I would like to propose a totally radical notion to all of you. Mind you, I came to this conclusion based solely on empirical evidence from my own experience, but I believe it still hold true in most, if not all, aspects of everyday life. I will lay it out for you all in no uncertain terms, but be warned, you may not like what you read. White people are becoming, if they are not already, the most discriminated group of people in America.

I know it is hard to believe. Many people would like to deny this fact, and some may even take up arms to challenge it, but its validity rings true for almost all Caucasian men and women. Any argument concerning a controversial issue, especially one where race is involved, automatically puts white people at a disadvantage.

Take, for example, the recent case of Stanley “Tookie” Williams. I won’t get into whether he was justly or unjustly put to death, but I would like to examine another aspect of the debate that raged between the proponents and opponents of his execution. Those who argued for his execution were often labeled racists and bigots, but that only occurred if they happened to be white. Two well-known people who were victim to this were LA talk show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Shampo of the John and Ken show on KFI 640 AM. The two, both white, were outspoken advocates for Williams’ execution. Several of Williams’ supporters like Jasmine Canek called John and Ken racists for their stance on Williams’ dilemma. While they were very fervent in their attacks on Williams and his supporters, they were just as aggressive with the cases of Scott Peterson and Robert Blake, both accused of murder like Williams.
But this is just one example of what I am talking about. Any outspoken opponent to any issue that can be linked to race is automatically labeled racist.

Don’t believe me? One only has to look to the current problem concerning illegal immigration. The problem at our borders cannot be ignored any longer. Every day, thousands of Mexican citizens cross the border illegally into the United States. The situation has gotten so bad that U.S. citizens have taken it upon themselves to help enforce border laws. I am referring to, of course, the Minute Man Project. Even at the conception of this group, they were being called bigots and racists. Every time Minute Men founder Jim Gilcrest went to speak at a public forum he was met with protests and people calling him a racist. Some incidents even became violent.

But the issue does not stop there. I have heard the proponents of border enforcement being called racists countless times on the news. It seems like this argument is becoming the default cry of pro-illegal immigration groups when people actually stand up to them. And you know what? It works every time. There is no defense against being called a racist, and the race card is as easy to use as anything. Once you are labeled a racist, that stain almost never goes away. It is the ultimate counter-argument.

“I believe the government should enforce the border laws,” one politician might say. “That’s only because you are a racist,” would be a likely response from a Latino group, or any other group for that matter.

In the pursuit of saving face and avoiding being labeled a racist, white people will often bite their tongues and forgo their constitutionally granted freedom of speech. They will sit idly by while people make absurd statements or sling wild accusations instead of challenging these ideas. They fear what they say may be taken out of context or seen as a personal attack instead of the argument they meant it to be.

I can tell you all this because these are the concerns I have whenever I am engaged in some kind of race related argument; I am white. I have been conditioned to tread lightly on controversial ground, to concede where available and to mask my true feelings, whatever they may be, behind a veil of understanding and compromise.

I have, in effect, censored myself numerous times so I would not offend other people. I have compromised my beliefs and myself in order to make other people feel better. But I am not alone. Countless others have suffered the same fate as I and have felt powerless to do anything. This breeds contempt in the affected party, namely white people, and does nothing but impede the progress of race relations.

Dialogue is crucial to any relationship, but insincere or censored dialogue only masks the true problem while providing a false sense of accomplishment. Race relations are no different. If white people are afraid of voicing their true opinions and concerns, there can be no progress. And white people are scared, believe me.

Dialogue is a two-way street. We cannot hope to make things better while white people are afraid to speak their minds, nor can we move forward with people pulling race cards. We have to hear each other and understand. There should be no compromise, no concessions. There needs to be a new understanding, and we can only come to that if we can repair our broken dialogue.