I am an Hispanic libertarian. By all leftist accounts (and the belief of many of my peers) I’m an oppressed minority. Here’s the thing: I refuse to be one. I don’t need your pity, nor your help; I don’t want your handouts or Affirmative Action.

My race does not define me, it does not have any bearing on my ability to accomplish tasks or attain success. I am a son, an uncle, a brother, a best friend and confidant; I have a greater attachment to these titles than that of “Hispanic.”

My successes and failures are dependent on me. I will succeed or fail on my own. It is not society’s job to prevent me from failing or give me a leg up because of my ethnicity, nor is it moral for government to take from wealthy individuals and redistribute it to others by threat of force. Things like Affirmative Action, illustrated by these race-based bake sales that give minorities discounts for the color of their skin, are not helping minorities out of their squalor. You want to help these “underprivileged” communities? Donate to charities, help young people become educated, start a business and/or give young people the opportunity to be self-sufficient. Also, this may seem a bit obvious, but…stop taxing them into the ground!

I was born and raised in a small town just outside of Los Angeles and I have seen how burdensome taxation has affected the poorer communities in California. Taxes on plastic water bottles, on paint, on lumber, on plastic bags, not to mention a 9.75% sales tax and some insane property taxes have negatively impacted those in poverty. There is a major disparity between those affected by these taxes: those at or near the poverty level are pushed down further, while those in Brentwood, Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Hills are mostly unaffected by these taxes. Hollywood liberals vote for increased taxation nearly every time it comes up on a ballot, not giving a second thought to the underprivileged communities they are trampling underfoot while claiming to champion them.

I will not claim that racism does not exist; it most definitely does. I have experienced it myself many times. But unlike the childish reactions of the Left when they experience any hint of racial insensitivity, every time I experienced racism, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and moved on like an adult. The beliefs of others do not affect who I am as a person.

Discriminatory action against white people will not benefit those of us with darker skin. All it does is further divide our nation. How can things like Affirmative Action be interpreted as progress? Would you be okay with schools that gave whites a better opportunity to be admitted to their institution for nothing more than the color of their skin? No, you wouldn’t. You would scorn that institution for being blatantly racist. Affirmative Action should be viewed the same way.

If you want to help minorities that are oppressed and disadvantaged, you need to stop looking to government and begin to look within. Government has proven to be feckless, corrupt and inept. Decades after the War on Poverty was started, and trillions of dollars spent, we still suffer a similar poverty rate. Voting for lower taxes and giving to private charities will make a much larger impact on these communities than big government ever will.

I recently saw a video by a very famous YouTuber known as Hannah Hart, who displays her white guilt here. Her video made my stomach turn. There are actually people who think it’s their job to explain/apologize for the actions of other members of their race.

You are an individual; you are responsible for you and you alone. I am an individual; I am not responsible for the actions of those who look like me, neither are you.

I was not afforded the same opportunities as many of my friends (of every race). My family was not able to pay for schooling or afford rent or cars for me, unlike many of my peers… and that’s okay. I had to work hard to afford my own car and everything else I have. My success is dependent upon me, not on society, not on government, not on my family, and certainly not on white people.

I refuse this sash of victimhood, of dependency, of oppression that the Left wishes to put around my neck because of the color of my skin. I refuse to be told that I won’t make it to the level of my white peers because they had a head start. I refuse to be one of your “oppressed minorities” that you can talk down to as if I were a child that needed your help.

I refuse to fit your mold.

* Manuel Gutierrez – all his friends call him “Manny” – is an uncle, brother, son and best friend that became a libertarian about 3 years ago. He’s Hispanic and speaks English, Spanish and a tiny bit of French. He is a martial artist, photographer and works for Amazon.