MICHELE KINDERMAN, PhD
I understand anger. I am disgusted by the world’s history of hatred, discrimination, and exclusion based on ethnicity, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation. However, this ugliness does not get resolved by tossing the ball of abhorrence from one person to another, from one religion to another, from one race to another. Instead of embracing each other, we as a society continue to polarize ourselves. Those individuals who discriminate and victimize should be held accountable, and education needs to be provided to all.
The White Man
(Photo/Written Word on Paper, 8.5” x 11”)
There is an endless list of discriminatory labels that attach negative attributes to specific types of identity. “The White Man” has become one of these disparaging terms. My son is a white man, and he is privileged in many ways. Please don’t stereotype and make assumptions about him because of it. My son brings warmth, kindness, and compassion to the world. He is respectful and inclusive, and he befriends others with similar strength of character. There are many men like my son, some who have faced significant adversity and others who have not. These men come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Don’t fight hate, discrimination, and stereotyping with more of the same. It only serves to push us further apart and places obstacles in the way of harmony.