The most naive and inaccurate view I have ever had regarding race was believing that ‘reverse-racism’ exists. Unfortunately, this belief is so widely upheld that its mere existence prevents countless people from truly understanding the weight of racism in America.

When I was seven years old, a boy came up to me on the playground and called me “chinky eyes.” Ironically enough, this comment meant little to me at the time. Yes, I was offended. However, I had no idea back then of the historical weight behind the word “chink,” and outside of that, all my classmates treated me no different. Instead, the real damage behind these words became evident as I approached adulthood.

As time passed, I began to be faced more and more with conversations on race and racism. Because I had had this one racist act under my belt, I felt that I somehow had some authority on what it felt like to be a victim of racism. What I failed to realize for nearly a decade was that racism is far more nuanced than how it is usually taught in schools or by parents.

Racism is more than just a collection of actions and words that are offensive to a specific race. Instead, racism is truly defined by its societal power structure–a structure in which one race has universally more power than the other. In other words, a black woman calling a white woman a “cracker” would not be racist even if the white woman was offended, as she still faces more adversity than the black woman. In our society, the white woman receives the benefits of higher wages and more media and governmental representation than the black woman, regardless of if her feelings are hurt.

The evidence for this power structure is all around us, but it is currently most visible in the media treatment of the events in Baltimore, Ferguson and other such movements throughout history. Ask yourself: Would these riots and protests keep happening if there wasn’t an underlying problem fueling them?

No, these movements are a symptom of a larger problem–one that paints Baltimore’s black protesters rioting over racial inequality as “dangerous, violent, thugs,” while white sports fans rioting over a team winning or losing are simply “revelers.” Coverage of the riots following this year’s Ohio State University NCAA football victory, the 2014 Giants World Series victory, even the 1998 Broncos Super Bowl win and countless others never referred to participants using words like “dangerous.” This fundamental difference exemplifies racism to a tee.

I too benefit from this unequal treatment thanks to my upper-middle class status and mostly-white appearance. Society bends in our favor and, as we continue to make use of our advantages, we in turn fuel this unbalanced scale. Our job as the “majority” is then to continue learning about racism and what we can do to help the “minority” combat it. This may be unsettling, but in all honesty, a little white guilt never hurt anybody.

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