Racism and Sexism and Class Bias, Oh My!

I had a recent conversation via the internet with an old acquaintance from high school. She had posted this article entitled "White People: Shut Up About Beyonce." Before I go any further, let me make this clear: I know that there are clear racial differences in terms of socioeconomic status in the United States, and I know that African Americans face cruelty and bias on a daily basis even now. And I know that personally, I have never experienced this specific type of cruelty or bias. Anyone who acts like these problems do not exist today needs to face reality, pure and simple. I feel the same about sexism and the objectification of women.

I may not have firsthand experience as far as what African Americans face daily, but I do know what sexism and objectification feel like, quite literally. At twelve years of age I was molested, and in my senior year of high school I was raped by someone who, at the time, was my boyfriend. I have felt so much hatred towards the perpetrators of these crimes. I will admit, I hated men in general for a long time. In the end, though, this hatred solved nothing. It festered and festered and only made me feel worse. After I began to realize this, I resolved to fight sexism on both ends of the spectrum--anyone, male or female, can contribute to the objectification of women. Hating one group specifically doesn't help change things. It's like a cancer, if the malignant cells have metastasized and spread to different parts of the body, attacking just the colon won't help (especially if the cancer isn't in the colon in the first place).

I can't speak to what Beyonce feels or what she hopes to accomplish by alluding to the Black Panthers in her performance. I do like what the Black Panthers sought to accomplish at their conception. But I do not like what I see of the violence I read about while researching them as well. In the end, I do not know what parts of the stories of their violence are true and what parts are false or exaggerated. As for the performance itself? I am on the fence between "her clothing and performance were empowering and she carries herself and her sexuality with confidence and self-assurance" and "the clothing and dancing objectify her and by extension all women, what about young girls watching this, how will it affect them?" I am teetering towards the latter.

All of these "white person" opinions aside, (I'm actually Native American and Irish, but the Irish skin tone won in the battle of genes) let me get back to my friend and our internet debate. She argued that African-American hatred of "white people" is justified. I disagree: "white people" as a whole are not the problem. People who act like racism no longer exists are the problem. People who are racist to begin with are the problem. People who turn a blind eye to the problems of others are the problem. So "white people," don't shut up about Beyonce. Love her? Tell everyone! Disagree with her style/performance/way of going about things? Let us know! Just make sure you have respect and empathy, and educate yourself on the way things are for people of color here in the United States.