Peter Torres,
Fredericksburg,VA
My father is Puerto Rican, my mother is Italian. I grew up predominately with my mother’s family. Despite not having much growing up, it was bestowed upon my brother, sisters, and I that people are individuals. I joined the service because I wanted more, I left all I know and all I loved for the opportunity to do big, bigger than one self.
Growing up, graduating highschool was an accomplishment – something my father never did and something my mother did pregnant. At the same time, I felt not having a child while in highscool was a major milestone for my siblings and I.
I married my wife in the service. She came from a similar ‘low-expectation’ background being her family were naturalized citizens from Mexico. She was the first in her family born here. Oddly enough, she was the one in her family that ‘wanted more’ and joined the service.
I am a vet, a disabled vet. I have sacrificed, and clawed, and worked to get to where I am at. My wife the same. The tears our kids have when they leave their cousins to return home in another state – wondering why “they live away from everyone else”. We keep telling them how sacrifices are made for the greater good, for a better quality of life, for the family.
Circling back to my 6 words….I’m a mutt….my wife’s 100% mexican….my kids are 75% hispanic…..but who really cares, we are all basically mutts at this point. We lean conservative now. But I am constantly being told by people who didn’t walk in my shoes and didn’t experience the same life experiences as I that I need to fall into another bucket. That’s not cool.
So basically….I’m sick of the news, I’m sick of the one-size-fits-all mentality, I’m sick of the group think. Being more conservative leaning, when do my hispanic kids suddenly be labeled by their 25% of white-privilege because my wife and I have become “successful”. Why do I need to be coached by black people how to feel, by white people telling me they relate more to being a minority than me. It is basically exclusion under the guise of inclusion….and it sickens me.
My kids are being taught to judge people by their character. I refuse to have them be taught the racism, the crap on TV everyday telling them how they should act or respond, how they should feel. They deserve the chance to pave their own way with as little bias as possible, and this 24/7 hate baiting and constant identify politics is poison. They see the other kids in school as ‘other kids’. They are pure UNTIL we fill them with this poison.
I wasn’t around for slaves, most people I see protesting weren’t around for slaves, yet the unborn today are destined to pay for the sins of the past. How about we just treat each other like humans.
I will continue to walk through my life focusing on being selfless, and I will continue to help others all I can, and I will continue to raise my kids to believe in god, and I will continue to introduce them to different people that come from different backgrounds and offer different perspectives and experiences…..and I will do so because that’s how my wife and I were raised, and we are proud of the people we’ve become. Can we do better, absolutely. We strive to be better each and every day. But while we strive to be better, I don’t have to feel bad for things I’ve never done or don’t currently do wrong now.
May god/higher-power/whoever help individuals ensure their thoughts are theirs, and theirs alone….and not those being pushed on them by others (news, media, hollywood, politicians, neighbors, family members, etc.). It is of my opinion we’d live in a better world if people looked inside for guidance and improvement instead of outside.
My apologies if this is a bit sloppy. I didn’t proof-read deliberately. I wanted to speak from the heart and let if fly….
Sidenote – I was torn on the picture. I would have loved to post a pic of my kids and my wife and I, only. However, the picture I uploaded was of my friends and family, my chosen family, the people I have served with in the past and our constant retained connection. There is every race, gender, preference, etc. in play…but you know what, we are just brothers and sisters. We love each other…
