Everything isn't about race

A year ago, a young hispanic girl climbed on her bus to high school. She wore a starry red shirt with a blue skirt that had the same red stars. Somewhere between her home and the high school, a young man of caucasian descent sexually harassed her. The issue was brought before the school board and the young man was given detention every day after school for one week, and Saturday school for the rest of the month.
A month later, a caucasian girl was sexually harassed in the same school by a different young man, also caucasian, and he was suspended for two weeks.
Now, the hispanic mother went to the school board with a lawyer and said she was going to sue the school for racial descrimination because her daughter's "assailant" was not punished as harshly as the white girl's and she just knew it was because her daughter was Hispanic. The school board stood by their decision and the mother eventually dropped it.
That is the story I was told in my college "diversity in education" class last semester. My teacher, of Native American descent said, "yes, so many times white people take for granted that they are always right and that justice is always on their side and it is times like this that I wonder if they aren't right."
I did some research because I have had the race card played on me so many times I am literally sick. Come to find out, this hispanic young "lady" is somewhat...promiscuous. Okay, she's a slut. Her shirt did not cover her middriff, her skirt showed her undies, she was flirting with the young man in question, who asked her out on a date twice and she said no. She had been in the principal's office three times that school year for the same thing, involving other young men. The young white girl was actually touched by the young man in her "case" and held up against a locker, he whispered what he was going to do to her in her ear while she cried.
But that mother wanted to see what she wanted to see. Oh, it was all about race. Oh, it had to be! Her innocent little 17 year old baby was just following in her mama's footsteps with her lifestyle habits, so there was no way her sweet little girl could be making lewd gestures or egging these young men on. Oh no! And it wasn't that the school board was tired of hearing her complaints that they just let the kid off easy, it was because she was hispanic.
My husband has worked for the department of transportation in Arizona for 12 years. As he gets promotions up the ladder, the same group of people complain. Yes, they are all of one race, and they are not of his race. He's making more money than them because he is white and they are Hispanic. No, it isn't because he spends his own time and money to attend school and special trainings to earn education credits. No, it isn't because he puts in 60 hours a week compared to their 30. No, it isn't because he gets certified in computer programs, equipment handling, quality control, and road maintenance on a regular basis, literally making him a more valuable employee. It is because he is white and they are not.
I understand that racism is a very real problem in most parts of the world. So is religionism, sexism, ableism, and many other -isms. It is a very valid issue that millions of minorities deal with every day. I am not minimizing this problem. But you must realize it is not the only reason bad things happen.
All I ask is that for everyone's self respect and honesty, when you feel you have been unjustly dealt with, ask yourself if there is another possible explanation.
So a white guy got the job you wanted. Is it because he is white? Were you wearing a clean shirt? Did you look the interviewer in the eye instead of looking shifty? (I know that is a cultural no-no to many, but when in Rome...) Did you stand up and shake the man's hand? Are you as qualified? Were you self-assured? Do you have the same level of education? Are you as easy to talk to? Are you as outgoing? Were you as friendly? Was your hair neatly trimmed? Were your shoes shined? Did you wear stained blue jeans or a nice pair of pressed slacks? There are a thousand variables and race is not the only one.
People of color (is that politically correct?) have excuses us white folks don't. We have to assume that when we are passed over for promotions or are not hired, it is because we are lacking something the company is looking for. We have to then make changes, improvements, work harder, work stronger, smarter. We have to get more education, more training, more knowledge, try again later. And again, and again. All many of color have to do is look for an employer who doesn't descriminate. Better yet, file a lawsuit, drag the company through the mud, make your million on the racial descrimination card, and never put in another day of honest labor. Don't tell me that's not how it is. I've seen it a hundred times.