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The student voice of Detroit's High Schools.

Ignorance isn’t an excuse!

Kaitlyn Moore, vice president of Student Council and Thespian Society, said: “White people are very desensitized towards other cultures, races, and religions. Nobody teaches you about real life situations. You have to get out and learn them on your own. 

“Since people aren’t put into a particular situation where they have to learn it, they don’t think that they should have to, because it’s not their ancestry or lifestyle. They don’t have to live in poverty or get stopped by the police, because of the color of their skin, living in fear of their sons dying at an early age or going to jail.

“Young black women live in fear every day that they will not succeed. You only understand what you’re accustomed to and if you’ve grown up around privilege then that’s all you’ll know unless you put yourself in a situation to learn.”

Ignorance is not only one’s lack of knowledge on a matter, but the failure to understand it even after realizing the fault at hand. One who does not understand a topic is not exempt from gaining knowledge on the issue. What was once irrelevant could become a major issue in a matter of seconds, because of the difference in opinion.

Many people in today’s society are not aware of issues such as cultural appropriation, colorism, racism, etc, because it isn’t targeted towards them. Such belief would be like thinking slavery is irrelevant to every other race, because it did not happen to them.

History class can only teach us so much before we are exposed to different issues in life that we are ignorant to, but doesn’t become a problem until one is stuck in their own ways on a issue they know little to anything about.

In a blog post on psychologytoday.com, Dr. Jennifer L. Kunst wrote: “As we grow and become more independent, we must develop an adult mind of our own. Ignorance is bliss on the one hand; curiosity and the thirst for knowledge on the other. Like so much in life, it is good to have a balance.”

For every disagreement there is room for understanding. Ask them why they think the way they do and give reasoning behind why you agree or disagree. Doing so gives insight on both point of views and avoids limited understanding. 

Being right or wrong only limits the amount of space for additional knowledge on the matter.

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