To my fellow white and cis straight people, White and Straight privilege does exist. It has always existed. We all need to acknowledge that it does exist. Being able to walk down the street and not be targeted, beat up, or even killed because of our race or sexuality is White and Straight privilege. Being able to hold hands and kiss our SO's without judgement is Straight privilege. This doesn't mean that we don't have our own unique struggles and hardships because we do, this just means that our hardships are usually not due to our race and sexuality. We are the majority in society. We are seen as normal, beautiful, and who everyone should be. We have representation every day. We don't need a White Pride or Straight Pride because that is everyday for us. We are not oppressed because of our race and sexuality. We will never understand what it's like to be a minority in society, but we can empathize with everyone, we can listen to everyone, and we can acknowledge that certain privileges do exist and that we benefit from them and probably always will. We can be allies. We can stand in solidarity with everyone. We can lift others up who need it most. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Everyone deserves equal rights. Everyone deserves to tell their stories and be represented by people who look like them. Everyone deserves love and kindness. It doesn't always have to be about us white and straight people and that is ok. It is really ok. We need to let others have their chance to shine and be seen. I always say if all lives really do matter then there wouldn't be a need for Black Lives Matter and Gay Lives Matter ect.
It does scare me however reading peoples comments about killing all white people and/or straight people though.We are not all bad and hateful. Most of us are loving and peaceful. We need to learn to not judge a book by it's cover. Our world is spiraling to a very a bad place and it scares me. We need gun control. We need more love and kindness. We need more acceptance. ALL love is beautiful. ALL skin colors are beautiful. ALL sexualities are beautiful. ALL genders are beautiful. EVERYONE is beautiful in our own ways.
Amidst all the tragedy, hate, and violence, there are some people in my life that give me hope, make me smile, and make me happy. My fiance Rob, my friends, and my idol Lucy Hale! Lucy is a bright light in this scary world for me and so many others. Listening to her sing, watching her on PLL, and seeing her instagram pictures and tweets instantly makes me smile. I love you more than you will ever know Lucy, you give me hope that this world is not all bad and that it can get better for everyone!
I hope everyone has people like I do in their lives to give them hope that not everything is bad. I also turn to music in these hard and scary times. Here are just a few of my favorite songs that inspire me and give me hope to hang on:
There are many more songs that lift me up during hard times but these are just a few of my top favorites. Enjoy each one and I hope they uplift you the way they uplift me.
