"The Whiteness Project"

So PBS, for some inexplicable reason, decided to greenlight something called, "The Whiteness Project". It's aim? For white folks to send in videos to the "filmmaker" talking about how hard it is to be white in the U.S. of A. Are you fucking kidding me?? I was upset before I even read some of the comments people make in their videos, and now I'm all kindsa pissed off. And actually, somewhat amused that some white folks actually think this way. One lady said she faces the same kind of bias as minorities because she's heavily tattooed. While I don't disagree that heavily tattooed people do face some obstacles, I have a problem with her assessment for two reasons; One, you CHOSE to get those tattoos, knowing full well what kind of perception many people would have of you because of it. We minority folk don't get to choose our skin color or culture. You brought the bias on yourself. Second, that bias has nothing to do with you being white. If you were any other color and covered in tattoos, people would still have a certain idea of what kind of person you are. There was another fucker whining about how his fire department would not promote him because they needed more minorities as higher ups. He forgot to mention that the whole reason for the situation is because for decades minorities were not even considered for major promotions, and for decades before that, weren't even allowed on the force. The reason they have to consciously look for more minority candidates is because we were denied such positions of power based solely on skin color. This guy's real problem is that he was born a few years too late and missed out on the days when the white dudes ran everything and the minorities were there only to take orders. Yet another man interviewed openly says that African-Americans are still "using" slavery to get ahead in the world, thus making it harder for him to make his way in the world as a white man. ... Um, let's recap how the white man came to power, shall we? It's a short story, really. Columbus, who was actually a Spaniard, came to America, slaughtered the Native Americans and claimed that he'd "discovered" the land. From then on, the white folks had free reign of the land and eventually decided that anyone who wasn't white should have no rights and instead be enslaved and used as their owner saw fit. The Civil Rights Movement began in 1954 and, some sixty years later, it still has not fully accomplished its goal of equality for all. Somebody is always being denied some kind of right; the right to vote, the right to marry whomever we choose, the right to equal pay, the right to eat and drink in the same establishments as everyone else, the right to become a citizen. Those who are white and affected by any of those things are not affected because they are white, but because they are female or homosexual. To say that you've not had it any easier because your skin color is white is absurd. Because, in some way or another, you have. Your ancestors were not owned by someone else. You're not the butt of racist jokes. You've never been told, "learn to speak the language!", or, "Go back to your own country!" by ignorant fucks who think they own the joint. You've never been profiled and followed through a store solely because you have dark skin. People want to act like racism is dead just because there's a black man in the White House, but the truth is that it's as alive as it ever was. Yes, we've made significant progress but by no means is it enough. It's not enough until everyone is equal and it's not longer a major achievement to have a Latino in this branch of government or an African-American as a leader in that field. These things should be the norm, not the exception. And that's why it's amusing to hear white folks bitch about how difficult their lives are because they're white. Even when they officially become the minority in this country, which they may have already, they will still have it ten times easier than the rest of us did when our numbers were fewer than theirs. All of their major battles for equality have already been won. If they even had to battle much to begin with.