Another Letter from a Victim of Prejudice Against White Males

Here is the latest of the many letters I've received from white males who feel the pendulum has swung so far that it's slamming them in the chest:

Hello Mr. Nemko,

I have spent most of my life priding myself on my open-mindedness while living in a state where that commodity can be in short supply.

Unfortunately, over the last 10 years, my open attitude is being returned less and less often.

At first, I thought I was at fault, but with time and awareness, I have come to realize that the white middle-aged male is now the low person on the totem pole and everyone, including many white men, seem determined to keep it that way.

I have experienced racism and sexism. I have been ignored, berated, and ridiculed. I have been passed over for jobs and promotions that have been given to people with less experience and fewer abilities. Unfortunately, when I bring up these realities, people seem to look at me as if I were speaking a different language.

For a while, I was angry. At this point, I simply feel resigned. I’ve been around long enough to understand that a pendulum always swings and now, white males are the victims of that swing. I sure do feel sorry though for the young white men out there.

Sincerely,

David Dickson

whynotnow@mail.com

A Letter from an Angry White Male

I just received this email. I'm X'ing out details to preserve his anonymity. I have requested his permission to use his name. If he grants it, I'll reinsert these details as well as his name.

"I went to the ??? Police Dept. to apply for a position. When I asked for an application, I was told by the human resources clerk that the police dept. was not accepting applications from white males and that I should come back in 2 years.

I explained to the clerk that I was a small percentage Native American. The clerk said, "If you can provide any proof of that bloodline then you're in." I thought to myself this is not fair and did not apply on that basis.

The awareness I was being discriminated against worsened when I watched a black acquaintance of mine get an job at the ??? Police Dept. with no education and who could care less if he got the job. Later in life I saw him again and he didn't even like being a cop. Yet I had a passion for law enforcement, a degree in police science, and had a slim to none chance at the job.

I eventually left the state and moved to ???? where I applied to be a police office in ???. To my surprise I was hired fairly quickly. It seemed that ??? didn't care about skin color.

I was wrong. I watched people get promoted because they threatened to pull the race card. I grew sick of hearing, "You just stopped me cuz im black" as he or she sits in a vehicle with blacked out windows not even being able to see what color or gender they are.

I found myself cutting minorities more breaks on crimes or traffic stops just so I wouldn't have to hear the race card played or have to let them slide to prove I wasn't a racist.

It is sad but true that you get calls from a fellow officer who just got into a shooting and he says, "Yeah, I'm OK. Thank God the suspect was a white male--the media wont care." Or I hear officers say things like, "If I ever am forced to shoot my gun, I hope its not a minority."

Once, I, with multiple other officers, had to shoot a young Hispanic male. The media loved it! It became a frenzy for months. According to the media, we shot not because he tried to stab an officer with a butcher knife but because he was a Hispanic teenager. The sad thing is people believe everything the media says. I personally was very hurt because I never wanted to pull my trigger but had no choice. Again, I always treated everyone with respect and never judged anyone because of color or gender. Yet the media called me a racist! Eventually I became so stressed out that my blood pressure got so high that my doctor became fearful that I could have a stroke.

I have soooh many true stories relating to my and other white males being discriminated against that I am going to write a book.

I will not, though, be racist myself. And I will teach my daughter to treat everyone with respect regardless! I will not complain or tell her about my experience. That would create another generation of haters.

I hope that, somehow, my daughter will grow up to live in a country/world where it doesn't matter what color you are and there is racial harmony. But I also want her not to feel guilty about being white and to stand up for herself if and when she is discriminated against.