Because I am white and male and American born, I am immune from suspicion.

If you practice freedom of speech in this country as a white man people may listen, or they may not, but you can feel safe to do so without being suspected as a terrorist. If you are black or brown-skinned, Middle Eastern or Muslim, would you feel just as safe doing so? If you are white, male and American born, you may not be aware that you are immune to suspicion. If you have the opinion that here, in America, everyone is free and equal and walks the same path of opportunity, please try to think more abstractly. Bad things occur in all countries, including America. We are not the perfect nation, and too often the immediate suspects to blame are those who don’t fit into the category of white/male/American. It is important to understand that although America is often referred to as its own culture, which represents and celebrates a mixture of all races and backgrounds, there are still so many negative false assumptions that are associated with the differences of people in this land of the free. There are too many individuals in their own cultures who suffer because of the confusion of what is means to be “American”. Anyone who is non-white, non-Christian, speaks English as a second language, or in anyway is connected to a foreign country or heritage is easily misjudged because they don’t fit the misconstrued idea of what “American” looks like. You don’t have to be at fault to acknowledge the facts, and the facts are that being a white male born in America makes you the least suspicious person when you walk down the street. Be an ally to others of all backgrounds, help eliminate the predispositions people aren’t even aware they have about those who are different. Extract from a MARC blog, May. 2013