I became interested in politics for the first time in my life after the 2008 United States presidential election.
I had spent 35 years working as a negotiation expert, and had never properly considered the use of race in political discourse, until people found out I wasn't voting for Barack Obama.
My decision had nothing to do with the color of his skin—I felt he was unknown and hadn't achieved much as a politician—nevertheless I was immediately labeled by those around me as racist.
Nobody cared about my reasons, they just thought I was racist because I wasn't voting for the Black candidate instead of the White candidate, which is a technique I feel is often utilized by the left in this country.
In my opinion, the political left are attempting to create a division based on race, in an attempt to drive more voters towards the Democratic Party. I believe this has led to what I call a war on White people.
There are various groups who would argue that White people cannot be the victims of racism—that only people of color can be—but I consider that to be a ridiculous argument.
I grew up in Bedford–Stuyvesant, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, which at the time had one of the largest Black communities in the city, and during those years I was the recipient of a tremendous amount of racist behavior.
I was constantly being beaten up for being White. My grandmother was once shot while walking on the street. The amount of hatred that we received simply because of our skin color was just incredible.
While I believe there is a huge amount of anti-White racism coming from some Black people, I also see it coming from White people, who run around apologizing for being White, which I find astounding.
For example, it was reported that the University of Chicago planned to offer a new course called "The Problem of Whiteness." The one student who spoke out about the title was nearly expelled.
In schools that have adopted critical race theory, students are being taught that they're oppressors simply because they're White.
I never benefited from White privilege. I wasn't born into wealth. My family was poor. The only reason I got into college was because I worked very hard in high school and I got good grades, and then worked at night cleaning toilets in an office building to pay for it.
Systematic racism may have existed 50 years ago, but the changes that have taken place in recent decades are immense—I believe it no longer exists. That is why I feel affirmative action is useless.
While affirmative action may have had a place decades ago, I believe the civil rights legislation that we now have in this country means that the only people who benefit are incompetent people.
In my opinion, if you are a competent person who works hard you will have no problem getting a job or being admitted to a college. I feel all affirmative action is good for is helping people who are underqualified.
And that's not a good thing for anybody. I have written various books about this subject, which have mostly had positive reactions, but occasionally I get people who say this is all a lie—that racism can only be committed by White people against ethnic minorities.
But I feel the tables have turned; that it's White people who are being marginalized and demonized.
In my view, the only way to achieve a truly equal society is to acknowledge that anti-White racism exists, because you can't fight against something until you're aware of it.
I'm very disturbed when I hear about White people who fall for this whole thing and start asking for forgiveness for being White. I can't imagine forcing someone to apologize for their skin color. But that's going on, and has to stop.
Racism is racism no matter who it's directed towards.
Ed Brodow is a political commentator and the author of The War on Whites: How Hating White People Became the New National Sport, released on May 24, 2023.
All views expressed in this article are the author's own.
Do you have a unique experience or personal story to share? Email the My Turn team at myturn@newsweek.com
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