Being white in America, to me has never been a choice. Coming from a mixed-race background, there was never truly a place for me to fit in. I was neither black enough nor white enough. I was always stuck in the middle, with no true place to fit in. I had never thought about how people came to America and chose to be white. Yet, I understand that choice. In the past and currently, people have been biased toward anyone who is not considered white. There are many people who wish they were white. Yet, one thing I do not think Baldwin had considered is the happenings in today’s world where people claim it is easier to be a minority. The amount of times I have been told it is easier to be a minority than to be white today is obnoxious honestly. People do not see the past anymore, as much as they claim. Everyone focuses on today. People choose to not see the way that people have been put down in the past, so these ‘equality’ rights were put into place. With the recent change in affirmative action, I wonder if this will change people’s minds. I do not believe that it has ever been easier to be a minority anywhere, including America.
Baldwin wrote ‘This moral erosion has made it quite impossible for those who
think of themselves as white in this country to have any moral authority at all—privately, or publicly.’ Yet, I do not believe that people view it this way. People take in the non-white form in ways they wish to view them, be it an athlete or a fighter, but do not always wish to accept them as a regular person. They do not want to view them as a neighbor, or a doctor. ‘White’ people will look up to non-whites for abilities they view they do not-have, the athleticism, the quick thinking. This is not to say that white people do not have those abilities, but will white people ever be able to take the moral high ground again? Or will they continue on with the notion that all is right in the world in which they claim?