest opinion on it. I had my core beliefs, but I didn't care to engage in anything political. It wasn’t until an incident at work (I’m a hairstylist) that I started to wake up to what was happening in our country. 

Summer of Love…and Protests

It was the summer of “fiery but mostly peaceful protests,” as some refer to it, after the George Floyd incident, when something strange happened at work. A customer came in the salon door, asking if we take clients who “look like her.” She was African American. This woman was very aggressive and looked angry the moment she walked in. I told her we’d be happy to take care of her and never turn anyone away, and asked if she'd like to schedule an appointment. 

To my surprise, she started yelling and called me racist. She left our business, but for months and months, she'd walk by our building, chanting and yelling that we “don’t like black people.” My boss witnessed this and asked me if she missed something, because the way she was acting didn’t make any sense. All I did was ask her about scheduling an appointment. It was like she was expecting to be discriminated against, and when she was treated like every other customer, she decided to create a scene and act as if she had been mistreated anyway to fit the social narrative. 

This event caused me to self-reflect. Am I racist? Am I unknowingly treating people of color differently? I’ve always taken an interest in different cultures and religions. But then it hit me – I’m the daughter of an Israeli immigrant. Some people might consider me a “person of color.” As I pondered this, I thought, am I oppressed too? My mother is white and my father is Israeli, so do I deserve reparations, or do I owe them? It all sounds ridiculous looking back, but this was what the media was telling me. 

Are We Progressing or Regressing?

If you had asked me in the ‘60s if our country had a racism issue, it wouldn’t have been a question. Things were different then, and we had a lot of work to do. Segregation was happening everywhere, and this was a decade of activism, and rightfully so. But let's look at our country today. No one can say we haven’t come a long way. We voted in a black president for two terms. Some of our most successful athletes, musicians, and actors are African American. There’s actually an advantage to being a minority today when applying for jobs or college. Companies want to be diverse. And despite the media narrative that black people are disproportionately killed by police, it's just not true. 

Does racism still exist? Of course. Any race can be discriminated against. I’ve seen it first-hand in my own life to some extent. If you think racism only applies to black people, try being a Jew at UC Berkeley. But no matter the anti-Semitism I’ve come across, my race has never held me back from accomplishing my goals. And statistically, we can’t say that racism is a bigger problem now more than ever.

This modern racism narrative cheapens the experiences of those who have actually been discriminated against. 

It’s also important to note that this modern racism narrative cheapens the experiences of those who have actually been discriminated against. If our ancestors who have been slaves, been segregated, and been brutally killed solely for their race, looked at our media today and saw what we considered to be racism, it would be an insult. Calling everyone you disagree with a “racist” just degrades the true meaning and history of racism.

Accepting the Victim Mentality

Even if we put aside all the facts, telling someone they’re oppressed immediately makes them feel like a victim. People who didn’t even feel slighted or mistreated might hear this statement and change their mindset to negative thinking. Just like how I pondered my race after the incident at work, I almost just blindly accepted that I'd been wronged. Nothing has ever happened in my life to justify this mindset, but when you’re told something enough times, you start to believe it. 

Author and psychologist Jordan Peterson speaks to this, explaining, “It might be that the sense of meaning that life can provide to you is proportionate to the amount of responsibility you decide to take on.” He explains that as a victim, people owe you something, so you feel there is no need to assume responsibility for your life; but life is more meaningful when you take on more responsibility. It might be more difficult, but it can be fulfilling.

The Oppression Narrative Pits People Against Each Other

Unfortunately, the oppression narrative is being taught in schools. Professors teach that white people are inherently racist, and people of color are oppressed by systemic racism. Imagine the ripple effect this has on a classroom. By teaching this, you completely divide the class in half. The white kids feel guilty for being white, and the black kids feel wronged by the white kids. And what is the solution for this? The problem with this narrative is that it isn’t backed by facts, and it proposes no solution for progress. It actually creates more segregation. 

No matter what race you are, it’s up to you to decide how you will live your life. 

Especially in universities around the country, there are now “black-only spaces” and zones where white people are prohibited from entering. This is happening at Washington University, where there is housing exclusively for black people. Also, at Elizabethtown College, where they held an event for “people who identify as individuals of color” to learn about white supremacy. Harvard reserved a seating section at a play only for black individuals. The University of Southern California held an event, promoting it as “a space for all students who identify as Black men at USC.” The list goes on. There is nothing wrong with learning and acknowledging our history, but the importance of learning about the terrible parts of history is so we don’t repeat them. 

It’s an Insult to POC

White guilt is really interesting, because it’s essentially saying that the white person should feel guilty for holding back the person of color. But what that really says is black people are helpless and can only be successful with the support of a white person. That is such an insult to African Americans or any other race. I personally can attribute my success to the choices I made leading up to this point. I can also attest that many of the issues I deal with today are due to the choices I made that caused them. What if, as a Jew, I attributed all my hardships to Germans because of the Holocaust? It isn’t realistic, and the vast majority of Germans today are ashamed of that part of their history, as are Americans regarding slavery. 

No matter what race you are, it’s up to you to decide how you will live your life. We’re all dealt our own hand, and it's up to us to make the most of what we have and to earn what we don’t have. You might argue that past slavery has systemically given every person of color a difficult start, but don’t let Joe Biden fool you – there are also poor white children and rich black children. No matter where you start in life, you have the same opportunities that anyone else in America has. Speaking to all people, don’t let generational trauma hold you back from doing better for yourself. 

Closing Thoughts

The media narrative that we hear today is that people of color are oppressed. But the facts don’t line up with this statement. Maybe if we wouldn’t drill this into people’s minds, we could make more progress as a country. We have more freedoms in the United States than in any other place in the world. Let’s stop pitting people against each other and work together. We’re all responsible for our own choices, and we have the opportunity to build a great life if we choose. 

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