Correction: An earlier version of this article was posted erroneously. The post has been updated to the final draft. 

Racial tension and skin-deep separation seem to be the societal norm of the current age of hatred, bigotry, and oppression. A major dilemma in the modern age has proved to be moving past racial tensions and treating everyone equally. Recently, colleges and high schools all across the country have been the subject to a new wave of racial confusion, such as Harvard, Princeton, Auburn and Tulane university. These campuses saw flyers go up on buildings, lamp posts, and other constructions.

Why have the flyers sparked so much controversy? The message on the fliers was condemned as “divisive” and “racist” by students and administrators alike, and in several cases the police were called to respond to the flyers. The flyers were designed as one sheet of white paper with black lettering on it exclaiming “It’s OKAY to be white.”

The controversy over these “racist” signs is superfluous. Objectively, it is ok to be white. It’s ok to be white, black, hispanic, and any other race you can think of. Under this thin membrane of skin, we are all humans, and we need to start acting like it. To suggest there is something shameful about anyone’s race is the very definition of the racism we are fighting to subdue.

The prevailing reason why these flyers are criticized is due to their origin. According to a Washington Times news article, “The stunt was organized on 4chan’s ‘Politically Incorrect’ board to show that ‘lefties & journalists hate white people.’ Seeing ‘the media & lefties frothing at the mouth’ in response to the signs would ‘nuke’ their credibility,” the author of the 4chan thread said.

The mere concept of opposing views on anything seems to be a sort of call to action for some. They feel the need to convince others that they are right and you are wrong, unwilling to be open to other views or opinions. This call to action has culminated in this early century as a political war between the “right” and the “left.” Americans should be able to respect free speech without calling the cops when seeing a sign simply asserting that “it’s OKAY to be white.”

Members of every race have done amazing things, and members of every race have done unspeakable, abysmal things. Maybe instead of “teach[ing] my boys to have profound doubts that friendship with white people is possible,” as Ekow N. Yankah, a law professor at Yeshiva University, recently stated, we should teach our kids to forgive.

Hayes Stancliff is a News Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.