I know what type of world we live in. I see this type of stuff all the time. I am a 21-year-old black male living in America who has nothing but good going his way, but certain places I go, I get looked at like I’m a convict.

A lot of people are shocked about the Kappa Sigma pledges being outed as racists and are going overboard with it. But you have to remember, we live in a country that promotes equal rights that are really only equal for white people.

When President Obama was in office, he was called all kinds of derogatory things such as a monkey and the N-word. Many people still don’t even believe he was born in the U.S. Michelle Obama was called an “ape in heels.” If you look at those same people now, they are praising President Trump for his blatantly racist words and actions.

Some students are saying they can’t believe the same fraternity that was outside the SUB raising money for a charity would think like that. Well, the fact that they were, at one point, being charitable does not mean a damn thing. It seems that, even in the year 2017, some Americans still hold prejudices.

On an episode of “A Different World,” Dwayne Wayne said, “No matter how many degrees I have, to you, I am still a [N-word].”

Morgan Freeman also once said in an interview that the way to get rid of racism is to stop thinking about it. But it’s not that easy of a thing to do. From what I could tell, nobody was talking about racist things towards the Kappa Sigma pledges when they decided to go off on black people. Racism is something that is taught and bred into you. You will see babies of different races going toward each other all the time, because they don’t see race. They just see another baby.

I was in Tennessee one time at a convenience store when I turned around and saw this little kid smiling at me. When I smiled back, the kid’s parent grabbed her and took her to another (longer) line and frowned at me. That was the day I knew how ignorant and evil some people could be.

When people say that they are shocked by this incident, I want to know why. The only real surprise that came to me was that they were caught and that they actually received some type of punishment. You can’t be shocked at racism in a country where hate groups such as the KKK are alive and well. You can’t be shocked when you live in a state that still lifts mansions and slave plantations up like they are some type of national treasure.

Maybe you didn’t expect it, but it was certainly bound to happen one way or another. My sophomore year at ULM, I was involved in an incident where I got into an argument with a white female student. I had lost my patience, and I yelled at her as she yelled back at me. But in the midst of this heated exchanged, she proceeded to call me the N-word at least two dozen times.

After everything had calmed down and the university got involved, I ended up being banned from the University Suites for the rest of the semester. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t live on campus.

Then there are some white people who want to have no dealings with black people, but they want to appropriate our culture while kicking us to the curb. That’s like saying you want someone to buy food for you and cook it, but you don’t want them to eat any of it. Then you ask them to leave after they’re finished without any acknowledgment of their services.

Kappa Sigma broke one of the most important rules of being an undercover racist: You can think it, but don’t say it. If you do say it, don’t get caught. It really shows that many people might not be who you think they are. Someone who smiles to your face could be someone you never thought they would be behind your back.

In his song “They Don’t Care About Us,” Michael Jackson let the world know how he felt about this issue: “All I wanna say is that they don’t really care about us.” This is the world that we live in. That in the year 2017, racism is alive and flourishing. They don’t care about us, and they never will. The Kappa Sigma incident was a reminder of that.