UNITED STATES—I know many of you may be tired of hearing my rants about issues with society, but it appears no matter how much we as a nation attempt to move forward, there are always a few bad apples spoiling things for everyone else. This is in essence to a reporter who revealed his battle with vitiligo. Vitiligo is a skin condition where a loss of pigment takes place.
It was indeed a ground breaking story for the reporter to come forward and share his battle with the American public; not really shining the light on his personal battle, but to bring awareness to the public about the medical condition and his crusade to find a cure. Many would not know from looking at the reporter that he suffers from the condition, as he doesn’t publicly state it daily, but he does use make-up to cover up the spots on his skin.
So why is this issue so important to me, it’s because in the midst of sharing his story, he revealed a troubling voice message he received from an anonymous person. The message was filled with such hatred and ignorance it appalled me. How dare someone criticize someone who suffers from a medical condition they are unable to control? For him to label someone a “freak” and to stay hidden from the public was appalling.
Not only were his comments hurtful, but insensitive and ignorant. What concerned me the most is the issue that the individual who was a man, had the audacity to leave such a heinous voice mail for someone, yet he kept his name and phone number hidden from the public. That’s what I find alarming about our society; some people have no fear about stating their personal opinion, yet they like to protect their anonymity. If you are brazen enough to leave a hateful message via phone, why not disclose your phone number, your name, your address, a photo of yourself and your residence.
That’s the biggest problem I have with social media and news outlets nowadays; there is this constant battle to hear the public’s opinion all the time. We have this unbelievable desire to continue to voice our opinion in such nasty ways its fueling hate in this country.
Twitter and Facebook are already bad enough, but these sites that allow people to post racist commentary and ignorant statements without monitoring what is being said is sad. It has become such an issue for me that I have decided to stray away from sites that continue to allow such foolery. Yes, we have the right to freedom of speech, but why, why are so many spewing ignorance to others? It doesn’t just affect you, it affects your children.
Bigotry, racism, intolerance and ignorance are taught. Parents teach this type of beliefs into their children who ultimately pass those same beliefs to their children. If we as a nation intend to stop this cycle of oppression, it starts with us, the adults, educating our children, making our voice be present in the world, without being hateful. Hate + hate=more hate. You can’t fight a fire with fire; it just fuels it even more. That reporter did something most of us wouldn’t be able to do; he turned the other check. Not entertaining stupidity is the best route. I am hoping in the near future I become more tolerable of ignoring other people’s ignorance.
By Trevor Roberts
