I am seldom ungrateful for my knowledge of civil rights violations. The gratitude I have is due to the students and faculty at the high school, who go to great lengths to ensure that I am aware of what qualifies as social injustice.

However, there are two main problems with modern mainstream social justice. One is the willingness to discuss issues that are currently popular and not issues that are ignored by most people. The other is the blind hatred of anything associated with oppressors.

Hating those initially guilty of hating does not get rid of hatred. Not only is this because it adds to a culture of blind anger, which is often what social justice atrocities are rooted in, but also because there is little to no chance that you will know everything about the target of your hatred.

To exemplify this, I will often hear someone at the high school describe how they “hate America.” In fairness, this is often a reaction to one or multiple of the United States’ flaws. Yet, as opposed to hating that specific incident or aspect, they hate the entire system, the people running it and the people and the values for which it stands.

The United States represents many positive elements of social justice. In 1941, at the beginning of Hitler’s genocide against Jews in Europe, many Jews fled to the United States in the hope of a freer country and a better life.

Later, the United States issued the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This outlawed discrimination, mainly racial discrimination at the polls. Expressing hatred for the United States also expresses hatred for all the actions like these that combat social injustices.

I, as an American, am a descendant of Holocaust survivors, Holocaust victims and Ellis Island immigrants. I feel personally attacked by expressions of hatred of the U.S. Regardless of your intentions, social justice is supposed to end persecution, not create it.

One major aspect of social justice that should be pointed out is being conscious of everyone in your dialogue; this is actually often encouraged at the high school. True social justice advocates do not just talk about popular issues. They expand their view to include issues that no one else is talking about.

The school spent two whole days discussing racism and homophobia. Yet, it was most likely a rare occasion where there was somebody who disagreed with the fact that people of all sexual orientations and races should have equal rights. So who were we convincing?

I think it is safe to say that many students have heard similar perspectives before and are informed about some major events relating to these issues. But there are other marginalized groups that we did not talk about that are ignored. For example, I am curious as to how many students are informed about the shootings in Chapel Hill.

In February, three Muslims who were ages 19, 21 and 23, two of whom were recently wed, were shot at around 2 a.m. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There is evidence, mainly from social media, that the murderer, Craig Hicks, was extremely prejudiced against Muslims.

Despite this evidence, there is still controversy over whether or not he should be charged with a hate crime. Is this a social injustice? Absolutely.

Yet, I can only recall one time when I heard this mentioned at the high school. This stands in contrast to organized protests, an organized classroom discussion and many informal discussions about the tragic killing in Ferguson.

This is not in any way to say that the Chapel Hill shootings were somehow worse than those in Ferguson nor that the killing in Ferguson wasn’t horrific. What happened at Chapel Hill is just as much of a social injustice as the events in Ferguson. So why do we hear about one so much more than the other?

The reason is that although racism is far from gone, our society has become quite progressive on the topic of race. It is talked about frequently in the mainstream media. Government and non-government groups alike are working towards fixing the problem.

However, Muslims are still subject to profiling at airports, to restrictions on where they can practice their religion and to other discrimination. But nobody talks about it. If you claim to be a social justice advocate, advocate for all groups.

Social injustices are social injustices and just because some are easier to talk about does not mean that they are more worthy of being talked about. If you are uncomfortable talking about difficult issues, you are not fighting for social justice.