My Thoughts on MTV’s “2017 Resolutions For White Guys” Video

So earlier this week MTV, a former music channel released a video entitled “2017 Resolutions For White Guys.” In the video, the actors give a list of areas where white males to need to improve in the coming year.

I’m going to be blunt. The video is ridiculous.

Why? Because it puts forth the notion that the majority of white guys are racist, sexist, and out of touch. It paints an inaccurate and demeaning picture of an entire group of people.

Basically, the people who made this video are engaging in the same type of behavior that they’re accusing white males of.

If you haven’t seen the video, here it is:

“America was never great for anyone who wasn’t a white guy.”

There is some truth to this. There’s no denying the history of this country when it comes for minorities. Slavery, Jim Crow, Racism have been a dark blot on the history of the United States of America.

But are white guys really disputing this?

I mean, how many white males really believe that America’s past was perfect? Are there masses of white men who have been saying that these issues never existed?

No, there isn’t.

I agree that the United States has a lot of work to do when it comes to race issues. But it would be foolish to deny that we have made progress.

I didn’t have to deal with the type of racism that my parents and grandparents did. I’ve been able to live peacefully with people of all races. Have I experienced racism? Of course. But not nearly as badly as the people who came before me.

Here’s a hard truth for MTV: racism isn’t going away. We will never completely eliminate it. All countries have some degree of racism. I don’t believe we can get rid of racism, but we can limit its influence. I believe this country has made some great strides when it comes to racism.

As a black man, I believe I still live in a great country. Even with all of its flaws. I do have a problem with the slogan “Make America Great Again.” But my reasons aren’t the same as its other critics. I have a problem with this slogan because I believe America is already great.

Not perfect. But great.

We don’t need to make America great again. We need to make it greater.

“Stop bragging about being woke.”

Bragging about being “woke?” Uh… black people invented the term, didn’t we? Being “woke’ means that one has finally seen the racism that still exists in this country. It means understanding that everyone isn’t being treated equally.

Here’s a question: why wouldn’t we want white guys to be “woke?” Why shouldn’t they talk about it? I mean, if this country is as awfully racist as MTV seems to think it is, shouldn’t we want as many white people on our side as possible?

We’ve been telling white people to get “woke” for a long time. Now, we’re telling them not to be “woke.” So, according to this ridiculous video, we want white guys to be “woke,” but we don’t want them talking about it?

Here’s some reality… white people have fought and bled for the rights of minorities. Check your history.

As a matter of fact, it was a white man’s actions that sparked the civil war. Ever hear of John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry? It happened in 1859 when abolitionist John Brown decided to take up arms against the injustice of slavery.

Also, weren’t there white people who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Yes, there were.

Here’s the truth: if there weren’t white men and women who were willing to stand against the injustices we suffer, we wouldn’t be able to live the lives we live today. We would still be slaves. Or, we would still be living under Jim Crow.

Do you really want white people to stop being “woke?” I don’t. And I don’t think other minorities want that either.

“Look up what mansplaining means. And stop doing it.”

Okay, I’ll admit it. I had to look this up.

Not because I’d never heard the term before. As a matter of fact, I’ve heard it quite a bit, but I wanted to make sure I actually understood what it meant.

So…I found this definition:

“Mansplaining is a portmanteau of the words “man” and “explaining”, and refers to situations where a person (typically a man) explains something to someone else (typically a woman), often in a condescending way, without consideration for or regard to the explainee being more experienced with the subject in the first place.”

Okay. I can see how this might be obnoxious. There are many situations where a man shouldn’t try to pretend as if he knows more than a woman. For instance, I’d never try to tell my wife what her period feels like. I’d never try to explain how childbirth feels.

However, it seems that this label could be slapped on any man who explains something to a woman. What if I, as a man, legitimately know more than a female that I’m conversing with? Or what if I just have a valid disagreement with something she says?

Interestingly enough, I found another definition. This one’s from Urban Dictionary. We all love Urban Dictionary, right? Here it is:

“Stating verifiable facts that are inconvenient to the feminist worldview.

Feminists: Women only make 77% of what men make for exactly the same work! Oh the patriarchy.

Factual Person: No, they don’t. That statistic is just for overall median pay of full time workers, and does not account for overtime hours worked, location, experience, degree earned, or even the field someone is working in. Women make less on average because men and women make different career choices, because believe it or not, men and women are different.

Feminist: Don’t you mansplain to me! Facts and logic are just oppressive constructs to keep women down!”

See what I mean? If a man happens to disagree with what a woman says, she can just say he’s mansplaining! It seems to me, this is just another term that leftists can use to silence any opposition to their views.

There are plenty of words that those on the left use to silence opposing views.

Here are a few of them:

• Racist
• Homophobe
• Islamophobe
• Sexist

Actually, I’ll stop there. Just put an “ist” or a “phobe” after a word, and it’ll work. The idea that a white male — — or any male for that matter — — shouldn’t express his point of view is completely absurd.

“Feel free to take Kanye West”

So NOW they want to give up Kanye West just because he committed the mortal sin of meeting with Donald Trump. Funny, these people LOVED Kanye West when he said that George W. Bush doesn’t care about black people.

The reaction to Kanye West’s visit to Trump tower was laughable. Being willing to reach out to the president-elect doesn’t somehow make West a traitor. It means he’s being open-minded.

I’m not a fan of Kanye West. I’m not a fan of Donald Trump either. But bashing Kanye West just for meeting with him is silly.

“Nobody who has black friends says they have black friends. You can be racist with black friends.”

Okay, confession time. I once agreed with this statement. Why? Because I didn’t stop to really think about it.

You know which white people will tell you they have black friends? The ones who are being falsely accused of racism.

Let me ask you something: how many white supremacists do you know that have black friends? How many of them actually spend quality time with minorities?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

No white supremacist has black friends. Not a single one. Why? Because they hate black people! Why would you have an actual friendship with a person who you don’t like?

Let me take this a step further…

I hate Nazism. I really do. For obvious reasons.

Would you like to know how many Neo-Nazis I call friends? Exactly zero. Why? Because I don’t like Nazis.

Now, I totally understand that some white guys say they have black friends when they really don’t. But this doesn’t describe the majority of white guys. Judging the entirety of white males by the actions of some white males is ignorant at best.

The video ends with saying that white guys can do better in 2017. You know what? Judging from this video, we can all do better in 2017.