A lot has been on my mind lately regarding the news of today. From the decline of many artists and politics, to protests and crimes. Politics has always stuck out to me, there are many ways people can perceive one thing, they can be for or against something. The outcome will always be different, which is why it is so intriguing, but whenever I see people discussing certain politics or topics like racism, sexuality, or political standings like that, one thing sticks out to me. People are always, always, always, trying to make themselves out as oppressed. Even famous people are giving out the message that they are 'oppressed' since they are a part of minority groups, when in reality, we are not oppressed, and I am sick of people trying to make out that we are. I hate how we are always trying to make ourselves as victims of centuries of oppression, when in reality, we are free.
Yes, people in the past have experienced such inhumane treatment for the color of their skin, but we won't have to deal with that anymore. Even now, we deal with racism or discrimination of any shape or form, but are we not still free? Those ways of thinking are dying out, and the more we pay attention to them, the more we continue to say 'I am oppressed because I'm Black or Mexican or whatever you are, the longer racism is going to keep thriving. It's like we're keeping racism on life support, that mindset is what is keeping it alive.
I live in America, which is the 'land of opportunity' as well as many people. A lot of the people who are feeding into the 'I am oppressed' mindset are in America. We have so many opportunities here, that we might take for granted. Women have rights, they can do more than be a mother or wife, we can get education (Higher education is a bit more difficult to have, financially though.) and we can pursue any career we want. We can build ourselves from the ground up to be something great.
We are not just the color of our skin!
We shouldn't let the wrongs of the past affect us negatively today. I have said this before in many other posts that what happened in the past is just that, in the past. If you didn't know, I am Mexican-American, meaning I fit into American society's idea of a minority or even an oppressed individual. Now let me introduce the many struggles that people of my ethnicity have gone through. The 1917 Bath Riots is a good example. A brief history lesson: A law was passed regarding crossing the border in 1917 that encouraged that people (Mexicans specifically) that were coming into America from Mexico had to be 'sanitized.' They were sprayed with kerosene, yes, the same kind that can catch fire, deloused, and vaccinated. Vaccinating is not my issue here; they were sprayed with chemicals that could kill them. Why? Because Mexicans are dirty! Everyone knows that! (Sarcasm...)
These are the words of a mayor of El Paso. During this time, Thomas Calloway Lea Jr. was elected as the mayor of El Paso, Texas. Lea sent telegrams to U.S. Senators in Washington demanding a quarantine be put in place to stem the tide of "dirty, lousey, destitute, Mexicans" who would spread typhus into El Paso.
But does all this mean that I sprayed with harmful chemicals? No, it does not.
Does the fact that people of my ethnicity were treated like cattle, picked cotton, and were even picked because they were 'easy to control' mean I am oppressed too?
As one grower described, "We want the Mexican because we can treat them as we cannot treat any other living man ... We can control them by keeping them at night behind bolted gates, within a stockade eight feet high, surrounded by barbed wire ... We can make them work under armed guards in the fields."
I have never been oppressed, my freedom was never taken from me, and I have never been dehumanized like how the people of the past were treated. I am not oppressed.
I am proud of who I am and if I ever was reborn, I would choose to be Mexican every time. I am proud to be Mexican. I am proud of my heritage! It's one thing to be proud of your culture, but it's another thing to make your culture seem oppressed poor unfortunate souls.
We got to where we are because of the struggles of the past, and I am grateful that my family and I can walk around a bit more safely and not have to worry too much about racist hate crimes.
So once again, say it loud, say it proud: 'I am not oppressed!'
I have been free since I was born, and hopefully, I will always be free!
It is false to believe that just because I was born with a BIT more melanin in my skin, that makes me a victim in the so-called 'land of the free, home of the brave.'
I understand that every day, people from all corners of the world experience oppression in severe forms, I am not denying that it happens. I know very well that people experience all kinds of evil, but to make people believe they are oppressed when they aren't is wrong.
Maybe our ancestors were oppressed, they experienced the worst things possible, but we shouldn't use it as a disadvantage, I might be a 'minority,' but I can't believe for one bit that I am less than, that I am oppressed, because I am Hispanic. Yes, my people are the idea of a minority, but we are proud of who we are. We are strong, mighty, and unwavering in the face of adversity.
There are mothers and fathers that have moved from all parts of the world to America, to give their children a better life. There are mothers and fathers doing jobs that might not be that great not because they want to, but because they want to give their children a good life, so they can be something when they grow up. We build ourselves up and show that we are beyond the labels of 'minority' and 'oppressed.'
I hope whoever reads this takes my words to heart and thinks about things a little differently than what society leads you to believe.
We are not your diversity casts or your money grabs!
We are more than the color of our skin!
We are not oppressed!
Thank you all for reading, and just know, this is something that came from my heart and soul. All of my work has a bit of me poured into it, but this piece came from the depths of my being. It's a tad dramatic, I know, but it means a lot to me to say this.
Thank you all and as always have a good day🏙️/night🌆!
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