Gay psychotherapist explains why he’s racist… and you are too (VIDEO)
A psychotherapist has spoken about being white, gay, and racist.
Los Angeles psychotherapist Matthew J Dempsey posted a video dealing with the topic of racism and discrimination following the release of controversial film Stonewall.
He explained: “One of the things that I really appreciate about being gay is I’ve got this insight into what it’s like to be discriminated against – I know what it’s like to not have certain legal rights available to me. I know what it’s like to have someone spout out really nasty hateful things at me as I’m walking down the street holding another guy’s hand.
“It helps me relate to and understand a whole number of people who are discriminated against for a whole number of reasons… but the issue is I can easily feel like I’ve got a hall pass being gay to understand discrimination and make [offensive] jokes.”
He added: “Racism is a system of oppression of the majority of racial groups so that one can rise to a place of power and have all kinds of advantages and benefits.
“It’s actually natural across all kinds of living creatures because there’s always going to be this fight or competition to be top dog, and that means you’re going to be able to have a greater likelihood of survival.
“The problem is, as human beings we’re more evolved creatures so we don’t need to devolve to this way of navigating things in terms of putting people down so we can uplift ourselves.”
He continues: “Growing up gay in a homophobic world, I didn’t grow up in a vacuum, so I’m going to be absorbing some of those negative irrational beliefs, and the best way to manage that is to be aware it is there and call it out.
“It’s the same thing with racism too – as a white person, I’m going to be having certain racist beliefs because I grew up in a racist society.
“It’s only when I’m able to call that out, and just own it and be honest about it, that then helps me manage that so much better so that I can then quell any kind of tendencies of discriminating.”
