Native Americans:The first landowners of America before it was, oh so rudely, swiped away by explorers and other various gold-diggers. All white people know the story of how the first Americans basically stole land from the indigenous people, claiming it, and renaming it, “The Thirteen Colonies” or “The Land of Opportunity”. Some of us would like to forget that because it reflects poorly on the mindless attitudes and the fact that, we’re always right and always know what is best for the country.

Through the years, white privilege has been the main focus of society from the 1940s all the way until the 1970s. There was no shortage of the white population then and there certainly isn’t one now. Throughout the years, there has always been the idea of white supremacy. The number of history lessons are infinite on this idea of “the white man bringing us down,” or the more common one, “the white man has taken our land…again.”

In Utah, 91.4% of the population is White, according to the 2014 U.S. Census. Out of the 2,942,902 some odd residents living in Utah, over 90% are white. The white population is in fact not decreasing; It is thriving to its highest point. The second highest ethnicity are Hispanic or Latino residents at 13.5%.  The lowest number of Utah residents are African-Americans at 1.3%.

National statistics prove this even more. Across the U.S., the White populace is at 77.4%, still clearly in the majority. Next is the Hispanic/Latino community at 17.4%. These numbers are not in the heads of young minds who feel in any way threatened by a more multicultural society. These statistics are fairly recent and in fact, have an impact on how students are categorized. Some students today are still being looked down on and talked to as if they don’t know what the person is saying. Speaking slower to those who may have a different color of skin has become almost a ‘social trend.’ Racial jokes and names have almost become a ‘hip’ concept. No, it is not okay. Or a joke. It never was.

Another problem is generalizing. Based on their skin color, some students are automatically assumed to be Spanish speakers or children of Spanish-speaking parents, when they in fact grew up in a solely English-speaking background.

Let’s call out everyone out there who think that they might able to apply for Minority Scholarships, when they’re really not part of that minority. Those scholarships were made for a reason. Those who have been discriminated against are welcome to apply for scholarships and they especially deserve it after what their ancestors had to go through. The student has every right to that scholarship and most white people are, of course, trying to make it about themselves once again.

It’s funny because most students don’t remember the last time they ever learned about Whites being beaten and battered until they could barely breathe. Either that or they decided to skip history lessons. It rarely ever happened. When it did, it wasn’t because of their skin color, it was because they defended the rights of those who had a different skin color but even then they never has it as bad as the other races did.

Today, there is discrimination against the ‘different races’ of our great nation. People are still being treated as if they were trash, as if they were the gum at the bottom of America’s shoe,  as if they aren’t even human. They’re just some strange alien trying to steal our jobs or the potency of our land.

White privilege has been around for ages and it’s time for it to come to an end. As Americans, we see to be living in a society of racial backlash and slang but we shouldn’t be. Caucasians will always be considered as the ones with more rights or as an equal even if they suddenly start checking their privilege, because that’s just what it is. It’s time to treat everyone as equals instead of being afraid of others or worry that they might take away something that has never been in danger to begin with. There is a different generation springing up so let’s make it the one to stop racial slurs and jokes. This is America where we are all supposed to be united, not against one another. That’s what being an American should be about. Where we all should be, “…One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”